DirectShow

This is what Microsoft says about DirectShow:

"Microsoft® DirectShow® is an architecture for streaming media on the Microsoft Windows® platform. DirectShow provides for high-quality capture and playback of multimedia streams. It supports a wide variety of formats, including Advanced Systems Format (ASF), Motion Picture Experts Group (MPEG), Audio-Video Interleaved (AVI), MPEG Audio Layer-3 (MP3), and WAV sound files. It supports capture from digital and analog devices based on the Windows Driver Model (WDM) or Video for Windows. DirectShow is integrated with other DirectX technologies. It automatically detects and uses video and audio acceleration hardware when available, but also supports systems without acceleration hardware." (copied from msdn.)

Microsoft® DirectShow® and Video for Windows® are registered trademarks and ActiveMovie® is trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries.