Kernel Streaming
[This is preliminary documentation and subject to change.]Kernel streaming (KS) refers to the Microsoft-provided services that support kernel-mode processing of streamed data. Microsoft also provides three multimedia class driver models that expose streaming functionality to the vendor. The vendor writes a minidriver that runs under one of these three class driver models.
The three class driver models are port class, stream class, and AVStream. These class drivers are implemented as export drivers (kernel-mode DLLs) in the system files portcls.sys, stream.sys, and ks.sys.
Port class and stream class are the older class drivers, used respectively with audio and video minidrivers. (The term KS 1.0 refers to the support provided by the Port Class and Stream Class drivers.) AVStream supports both audio and video minidrivers. You can build an AVStream minidriver on Microsoft Windows XP, Microsoft Windows Server 2003, or any Windows 98 Gold Edition or later platform that has DirectX 8.0 or later installed. If building on a pre-Windows XP system, AVStream is only available if you build from the DirectX (8.0 or later) DDK.