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# Global Functions

This section lists Media Kit functions that aren't contained in classes.

## Global Functions

### format_is_compatible()

Declared in: be/media/MediaDefs.h

bool `format_is_compatible(`const media_format &format1, const media_format &format2`)`

Returns `true` if media data of format format1 can be fed into a consumer that accepts data in media_format format2; otherwise, returns `false`.

### get_next_file_format()

Declared in: be/media/MediaDefs.h

status_t `get_next_file_format(`int32 *cookie, media_file_format *info`)`

If you need to search through all available file formats, you can do so using this function. Point cookie at an int32 containing 1, and info at a `media_file_format` structure, and call `get_next_file_format()`; on return, info will contain information about the first available file format.

You can call `get_next_file_format()` repeatedly until `B_BAD_INDEX` is returned, which indicates that there aren't any more file formats to scan.

The following snippet dumps a list of all the file formats, including all the audio and video codecs each file format supports.

       void dump_info(void) {
          int32 cookie = 0, cookie2;
          media_format format, outfmt;
          media_file_format mfi;
          media_codec_info mci;

          while(get_next_file_format(&cookie, &mfi) == B_OK) {
             printf("%s (%s, id %d)n", mfi.pretty_name,
                      mfi.short_name, mfi.id);

             cookie2 = 0;
             memset(&format, 0, sizeof(format));
             format.type = B_MEDIA_RAW_VIDEO;

             format.u.raw_video.last_active = (uint32) (320 - 1);
             format.u.raw_video.orientation = B_VIDEO_TOP_LEFT_RIGHT;
             format.u.raw_video.pixel_width_aspect = 1;
             format.u.raw_video.pixel_height_aspect = 3;
             format.u.raw_video.display.format = B_RGB32;
             format.u.raw_video.display.line_width = (int32) 320;
             format.u.raw_video.display.line_count = (int32) 240;
             format.u.raw_video.display.bytes_per_row = 4 * 320;

             printf("    Video Encoders:n");
             while (get_next_encoder(&cookie2, &mfi, &format, &outfmt, &mci) == B_OK) {
                printf("        %s / %s (%d)n", mci.pretty_name, mci.short_name,
                         mci.id);
             }

             cookie2 = 0;
             format.type = B_MEDIA_RAW_AUDIO;
             format.u.raw_audio.format = media_raw_audio_format::B_AUDIO_UCHAR;
             format.u.raw_audio.channel_count = 1;
             printf("    Audio Encoders:n");
             while (get_next_encoder(&cookie2, &mfi, &format, &outfmt, &mci) == B_OK) {
                printf("        %s / %s (%d)n", mci.pretty_name, mci.short_name,
                         mci.id);
             }
          }
       }

RETURN CODES

`B_OK`. A format was returned.

- `B_BAD_VALUE`. An invalid cookie was specified.

- `B_BAD_INDEX`. No more file formats, or the cookie was invalid.

  ### launch_media_server() , shutdown_media_server()

  Declared in: be/media/MediaDefs.h

  status_t `launch_media_server(`uint32 flags = 0`)`
  status_t `shutdown_media_server(`bigtime_t timeout = B_INFINITE_TIMEOUT, bool (*progress)(int stage, const char *message, void *cookie) = NULL, void *cookie = NULL`)`

  `launch_media_server()` starts up the Media Servers (and the old Audio Server); you can use this if you discover that the Media Server isn't started but you need to use it.

  `shutdown_media_server()` shuts down the Media Servers (and the old Audio Server). If you'd like to be able to keep track of the shutdown process, specify a pointer to a function in progress; this function will receive as input an integer value, stage, indicating how far through the shutdown process things are (100 means the shutdown is complete), message will be a test string describing what's going on, and cookie will be the same value as the cookie you specified as input into `shutdown_media_server()`.

  The shutdown process will abort if the timeout expires.

  ### media_realtime_init_image()

  Declared in: be/media/MediaDefs.h

  status_t `media_realtime_init_image(`image_id image, uint32 flags`)`

  Given the specified image, this function prepares the image for realtime media. The flags indicate what type of media the image will be handling; this must match the realtime flags specified by the `BMediaRoster::SetRealtimeFlags()` function (or by the Media preference application, which calls it). If the flags don't match up, `B_MEDIA_REALTIME_DISABLED` is returned.

  RETURN CODES

  `B_OK`. The image is ready for realtime media.

  - `B_MEDIA_REALTIME_DISABLED`. The media type indicated by flags isn't enabled for realtime (see `BMediaRoster::SetRealtimeFlags()`).

  - `B_MEDIA_REALTIME_UNAVAILABLE`. There aren't enough system resources available to enable realtime performance.

  ### media_realtime_init_thread()

  Declared in: be/media/MediaDefs.h

  status_t `media_realtime_init_thread(`thread_id thread, size_t stackUsed, uint32 flags`)`

  Prepares the specified thread for realtime media. The stackUsed argument specifies how much of the stack should be locked down in memory. It's very unlikely that your thread actually uses the entire 256kB stack allocated for it, so you can preserve valuable system resources by indicating an upper bound for the amount of stack to lock in memory. If you need to lock down the entire stack, you can pass 0.

  The flags argument indicates the type of media the thread will be handling.

  RETURN CODES

  `B_OK`. The image is ready for realtime media.

  - `B_MEDIA_REALTIME_DISABLED`. The media type indicated by flags isn't enabled for realtime (see `BMediaRoster::SetRealtimeFlags()`).

  - `B_MEDIA_REALTIME_UNAVAILABLE`. There aren't enough system resources available to enable realtime performance.

  ### play_sound()

  Derived from: be/media/PlaySound.h

  sound_handle `play_sound`(const entry_ref *soundRef, bool willMix, bool willWait, bool background)

  `play_sound` plays the sound file identified by the `entry_ref` pointed to by the soundRef parameter. The willMix and willWait arguments are used to determine how the function behaves with regard to other sounds.

  - If you want the sound to play all by itself, set willMix to `FALSE`. If you don't care if it gets mixed with other sounds, set it to `TRUE`.

  - If you want your sound to play immediately (whether or not you're willing to mix), set willWait to `FALSE`. If you're willing to wait for the sound playback resources to become available, set willWait to `TRUE`.

  Note that setting willMix to `TRUE` doesn't guarantee that your sound will play immediately. If the sound playback resources are claimed for exclusive access by some other process, you'll be blocked, even if you're willing to mix.

  The background argument, if `TRUE`, tells the function to spawn a thread in which to play the sound. In this case, the function returns immediately. If background is `FALSE`, the sound is played synchronously and `play_sound()` won't return until the sound has finished.

  The `sound_handle` value that's returned is a token that represents the sound that's being played back, and is only valid if you're playing in the background. You would use this token in a subsequent call to `stop_sound()` or `wait_for_sound()`. If the `entry_ref` doesn't represent a file, or if the sound couldn't be played, for whatever reason, `play_sound()` returns a negative integer.

  ### shutdown_media_server() see launch_media_server()

  ### stop_sound()

  Derived from: be/media/PlaySound.h

  status_t `stop_sound`(sound_handle handle)

  `stop_sound()` stops the playback of a sound identified by handle, a value that was returned by a previous call to `play_sound()`. The return value can be ignored.

  ### string_for_format()

  Declared in: be/media/MediaDefs.h

  bool `string_for_format(`const media_format &format, char *outBuffer, size_t bufferSize`)`

  Fills the buffer specified by outBuffer with a string describing the specified format. The buffer's size is specified by the bufferSize argument. The string may not be pretty, but it will list all kinds of interesting information about the format.

  If a description is returned, this function returns `true`. Otherwise, the result is `false`.

  ### wait_for_sound()

  Derived from: be/media/PlaySound.h

  status_t `wait_for_sound`(sound_handle handle)

  Causes the calling thread to block until the sound specified by handle has finished playing. The handle value should be a value returned by a previous call to `play_sound()`. `wait_for_sound()` currently always returns `B_OK`.

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