Help writing virtual webcam driver

Hi guys,
I'm a newcomer the device driver development discipline. I'm short my
project requires me to write a virtual webcam driver - the driver should
not interact with any real hardware instead the image input is actually
coming from e.g. the network..

I really looking for some pointers - that might push me in the right
direction.. I've been reading a bit the last two days and this is how
far I've come:

1) I would like to use KMDF - (cannot be done in UMDF correct?).
2) It seems I need to develop a "Video Capture Device" using something
called AvStream (Currently I'm not really sure what AvStream does).
3) Are there any good DDK samples that might give me a idea of how to
continue. I've looked a bit at the AVSHwS and it seems promising.
4) I found that a webcam driver is classified as an UVC (USB video
device class) - Is this the protocol I need to implement in my driver?

I really hope you can help me, in answering my initial questions..
All ideas, thoughts are more than welcome :)

--
// morten

Maxim
Wed Apr 18 12:36:39 CDT 2007

User-mode old-style Video for Windows driver is OK.

--
Maxim Shatskih, Windows DDK MVP
StorageCraft Corporation
maxim@storagecraft.com
http://www.storagecraft.com

"Morten V Pedersen" <mvpe@kom.aau.dk> wrote in message
news:46264ebf$0$90270$14726298@news.sunsite.dk...
> Hi guys,
> I'm a newcomer the device driver development discipline. I'm short my
> project requires me to write a virtual webcam driver - the driver should
> not interact with any real hardware instead the image input is actually
> coming from e.g. the network..
>
> I really looking for some pointers - that might push me in the right
> direction.. I've been reading a bit the last two days and this is how
> far I've come:
>
> 1) I would like to use KMDF - (cannot be done in UMDF correct?).
> 2) It seems I need to develop a "Video Capture Device" using something
> called AvStream (Currently I'm not really sure what AvStream does).
> 3) Are there any good DDK samples that might give me a idea of how to
> continue. I've looked a bit at the AVSHwS and it seems promising.
> 4) I found that a webcam driver is classified as an UVC (USB video
> device class) - Is this the protocol I need to implement in my driver?
>
> I really hope you can help me, in answering my initial questions..
> All ideas, thoughts are more than welcome :)
>
> --
> // morten

Morten
Wed Apr 18 15:51:49 CDT 2007

Maxim S. Shatskih skrev:
> User-mode old-style Video for Windows driver is OK.
>
Could you elaborate a bit on that (I'm a rookie in the windows device
driver department)?

The reason I would like to use the new WDF is that I've read multiple
places that the "old" WDM requires a lot of power-management / pnp- code.

Maxim
Wed Apr 18 16:00:07 CDT 2007

VfW virtual camera driver needs no _kernel_ development at all, no PnP and
no power management.
It is just a user-mode DLL which is loaded under WINMM.DLL.

Software like MSN Messenger and any DirectShow software will be able to use
such a virtual camera.

Once more - the advantage is _no_ kernel-mode development at all.

--
Maxim Shatskih, Windows DDK MVP
StorageCraft Corporation
maxim@storagecraft.com
http://www.storagecraft.com

"Morten V. Pedersen" <mvpe@kom.aau.dk> wrote in message
news:462684e6$0$90271$14726298@news.sunsite.dk...
> Maxim S. Shatskih skrev:
> > User-mode old-style Video for Windows driver is OK.
> >
> Could you elaborate a bit on that (I'm a rookie in the windows device
> driver department)?
>
> The reason I would like to use the new WDF is that I've read multiple
> places that the "old" WDM requires a lot of power-management / pnp- code.
>