Systems and methods are described herein for automatically installing and using media processing filters to extend the media functionality of system processes. A system service is requested by the add-in filter to be installed on the system. The filter management service processes the request and installs the filters to be invoked later by other system processes such as device drivers, applications and acquisition software. The system processes use the filter management service to enumerate filters available on the system and select one or more of the filters to extend their media functionality. The filters are objects that may be used by multiple processes at any given time. Also, the filter management service can validate trustworthiness of a filter prior to installing the filter on the system. Additionally, the filter management service can be used to provide selected filters to be invoked from a process separate from the process requesting the filter for use. The installed filters may be searched and enumerated according to their associated categories.