Video Effects Complete Reference

Overview

The DirectShow Processing Filters Pack provides 35+ real-time video effects that can be applied individually or chained together. This reference documents all available effects, their parameters, and usage.

Effect Categories

• Text and Graphics - Text logos, graphic overlays
• Color Filters - Red, green, blue, greyscale filters
• Image Adjustment - Brightness, contrast, saturation
• Spatial Effects - Flip, mirror, rotate
• Artistic Effects - Marble, solarize, posterize, mosaic
• Noise and Quality - Denoising algorithms (CAST, adaptive, mosquito)
• Deinterlacing - Blend, triangle, CAVT methods
• Creative Effects - Blur, shake, spray, invert

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Text and Graphics Effects

ef_text_logo

Renders text overlay on video with extensive customization options. Effect Type: CVFEffectType.ef_text_logo Parameters (CVFTextLogoMain structure): | Parameter | Type | Description | Default | |-----------|------|-------------|---------| | x | int | X position (pixels) | 0 | | y | int | Y position (pixels) | 0 | | text | BSTR | Text to display | "" | | font_name | BSTR | Font family name | "Arial" | | font_size | int | Font size (points) | 12 | | font_color | COLORREF | Text color (RGB) | 0xFFFFFF (white) | | font_italic | BOOL | Italic style | FALSE | | font_bold | BOOL | Bold style | FALSE | | font_underline | BOOL | Underline style | FALSE | | font_strikeout | BOOL | Strikethrough style | FALSE | | transparent_bg | BOOL | Transparent background | TRUE | | bg_color | COLORREF | Background color | 0x000000 (black) | | transp | DWORD | Transparency level (0-255) | 255 (opaque) | | align | CVFTextAlign | Text alignment | al_left | | antialiasing | CVFTextAntialiasingMode | Anti-aliasing mode | am_AntiAlias | | gradient | BOOL | Enable gradient | FALSE | | gradientMode | CVFTextGradientMode | Gradient direction | gm_horizontal | | gradientColor1 | COLORREF | Gradient start color | 0xFFFFFF | | gradientColor2 | COLORREF | Gradient end color | 0x000000 | | borderMode | CVFTextBorderMode | Border/outline style | bm_none | | innerBorderColor | COLORREF | Inner border color | 0x000000 | | outerBorderColor | COLORREF | Outer border color | 0xFFFFFF | | innerBorderSize | int | Inner border width | 1 | | outerBorderSize | int | Outer border width | 1 | | DateMode | BOOL | Display current date/time | FALSE | | DateMask | BSTR | Date format string | "" | Text Alignment Options: - al_left - Left-aligned - al_center - Center-aligned - al_right - Right-aligned Border Modes: - bm_none - No border - bm_inner - Inner outline - bm_outer - Outer outline - bm_inner_and_outer - Both sides - bm_embossed - 3D embossed effect - bm_outline - Standard outline - bm_filled_outline - Solid outline - bm_halo - Glow effect Example (C++):

CVFEffect effect;
effect.Type = ef_text_logo;
effect.Enabled = TRUE;
effect.TextLogo.x = 10;
effect.TextLogo.y = 10;
effect.TextLogo.text = SysAllocString(L"Live Stream");
effect.TextLogo.font_name = SysAllocString(L"Arial");
effect.TextLogo.font_size = 32;
effect.TextLogo.font_color = RGB(255, 255, 255);
effect.TextLogo.font_bold = TRUE;
effect.TextLogo.borderMode = bm_outline;
effect.TextLogo.outerBorderColor = RGB(0, 0, 0);
effect.TextLogo.outerBorderSize = 2;
pEffects->add_effect(effect);

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ef_graphic_logo

Overlays an image (logo, watermark) on video.

Effect Type: CVFEffectType.ef_graphic_logo

Parameters (CVFGraphicLogoMain structure):

Parameter	Type	Description
x	UINT32	X position (pixels)
y	UINT32	Y position (pixels)
Filename	BSTR	Path to image file (BMP, PNG, JPG)
hBmp	int	Handle to bitmap (alternative to filename)
StretchMode	CVFStretchMode	How to scale image
TranspLevel	int	Transparency level (0-255)
UseColorKey	BOOL	Enable color key transparency
ColorKey	COLORREF	Color to make transparent

Stretch Modes: - sm_none - Original size - sm_stretch - Stretch to fit - sm_letterbox - Fit with aspect ratio - sm_crop - Crop to fit

Example (C#):

var effect = new CVFEffect
{
    Type = (int)CVFEffectType.ef_graphic_logo,
    Enabled = true,
    GraphicLogo = new CVFGraphicLogoMain
    {
        Filename = @"C:\Images\logo.png",
        x = 20,
        y = 20,
        StretchMode = (int)CVFStretchMode.sm_none,
        TranspLevel = 200,
        UseColorKey = false
    }
};

effectsInterface.add_effect(effect);

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Color Filter Effects

ef_blue

Applies blue color filter (enhances blue, reduces other colors). Effect Type: CVFEffectType.ef_blue Parameters: - pAmountI - Filter intensity (0-100, default: 50) Use Cases: - Artistic blue tint - Cold atmosphere - Water/ocean scenes

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ef_green

Applies green color filter.

Effect Type: CVFEffectType.ef_green

Parameters: - pAmountI - Filter intensity (0-100)

Use Cases: - Night vision effect - Forest/nature scenes - Matrix-style effect

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ef_red

Applies red color filter. Effect Type: CVFEffectType.ef_red Parameters: - pAmountI - Filter intensity (0-100) Use Cases: - Warm atmosphere - Sunset effect - Alert/danger scenes

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ef_filter_blue / ef_filter_blue_2

Advanced blue filtering with different algorithms.

Effect Type: CVFEffectType.ef_filter_blue or ef_filter_blue_2

Difference: ef_filter_blue_2 uses alternative color math for different visual results.

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ef_filter_green / ef_filter_green2

Advanced green filtering (two variants). Effect Types: CVFEffectType.ef_filter_green, ef_filter_green2

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ef_filter_red / ef_filter_red2

Advanced red filtering (two variants).

Effect Types: CVFEffectType.ef_filter_red, ef_filter_red2

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ef_greyscale

Converts video to black and white. Effect Type: CVFEffectType.ef_greyscale Parameters: None (full greyscale conversion) Use Cases: - Classic film look - Artistic effect - Reduce color noise Example (C++):

CVFEffect effect;
effect.Type = ef_greyscale;
effect.Enabled = TRUE;
pEffects->add_effect(effect);

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ef_invert

Inverts all colors (negative image).

Effect Type: CVFEffectType.ef_invert

Parameters: None

Use Cases: - Artistic effect - X-ray appearance - Special visual effects

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Image Adjustment Effects

ef_contrast

Adjusts image contrast. Effect Type: CVFEffectType.ef_contrast Parameters: - pAmountI - Contrast adjustment (-100 to +100) - Negative: Decrease contrast - Positive: Increase contrast - Default: 0 (no change) Example (C#):

var effect = new CVFEffect
{
    Type = (int)CVFEffectType.ef_contrast,
    Enabled = true,
    pAmountI = 25  // Increase contrast by 25%
};

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ef_lightness

Adjusts overall brightness.

Effect Type: CVFEffectType.ef_lightness

Parameters: - pAmountI - Brightness adjustment (-100 to +100) - Negative: Darken - Positive: Brighten - Default: 0

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ef_darkness

Darkens the image (opposite of lightness). Effect Type: CVFEffectType.ef_darkness Parameters: - pAmountI - Darkness amount (0-100)

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ef_saturation

Adjusts color saturation.

Effect Type: CVFEffectType.ef_saturation

Parameters: - pAmountI - Saturation adjustment (-100 to +100) - -100: Greyscale - 0: Original colors - +100: Hyper-saturated

Use Cases: - Vivid colors for promotional content - Desaturate for muted look - Color grading

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Spatial Effects

ef_flip_down

Flips video vertically (upside down). Effect Type: CVFEffectType.ef_flip_down Parameters: None Use Cases: - Correct upside-down camera - Mirror effect with rotation - Special effects

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ef_flip_right

Flips video horizontally (mirror).

Effect Type: CVFEffectType.ef_flip_right

Parameters: None

Use Cases: - Webcam mirror mode - Correct mirrored camera - Symmetry effects

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ef_mirror_down

Creates vertical mirror effect (top reflects to bottom). Effect Type: CVFEffectType.ef_mirror_down

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ef_mirror_right

Creates horizontal mirror effect (left reflects to right).

Effect Type: CVFEffectType.ef_mirror_right

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Artistic Effects

ef_blur

Applies Gaussian blur to the image. Effect Type: CVFEffectType.ef_blur Parameters: - pAmountI - Blur amount (0-100) - pSizeI - Blur kernel size (1-20) Use Cases: - Background blur (depth of field simulation) - Soften image - Privacy (blur faces, license plates) Example (C++):

CVFEffect effect;
effect.Type = ef_blur;
effect.Enabled = TRUE;
effect.pAmountI = 50;  // 50% blur strength
effect.pSizeI = 10;    // 10-pixel blur radius
pEffects->add_effect(effect);

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ef_marble

Creates marble/swirl texture effect.

Effect Type: CVFEffectType.ef_marble

Parameters: - pAmountD - Effect intensity (0.0-1.0) - pTurbulenceI - Turbulence amount (0-100) - pScaleD - Scale factor (0.1-10.0)

Use Cases: - Artistic background - Transition effects - Psychedelic visuals

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ef_posterize

Reduces number of colors (poster art effect). Effect Type: CVFEffectType.ef_posterize Parameters: - pAmountI - Color levels (2-256) - Lower values: Fewer colors, more dramatic - Higher values: More colors, subtle effect Use Cases: - Pop art style - Comic book effect - Reduce color depth

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ef_mosaic

Creates pixelated/mosaic effect.

Effect Type: CVFEffectType.ef_mosaic

Parameters: - pSizeI - Mosaic block size (2-100 pixels)

Use Cases: - Privacy (blur faces/identities) - Retro pixel art style - Censorship

Example (C#):

var effect = new CVFEffect
{
    Type = (int)CVFEffectType.ef_mosaic,
    Enabled = true,
    pSizeI = 15  // 15x15 pixel blocks
};

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ef_solarize

Creates solarization effect (partial color inversion). Effect Type: CVFEffectType.ef_solorize (note spelling) Parameters: - pAmountI - Solarization threshold (0-255) Use Cases: - Artistic photography effect - Retro look - Creative transitions

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ef_spray

Creates paint spray/splatter effect.

Effect Type: CVFEffectType.ef_spray

Parameters: - pAmountI - Spray intensity (0-100)

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ef_shake_down

Simulates camera shake effect vertically. Effect Type: CVFEffectType.ef_shake_down Parameters: - pAmountI - Shake intensity (0-100) Use Cases: - Earthquake effect - Impact vibration - Handheld camera simulation

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Noise Processing Effects

ef_denoise_cast

CAST (Combined Adaptive Spatial-Temporal) denoising algorithm.

Effect Type: CVFEffectType.ef_denoise_cast

Parameters (CVFDenoiseCAST structure):

Parameter	Range	Default	Description
TemporalDifferenceThreshold	0-255	16	Motion detection threshold
NumberOfMotionPixelsThreshold	0-16	0	Min pixels for motion
StrongEdgeThreshold	0-255	8	Edge preservation
BlockWidth	1-16	4	Processing block width
BlockHeight	1-16	4	Processing block height
EdgePixelWeight	0-255	128	Edge blending weight
NonEdgePixelWeight	0-255	16	Smooth area weight
GaussianThresholdY	int	12	Luma noise threshold
GaussianThresholdUV	int	6	Chroma noise threshold
HistoryWeight	0-255	192	Temporal filtering strength

Use Cases: - Low-light video cleanup - Webcam noise reduction - Compression artifact removal

Example (C++):

CVFEffect effect;
effect.Type = ef_denoise_cast;
effect.Enabled = TRUE;

// Moderate noise reduction
effect.DenoiseCAST.TemporalDifferenceThreshold = 20;
effect.DenoiseCAST.StrongEdgeThreshold = 10;
effect.DenoiseCAST.GaussianThresholdY = 15;
effect.DenoiseCAST.GaussianThresholdUV = 8;

pEffects->add_effect(effect);

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ef_denoise_adaptive

Adaptive noise reduction that adjusts to image content. Effect Type: CVFEffectType.ef_denoise_adaptive Parameters: - pDenoiseAdaptiveThreshold - Noise threshold (0-100) - pDenoiseAdaptiveBlurMode - Blur method (0-2) Use Cases: - General noise reduction - Video cleanup - Quality enhancement

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ef_denoise_mosquito

Reduces mosquito noise (compression artifacts around edges).

Effect Type: CVFEffectType.ef_denoise_mosquito

Parameters: - pAmountI - Reduction strength (0-100)

Use Cases: - Clean up heavily compressed video - Remove MPEG/H.264 artifacts - Post-processing for streaming

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ef_color_noise

Adds color noise (grain) to image. Effect Type: CVFEffectType.ef_color_noise Parameters: - pAmountI - Noise amount (0-100) Use Cases: - Film grain effect - Retro/vintage look - Artistic texture

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ef_mono_noise

Adds monochrome (black & white) noise.

Effect Type: CVFEffectType.ef_mono_noise

Parameters: - pAmountI - Noise amount (0-100)

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Deinterlacing Effects

ef_deint_blend

Blends interlaced fields together. Effect Type: CVFEffectType.ef_deint_blend Parameters (CVFDeintBlend structure): | Parameter | Range | Default | Description | |-----------|-------|---------|-------------| | blendThresh1 | 0-255 | 5 | First blend threshold | | blendThresh2 | 0-255 | 9 | Second blend threshold | | blendConstants1 | 0.0-1.0 | 0.3 | First blend weight | | blendConstants2 | 0.0-1.0 | 0.7 | Second blend weight | Use Cases: - Deinterlace analog video - Remove comb artifacts - Convert interlaced to progressive

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ef_deint_triangle

Triangle interpolation deinterlacing.

Effect Type: CVFEffectType.ef_deint_triangle

Parameters: - pDeintTriangleWeight - Interpolation weight (0-100)

Quality: Better edge preservation than blend

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ef_deint_cavt

CAVT (Content Adaptive Vertical Temporal) deinterlacing. Effect Type: CVFEffectType.ef_deint_cavt Parameters: - pDeintCAVTThreshold - Motion threshold (0-100) Quality: Best quality, most CPU intensive Use Cases: - High-quality deinterlacing - Broadcast video conversion - Archival processing

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Effect Chaining

Multiple effects can be applied simultaneously. Effects are processed in the order they were added.

Example: Professional Stream Enhancement:

// 1. Denoise
CVFEffect denoise;
denoise.Type = ef_denoise_adaptive;
denoise.Enabled = TRUE;
denoise.pDenoiseAdaptiveThreshold = 15;
pEffects->add_effect(denoise);

// 2. Color correction
CVFEffect saturation;
saturation.Type = ef_saturation;
saturation.Enabled = TRUE;
saturation.pAmountI = 15;  // Slight saturation boost
pEffects->add_effect(saturation);

// 3. Add branding
CVFEffect logo;
logo.Type = ef_graphic_logo;
logo.Enabled = TRUE;
logo.GraphicLogo.Filename = SysAllocString(L"logo.png");
logo.GraphicLogo.x = 20;
logo.GraphicLogo.y = 20;
pEffects->add_effect(logo);

// 4. Add timestamp
CVFEffect timestamp;
timestamp.Type = ef_text_logo;
timestamp.Enabled = TRUE;
timestamp.TextLogo.DateMode = TRUE;
timestamp.TextLogo.DateMask = SysAllocString(L"%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S");
timestamp.TextLogo.x = 20;
timestamp.TextLogo.y = 1050;  // Bottom left
pEffects->add_effect(timestamp);

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Performance Considerations

CPU Usage by Effect

Low Impact (< 5% CPU): - Color filters - Greyscale - Invert - Flip/Mirror Medium Impact (5-15% CPU): - Text/graphic overlays - Contrast/brightness - Posterize - Simple deinterlacing High Impact (15-40% CPU): - Blur (large radius) - Denoise (CAST, adaptive) - Mosaic (small blocks) - Marble/artistic effects

Optimization Tips

1. Limit simultaneous effects - Each effect adds processing time
2. Use appropriate parameters - Larger blur radius = more CPU
3. Disable unused effects - Set Enabled = FALSE instead of removing
4. Process at lower resolution - Downscale, apply effects, upscale
5. Use GPU rendering when possible - Check for GPU-accelerated effects

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Common Effect Combinations

Webcam Enhancement

1. ef_denoise_adaptive (threshold: 15)
2. ef_contrast (amount: +10)
3. ef_saturation (amount: +15)
4. ef_flip_right (mirror mode)

Vintage Film Look

1. ef_greyscale
2. ef_contrast (amount: +20)
3. ef_mono_noise (amount: 15)

Broadcast Quality

1. ef_deint_cavt
2. ef_denoise_mosquito (amount: 20)
3. ef_saturation (amount: +5)

Privacy Mode

1. ef_mosaic (size: 20) on specific region
2. ef_blur (amount: 80) as alternative

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See Also

• Processing Filters Pack Overview
• Video Effects Interface Reference
• Chroma Key Interface
• Video Mixer Interface
• Code Examples