How to compile AMCap

The DirectShow SDK (now part of the Windows SDK) includes a sample application called AMCap (Active Movie Capture) that illustrates the use of DirectShow filters to capture video from a device like a webcam or camcorder. I had all kinds of trouble the first few times I tried to build this, so I documented the steps for a successful build. Here they are:

These are the steps I followed to successfully build and run AMCap. I used Visual Studio 2005 Professional edition, SP1 for Vista, running on Windows Vista Business version . Note: the paths I have listed are the default installation paths and may be different on your computer.

Which Version of the Windows SDK Should You Use?

The Old Windows XP Platform SDK
Have you tried to download the Windows XP Platform Software Development Kit (PSDK) lately? It’s not there, although you can still find a link to where it used to be in Brian Johnson’s weblog:

Thursday, September 02, 2004 5:00 PM by Brianjo

I saw on Mitch Walker’s blog that the Windows XP SP2 Platform SDK has been added to the SDK Update site. You can download it from this page: Microsoft Platform SDK

The reason the old Windows XP PSDK is gone, is that it has been replaced. First it was replaced by a combined PSDK for both Windows XP SP2 and Windows Server 2003 R2, and later by the new “Windows SDK” for Vista which still supports development for previous versions of Windows.