A multimedia application program interface (API), selectively invoked in a computing system to interface any video decoder application with any video accelerator is presented comprising a command data structure and a residual difference data structure. The residual difference data structure includes residual difference information for use among and between the decoder and the accelerator in the prediction process. The control command data structure includes control commands which are dynamically tailored to interface the decoder application with a hardware accelerator in accordance with an acceptable media processing standard negotiated between the decoder and the accelerator.