DirectShow vs. Media Foundation for video capture?

Question

I'm trying to choose between these two APIs for a Video Capture/Monitoring/Streaming application, and I'm not sure which is going to be the best bet.

A bit of background:

• I need it to work with a wide range of video capture cards/dongles.
• The app will likely be developed in C++ so a native API is essential
• Performance is important, as I need to handle multiple video streams

A bit of googling has given me the impression that

• MF only supports video capture on Win 7
• Directshow is better supported , but will become obsolete
• MF can offer better performance in some applications

MF feels a better bet going forwards, but I'm concerned about ending up in a technological dead-end if MF doesn't 'catch on' and Directshow remains the API of choice. Suggestions and advice, please...

Answer 1

Whatever marketers from MS say, DirectShow is here to stay. Too many applications use it, so MS will support it forever, just as all other COM-based technologies. And since DirectShow has much more features and is native for C++ programming, I suggest sticking with it.