Kernel Streaming or Direct Kernel streaming (Direct KS) is a technique that supports kernel-mode processing of streamed data. It enables efficient real-time streaming for multimedia devices such as sound cards and TV tuner cards. Kernel streaming allows a device driver to create DirectShow-like filters and pins in kernel mode, providing access to hardware, lower latency communication and still be used within a DirectShow filter graph.
Kernel streaming was introduced in Windows 98. When the sound card uses a custom driver for use with the system supplied port class driver PortCls.sys or implements a mini-driver for use with the streaming class driver, applications can bypass the KMixer completely and use the kernel streaming interfaces instead to reduce latency. Windows 98 includes the first kernel streaming driver, Stream.sys. In Windows XP, Microsoft introduced another improved kernel streaming class driver, AVStream.
Music players such as JRiver Media Center, foobar2000 and Winamp support kernel streaming. Compared to the regular "WaveOut method" in Microsoft Windows, kernel streaming requires less CPU time. This comes at the expense of bypassing the KMixer and Windows volume control. Kernel streaming also does not allow device sharing.
Read more about this topic: Windows Legacy Audio Components
Famous quotes containing the words kernel and/or streaming:
“After night’s thunder far away had rolled
The fiery day had a kernel sweet of cold”
—Edward Thomas (1878–1917)
“And the raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting
On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door;
And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon’s that is dreaming,
And the lamp-light o’er him streaming throws his shadow on the
floor;
And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor
Shall be lifted—nevermore!”
—Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849)