ObjectFactory

ObjectFactory are the descriptions of objects producing and/or consuming data streams.

• They contain a list of the Stream(s) they can produce and/or consume.

This implies ALL The potential streams the factory can provide/consume.

Ex: A FileSourceFactory of a raw DV File will list the following streams:

• video/x-dv,systemstream=True, The container stream,

• video/x-dv,systemstream=False, The I-Frame only DV video stream,

• video/x-raw-yuv, The decoded raw video stream

• audio/x-raw-int, The audio stream

• They produce GStreamer elements for all, or a selected number of, streams.

Some factories will be able to produce a different GStreamer element every time, some will only be able to produce one at a time (Ex: Video4Linux source, or audio sink with retarded backend that can have multiple sockets opened).

Properties

• Name, unique for that given ObjectFactory instance type.
• InputStreams, a list of Stream(s) the given factory can consume. Empty for SourceFactory.
• OutputStreams, a list of Stream(s) the given factory can produce. Empty for SinkFactory.

Class Properties

• Description , a description of the ObjectFactory

Methods

• makeBin(streams=[]), returns a gst.Bin for the given Streams. If no Streams are specified, then a gst.Bin for all the available streams is returned. If only one Stream is specified, then the gst.Bin returned will not contain any queue in it.

Examples

FileSource

Describes the properties of a file specified by:

• A URI
• A list of streams the file can provide (This information can come from the Discoverer, or some other source)
• Metadata regarding the file

This might be one of the most commonly used ObjectFactory. A single instance of a FileSourceFactory can be used for:

• Previewing the file
• Using it many times in the timeline (which have different position, in/out points, streams used, etc...)

SourceDeviceFactory

Describes a Hardware Device that can produce streams. This ObjectFactory will most likely be provided by the HardwareBrowser.

• A description of the hardware
• A list of streams it can provide (An local SoundCard could provide several streams if it has several inputs).

This will be used most likely when recording or capturing.

OperationFactory

Describes any kind of operation, which can be an A/V Effect, an Encoding container, or even a Hardware processing effect (like OpenGL powered), or even more complex effect.

• A list of streams it can process
• A list of resulting streams it can/will output

Interfaces

LinkedFactoryInterface

This allows aggregating streams from various factories at the same time, with an eventual offset between each streams.

Examples

• Audio and Video captured on separate devices during a shoot. We could link all those separate A/V content into one source, allowing fixing of synchronization, and then be usable as one item in a timeline.

• LocalSourceDevicesFactory : SourceDeviceFactory aggregating all available LocalSourceDevice on the current system. We can then easily switch between the various devices, while keeping track of one consistent object.

• LocalSinkDevicesFactory : Same as above but for all available A/V sinks on the device.

• LinkedOperationFactory : Synchronized effect for use in the pipeline. Imagine a 'thunder' effect that has synchronized audio and video effect.

• MultipleQualitySourceFactory : SourceFactory that can provide a variety of different 'qualities' off the content. This could enable switching between a lower-quality (fast for editing) and a higher-quality (needed for final rendering).

GroupedFactoryInterface

This allows creation groupings of different factories with:

• time offsets for each factory,
• different in-out points per factory,
• priorities of placement of each factory

Ideas

Maybe we should have a way to specify the properties/methods/... of some of these use-case:

• OnlineFactoryInterface : For sources (or sinks/destinations) which correspond to non-local content, which requires doing an action (Download/Upload) to get/use a local content. Ex : Youtube sources, which requires downloading a local copy to edit it. DV VCR, which requires doing a capture.

• LiveFactoryInterface : This applies to all factories that only consumes/processes/produces live. Ex: a Webcam source, or a StreamingSink. They too require a 'record' phase in order to produce a local, editable, copy.