The amp stream connector represents the flow of digital information to and from the ampmix device. Again similar to home stereo amplifier-mixers, the ampmix device by itself is not especially notable until another device is attached. Information is transferred from the device and played back on a pair of attached speakers. Note that the ampmix device is a conduit of information, and relies on another device to provide the flow of information. Therefore, commands for the transport of information (such as play, seek, or stop), are sent to the attached device. Commands for transforming the information (such as treble or bass) are sent directly to the ampmix device.
As a nicety for applications, the attached device will provide volume control, so that the application need not provide ampmix functions unless some advanced audio functions are required. The volume command is transparently routed to the attached ampmix device. If the application needs to talk directly to the ampmix device, the value of the stream connector may be queried using the MCI_CONNECTION message, which returns a device context connection. If the string interface is being used, an alias can be established for the connected device. Ampmix commands may then be sent directly to the ampmix device.
Some devices also provide a connector service, which also alleviates the need to talk directly to the ampmix device for frequently requested function. An example of this is the waveaudio device, which attempts to process requests for speakers and several other connector types. If the service is available from the associated ampmix device it is routed; otherwise, the function fails. The connectors and connector services provided by each OS/2 multimedia logical device are discussed in the section for that device.