Specifications

Windows Embedded Automotive 7 Deep Dive: Phone Core and Media Core 58
Figure 17: Media Core APIs
Another layer, the Media Core API, is delivered as part of the Windows Embedded Automotive 7
platform. Developers can configure and plug into it, but cannot change it because it is a binary.
The Media Core API layer comprises three parts: Playback, Browse, and Index Access APIs.
The Playback API set offers device-agnostic command and control. It includes play commands
(MediaPlayByFile, MediaPlayByFileEx, MediaPlayByIndex) and control commands
(MediaPlayControl which offers Stop, Pause, Resume, FFwd, Rewind, StopFFRewNext,
Previous).
The Browse API set (MediaBrowse) offers access to the contents of an attached device while the
device indexes, with additional flexibility for different HMI behaviors. An index is built in the
background, depending on the device type. Once the index is complete, the browse APIs
seamlessly switch to use the index data for even faster performance. The index is cached for
future connections to the device. The API uses a set of heuristics to determine how much of a
previously connected device’s content has changed and, based on the outcome, will reload the
index from flash memory, update the index, or recreate the index automatically.
The Index Access API set is the legacy Media Core API set that relies on a completed index
before the application can directly access the device. Much like the Browse API set, these
indexes are cached and reloaded automatically when a known device is reconnected.
Microsoft will add new Media Core functionality and extension to the Browse APIs, but the
Index APIs will be deprecated in a future release. OEMs should choose the Browse APIs for all
new development, and consider updating existing applications to Browse APIs.
All three of the API sets interact with the source plug-in manager, which enables the device-
agnostic aspects of the Media Core design. The source plug-in manager is not a separate
module—it is a Media Core layer beneath the APIs. Like the Media Core API layer, the source
plug-in manager is delivered as part of the Windows Embedded Automotive 7 platform.
Developers can access it but cannot change it directly.
The source plug-ins, another layer of the Media Core architecture, provide playback, browsing,
and indexing across a variety of devices. Windows Embedded Automotive delivers some
standard components at this layer, but developers can add components to bring additional
functionality.