Media Foundation Windows

Media Foundation (MF) is the Windows multimedia API for handling audio and video. It's a complex, low-level framework (COM-based C++) that handles: decoding video/audio files, capturing from cameras/microphones, streaming, applying effects, rendering. MF is the successor to DirectShow and the backbone of Windows Media Player, streaming apps, and security camera software. An MF application: loads a video file, Media Foundation decodes it, you get raw video frames, you render to screen (via DirectX). Along the way: handle different codecs (H.264, VP9), manage buffers, sync audio/video, and handle errors.