The format for connecting is pretty basic, and is documented in the source code. The types of compression supported by the client can be sent to the server, so you don't have to support all compression types in the client.
I made a very basic client that allows you to connect to a sever from the command-line.
http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=120030
Sourcecode of client:
http://avisynth2.cvs.sourceforge.net...v=avisynth_2_6
From the source:
General overview:
This client is designes as a universal way of transfering (un)compressed
video via TCP LAN. The client is in no way intended to be used over slow
connections due to the datasizes.
The system is based on the TCP protocol and implemented using WinSock2
All data sent is made platform independant, but assume little endian (Intel).
Data is sent as packaged TCP streams, and each packet is deviced like this:
0-4: Packet size EXCLUDING these four bytes.[unsigned int32].
5: Packet type.
6: Packet data.
Next packet is assumed to start right after the packet data.
There is no fixed maximum packet type, but large data amounts
(like frames and samples) are split up into subpackets
Structs and info:
http://avisynth2.cvs.sourceforge.net...v=avisynth_2_6