symba (Symbian Books)

Multimedia on Symbian OSInside the Convergence DeviceLead AuthorsAdi Rome and Mark WilcoxWithKevin Butchart, John Forrest, Robert Heal, Kostyantyn Lutsenko,James NashForewordAndrew Till (Motorola)ReviewersFadi Abbas (Scalado), Phyllisia Adjei, Les Clark, PatrickCumming, James Curry, Brian Evans, Magnus Ingelsten(Scalado), Amanda Kamin, Petteri Kangaslampi, Roman Kleiner,Pamela Lopez, Anthony Newpower,Mike Roshko, Jo Stichbury, Gábor TörökHead of Symbian PressFreddie GjertsenManaging EditorSatu McNabbA John Wiley and Sons, Ltd., PublicationMultimedia on Symbian OSInside the Convergence DeviceMultimedia on Symbian OSInside the Convergence DeviceLead AuthorsAdi Rome and Mark WilcoxWithKevin Butchart, John Forrest, Robert Heal, Kostyantyn Lutsenko,James NashForewordAndrew Till (Motorola)ReviewersFadi Abbas (Scalado), Phyllisia Adjei, Les Clark, PatrickCumming, James Curry, Brian Evans, Magnus Ingelsten(Scalado), Amanda Kamin, Petteri Kangaslampi, Roman Kleiner,Pamela Lopez, Anthony Newpower,Mike Roshko, Jo Stichbury, Gábor TörökHead of Symbian PressFreddie GjertsenManaging EditorSatu McNabbA John Wiley and Sons, Ltd., PublicationCopyright  2008John Wiley & Sons Ltd, The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester,West Sussex PO19 8SQ, EnglandTelephone (+44) 1243 779777Email (for orders and customer service enquiries): cs-books@wiley.co.ukVisit our Home Page on www.wileyeurope.com or www.wiley.comAll Rights Reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any formor by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except under the terms of theCopyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 or under the terms of a licence issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency Ltd,90 Tottenham Court Road, London W1T 4LP, UK, without the permission in writing of the Publisher. Requests to thePublisher should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons Ltd, The Atrium, Southern Gate,Chichester, West Sussex PO19 8SQ, England, or emailed to permreq@wiley.co.uk, or faxed to (+44) 1243 770620.Designations used by companies to distinguish their products are often claimed as trademarks. All brand names andproduct names used in this book are trade names, service marks, trademarks or registered trademarks of their respectiveowners.

The Publisher is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book.This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. Itis sold on the understanding that the Publisher is not engaged in rendering professional services. If professional advice orother expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought.Other Wiley Editorial OfficesJohn Wiley & Sons Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, USAJossey-Bass, 989 Market Street, San Francisco, CA 94103-1741, USAWiley-VCH Verlag GmbH, Boschstr. 12, D-69469 Weinheim, GermanyJohn Wiley & Sons Australia Ltd, 42 McDougall Street, Milton, Queensland 4064, AustraliaJohn Wiley & Sons (Asia) Pte Ltd, 2 Clementi Loop #02-01, Jin Xing Distripark, Singapore 129809John Wiley & Sons Canada Ltd, 6045 Freemont Blvd, Mississauga, Ontario, L5R 4J3, CanadaWiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats.

Some content that appearsin print may not be available in electronic books.British Library Cataloguing in Publication DataA catalogue record for this book is available from the British LibraryISBN 978-0-470-69507-4Typeset in 10/12 Optima by Laserwords Private Limited, Chennai, IndiaPrinted and bound in Great Britain by Bell & Bain, GlasgowThis book is printed on acid-free paper responsibly manufactured from sustainable forestryin which at least two trees are planted for each one used for paper production.ContentsForewordixAbout this BookxiiiAuthors’ BiographiesxviiAuthors’ AcknowledgementsxxiSymbian Press AcknowledgmentsxxiiiCode Conventions and Notationsxxv1 Introduction1.11.21.31.41.51.6The Convergence DeviceTransformation of the Media IndustrySymbian OSThe Cutting EdgeEvolution of the Multimedia Subsystem inSymbian OSA Peek into the Future2 Multimedia Architecture2.12.2The ECOM FrameworkPlatform Security11356812151516viCONTENTS2.32.42.5The Content Access FrameworkMultimedia SubsystemFuture Multimedia Support3 The Onboard Camera3.13.23.33.43.53.63.73.8IntroductionAccessing the CameraCamera ControlDisplaying the ViewfinderCapturing Still ImagesCapturing VideoError HandlingAdvanced Topics4 Multimedia Framework: Video4.14.24.34.44.54.64.74.84.94.104.114.124.134.144.154.16Video ConceptsSymbian OS Video ArchitectureClient API IntroductionIdentifying Video ControllersControlling Video PlaybackControlling Screen OutputGetting Video InformationAccessing MetadataControlling the Audio OutputStreaming PlaybackRecording VideoControlling the Video that Is RecordedControlling the Audio that Is RecordedStoring MetadataCustom CommandsExamples and Troubleshooting5 Multimedia Framework: Audio5.15.25.35.45.55.65.75.85.95.10IntroductionAudio Input and Output StreamsAudio Player UtilityAudio Recorder UtilityFile ConversionTone UtilityDevSoundAudio PoliciesPriority SettingsMiscellaneous2123313535363943464952535555576061627181838487889397100101102105105107117122127129134135137138CONTENTS6 Image Conversion Library6.16.26.36.46.56.66.7IntroductionDecoding ImagesEncoding ImagesDisplaying ImagesTransforming ImagesNative Bitmap OperationsMiscellaneous APIs7 The Tuner API7.17.27.37.47.5IntroductionGetting StartedBasic Use CasesFuture TechnologiesSample Code8 Best Practice8.18.28.38.48.58.68.78.88.98.108.118.128.138.148.158.16Always Use an Active SchedulerUse APPARC to Recognize Audio and VideoDon’t Use the Video Player to Open Audio FilesKnow that MMF and ICL Cannot Detect SomeFormatsDon’t Use CMdaAudioOutputStream forNetwork StreamingUse CMdaAudioPlayerUtility to Play ToneSequence FilesUse CMdaAudioPlayerUtility to Play ClipsDon’t Hardwire Controller UIDs in Portable CodeSet Controller Thread Priorities Before Playing orRecordingRecognize that Behavior Varies when SeveralClients Are ActiveUnderstand that the System is Based on Plug-insUse RFile and TMMSource Instead of Passing aFile NameConsider the Volume ControlKnow When to Use Threaded Requests on ICLDon’t Have too many ClientsUnderstand the Multi-heap Problemvii141141144174181185189193197197198201206207209209210212212213215215216217218219221222222223224References and Resources229Index233ForewordIt’s no longer news that the world of technology has gone mobile.

AsSymbian celebrates its tenth anniversary, we can reflect on the massiveglobal uptake of mobile devices over the past decade, which has broughtus laptops, mobile phones, MP3 players, digital cameras and handheldvideo cameras, amongst others.In the ten years since Symbian formed, we’ve also seen the way weuse the Internet change immeasurably. It has evolved from a sourceof static information to dynamic, real-time content and a means ofsocial interaction.

We increasingly seek our entertainment online and wealso use the Internet to instantaneously share content and engage withothers. Entertainment is no longer just a passive, first-person experience.Traditional activities, such as watching TV or going to the movies, arebeing challenged by interactive experiences that put the consumer firmlyin control, such as digital and web TV and streamed video services.

Wefurther extend the experience by using sharing sites such as YouTube;reading and writing reviews on blogs; holding discussions on forums;or accessing content online. Our experience can be personalized andshared in ways that were inconceivable when Symbian first opened itsdoors for business.Once mobile technology and interactive entertainment became mainstream, the next step was for them to converge to yield entertainment on amobile device.

The demand for mobile entertainment has grown year onyear. While it was once limited to passive consumption using handheldgames consoles or portable music players, it is now far more dynamic.Mobile phones are a means of delivering high-quality multimedia, suchas streaming music or mobile TV. Like a fixed camera or camcorder,mobile phones can be used to take pictures and videos, but they can alsogo far beyond these experiences, enabling seamless uploading directlyxFOREWORDto blogs or sharing websites such as Facebook, MySpace or, morerecently, Motorola’s HelloMoto (www.hellomoto.co.uk ) and Nokia’s Ovi(www.ovi.com) services.

As well as playing MP3s and high-quality ringtones, a phone can also play interactive, multimedia games, making theexperience far more sophisticated through multiplayer modes or onlinecommunities. The converged device offers mobile connected entertainment, with the ability to make calls, send messages, and browse theweb – combining mobility, the Internet and interactive entertainment ina small, yet powerful device.Mobile multimedia is no longer something we are looking to evolve as amarket opportunity; it is already a reality for millions of consumers aroundthe world.

In 2007, mobile entertainment application sales overtookfeature applications such as PDF readers and calculator applications.Handango’s Yardstick1 data for sales of smartphone applications bycategory shows entertainment products – media players and mobile TVproducts – as the most purchased during 2007. This figure excludesgames, which have traditionally been seen as the primary entertainmentadd-on by those purchasing after-market applications for their phones.The figure also excludes downloads of free applications such as mobilewidgets to access online mobile services.