Java™ Media APIs: Cross-Platform Imaging, Media, and Visualization

Sourcing Media and Media Format

Controlling and handling media always begins with its sourcing and is achieved by specifying its location, protocol, and format. With that information, the media stream can be obtained and the appropriate Controller (for example, Player or Processor) or DataSink instances can be created (see the earlier section on the Manager class).

Hence, the first significant step in media control is creating a DataSource object, although sometimes this isn't done explicitly by the user but implicitly by the Manager class.

DataSource isn't the only class with relevance to this vital first stage. Several other classes are involved in the sourcing of media:

MediaLocator— Specifies the location and protocol for the media. Closely ...