diff --git a/src/input/config_factory.js b/src/input/config_factory.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0c49587
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/input/config_factory.js
@@ -0,0 +1,138 @@
+import {merge, pick, omitBy, isEmpty} from 'lodash';
+
+const isDataURL = {regex: /^\s*data:([a-z]+\/[a-z0-9\-\+]+(;[a-z\-]+\=[a-z0-9\-]+)?)?(;base64)?,[a-z0-9\!\$\&\'\,\(\)\*\+\,\;\=\-\.\_\~\:\@\/\?\%\s]*\s*$/i}, // eslint-disable-line max-len
+    isBlobURL = {regex: /^\s*blob:(.*)$/i},
+    isMediaURL = {regex: /^(?:(?:http[s]?|ftp):\/)?\/?(?:(?:[^:\/\s]+)(?:(?:\/\w+)*\/))?([\w\-]+\.([^#?\s]+))(?:.*)?(?:#[\w\-]+)?$/i},  // eslint-disable-line max-len
+    isImageExt = {regex: /(jpe?g|png|gif|tiff)(?:\s+|$)/i},
+    isVideoExt = {regex: /(webm|ogg|mp4|m4v)/i};
+
+const MediaStream = "MediaStream" in window ? window.MediaStream : function(){};
+
+export function createConfigFromSource(config, sourceConfig, source) {
+    if (source instanceof MediaStream) {
+        return createConfigForStream(config, sourceConfig, {srcObject: source});
+    } else if (source instanceof HTMLImageElement) {
+        throw new Error('Source "HTMLImageElement": not yet supported');
+        // return createConfigForImage(config, inputConfig, {image: source});
+    } else if (source instanceof HTMLVideoElement) {
+        throw new Error('Source "HTMLVideoElement": not yet supported');
+        // return createConfigForVideo(config, inputConfig, {video: source});
+    } else if (source instanceof HTMLCanvasElement) {
+        return createConfigForCanvas(config, sourceConfig, {canvas: source});
+    } else if (source instanceof FileList) {
+        if (source.length > 0) {
+            return createConfigForFile(config, sourceConfig, source[0]);
+        }
+    } else if (source instanceof File) {
+        return createConfigForFile(config, sourceConfig, source);
+    } else if (typeof source === 'string') {
+        return createConfigForString(config, sourceConfig, source);
+    } else if (typeof source === 'object'
+            && (typeof source.constraints !== 'undefined'
+            || typeof source.area !== 'undefined')) {
+        return createConfigForLiveStream(config, source);
+    } else {
+        throw new Error("No source given!");
+    }
+}
+
+function createConfigForImage(config, source, inputConfig = {}) {
+    const staticImageConfig = {
+        inputStream: merge({
+            type: "ImageStream",
+            sequence: false,
+            size: 800
+        }, source),
+        numOfWorkers: (ENV.development && config.debug) ? 0 : 1
+    };
+    return merge(
+        config,
+        staticImageConfig,
+        {numOfWorkers: typeof config.numOfWorkers === 'number' && config.numOfWorkers > 0 ? 1 : 0},
+        {inputStream: omitBy(pick(config.inputStream, ['size']), isEmpty)},
+        {inputStream: inputConfig});
+}
+
+function createConfigForMimeType(config, inputConfig, {src, mime}) {
+    const [, type] = mime.match(/^(video|image)\/(.*)$/i) || [];
+    if (type === 'video') {
+        return createConfigForVideo(config, {src}, inputConfig);
+    } else if (type === 'image') {
+        return createConfigForImage(config, {src}, inputConfig);
+    }
+    throw new Error(`Source with mimetype: "${type}" not supported`);
+}
+
+function createConfigForFile(config, inputConfig, file) {
+    const src = window.URL.createObjectURL(file);
+    return createConfigForMimeType(config, inputConfig, {
+        src,
+        mime: file.type
+    });
+}
+
+function createConfigForString(config, inputConfig = {}, source) {
+    const [, mime] = source.match(isDataURL.regex) || [];
+    if (mime) {
+        return createConfigForMimeType(config, inputConfig, {src: source, mime});
+    }
+    const blobURL = source.match(isBlobURL.regex);
+    if (blobURL) {
+        throw new Error(`Source "objectURL": not supported`);
+    }
+    const [, , ext] = source.match(isMediaURL.regex) || [];
+    if (ext) {
+        return createConfigForMediaExtension(config, inputConfig, {src: source, ext});
+    }
+    throw new Error(`Source "${source}": not recognized`);
+}
+
+function createConfigForMediaExtension(config, inputConfig, {src, ext}) {
+    if (ext.match(isImageExt.regex)) {
+        return createConfigForImage(config, {src}, inputConfig);
+    } else if (ext.match(isVideoExt.regex)) {
+        return createConfigForVideo(config, {src}, inputConfig);
+    }
+    throw new Error(`Source "MediaString": not recognized`);
+}
+
+function createConfigForCanvas (config, {canvas}, inputConfig = {}) {
+    // TODO: adjust stream & frame-grabber
+    // once/continous
+    throw new Error('Source "Canvas": not implemented!');
+}
+
+function createConfigForVideo (config, source, inputConfig = {}) {
+    return merge({},
+        config,
+        {
+            inputStream: merge({
+                type: "VideoStream"
+            }, source)
+        }, {
+            inputStream: inputConfig
+        });
+}
+
+function createConfigForStream(config, {srcObject}, inputConfig = {}) {
+    // TODO: attach to <video> element
+    // wait for the video to be ready (dimensions known)
+    throw new Error('Source "MediaStream": not implemented!');
+}
+
+function createConfigForLiveStream(config, inputConfig = {}) {
+    return merge({},
+        config,
+        {
+            inputStream: {
+                type: "LiveStream",
+                constraints: {
+                    width: 640,
+                    height: 480,
+                    facingMode: "environment"
+                }
+            }
+        }, {
+            inputStream: inputConfig
+        });
+}
diff --git a/src/quagga.js b/src/quagga.js
index fdd0018..690e7a7 100644
--- a/src/quagga.js
+++ b/src/quagga.js
@@ -5,25 +5,12 @@ import ImageWrapper from './common/image_wrapper';
 import ImageDebug from './common/image_debug';
 import ResultCollector from './analytics/result_collector';
 import Config from './config/config';
-import {merge, pick, omitBy, isEmpty} from 'lodash';
-
-function fromImage(config, imageSrc, inputConfig = {}) {
-    const staticImageConfig = {
-        inputStream: {
-            type: "ImageStream",
-            sequence: false,
-            size: 800,
-            src: imageSrc
-        },
-        numOfWorkers: (ENV.development && config.debug) ? 0 : 1
-    };
-    config = merge(
-        config,
-        staticImageConfig,
-        {numOfWorkers: typeof config.numOfWorkers === 'number' && config.numOfWorkers > 0 ? 1 : 0},
-        {inputStream: omitBy(pick(config.inputStream, ['size', 'src']), isEmpty)},
-        {inputStream: inputConfig});
+import {merge} from 'lodash';
+import {createConfigFromSource} from './input/config_factory';
 
+function fromSource(config, source, inputConfig = {}) {
+    config = createConfigFromSource(config, inputConfig, source);
+    console.log(config);
     const scanner = createScanner();
     return {
         addEventListener(eventType, cb) {
@@ -35,7 +22,11 @@ function fromImage(config, imageSrc, inputConfig = {}) {
             return this;
         },
         start() {
-            scanner.init(config, () => {
+            scanner.init(config, (error) => {
+                if (error) {
+                    console.log(error);
+                    throw error;
+                }
                 scanner.start();
             });
             return this;
@@ -57,61 +48,6 @@ function fromImage(config, imageSrc, inputConfig = {}) {
     };
 }
 
-function fromVideo(config, source, inputConfig = {}) {
-    // remember last instance
-    // check if anything but the imagesrc has changed
-    //
-    let sourceConfig = {
-        type: "LiveStream",
-        constraints: {
-            width: 640,
-            height: 480,
-            facingMode: "environment"
-        }
-    };
-
-    /*if (source instanceof MediaStream) {
-        // stream
-    } else*/ if (source instanceof Element) {
-        // video element
-    } else if (typeof source === 'string') {
-        // video source
-    } else if (typeof source === 'object'
-            && (typeof source.constraints !== 'undefined'
-            || typeof source.area !== 'undefined')) {
-        inputConfig = source;
-    } else if (!source) {
-        // LiveStream
-    }
-    config = merge({}, config, {inputStream: sourceConfig}, {inputStream: inputConfig});
-    console.log(config);
-    const scanner = createScanner();
-    return {
-        addEventListener(eventType, cb) {
-            scanner.subscribe(eventType, cb);
-            return this;
-        },
-        removeEventListener(eventType, cb) {
-            scanner.unsubscribe(eventType, cb);
-            return this;
-        },
-        start() {
-            scanner.init(config, (error) => {
-                if (error) {
-                    console.log(error);
-                    throw error;
-                }
-                scanner.start();
-            });
-            return this;
-        },
-        stop() {
-            scanner.stop();
-            return this;
-        }
-    };
-}
-
 const defaultScanner = createScanner();
 
 function setConfig(configuration = {}, key, config = {}) {
@@ -121,11 +57,8 @@ function setConfig(configuration = {}, key, config = {}) {
 
 function createApi(configuration = Config) {
     return {
-        fromImage(src, conf) {
-            return fromImage(configuration, src, conf);
-        },
-        fromVideo(src, inputConfig) {
-            return fromVideo(configuration, src, inputConfig);
+        fromSource(src, inputConfig) {
+            return fromSource(configuration, src, inputConfig);
         },
         decoder(conf) {
             return setConfig(configuration, "decoder", conf);
diff --git a/test/spec/config_factory.spec.js b/test/spec/config_factory.spec.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a2571d5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/spec/config_factory.spec.js
@@ -0,0 +1,133 @@
+import {createConfigFromSource} from '../../src/input/config_factory';
+
+function MyFileList(file) {
+    Array.call(this);
+    this.push(file);
+};
+MyFileList.prototype = Object.create(Array.prototype);
+MyFileList.prototype.constructor = MyFileList;
+
+const OriginalFileList = window.FileList;
+
+beforeEach(function() {
+    window.FileList = MyFileList;
+});
+
+afterEach(function() {
+    window.FileList = OriginalFileList;
+});
+
+function expectImageConfig(config) {
+    expect(config.inputStream.type).to.equal("ImageStream");
+    expect(config.inputStream.sequence).to.equal(false);
+    expect(config.inputStream.size).to.be.above(0);
+    expect(config.numOfWorkers).to.equal(0);
+}
+
+function expectVideoConfig(config) {
+    expect(config.inputStream.type).to.equal("VideoStream");
+    expect(config.inputStream.src).to.be.a('string');
+}
+
+function expectLiveConfig(config) {
+    expect(config.inputStream.type).to.equal("LiveStream");
+    expect(config.inputStream.src).to.not.exist;
+    expect(config.inputStream.constraints.width).to.be.above(0);
+    expect(config.inputStream.constraints.height).to.be.above(0);
+}
+
+describe("createConfigFromSource", () => {
+    it("should create an image config for an image-file", () => {
+        const file = new File([], "image.jpg", {type: 'image/jpg'});
+        const config = createConfigFromSource({}, {}, file);
+        expectImageConfig(config);
+        expect(config.inputStream.src).to.have.string("blob:");
+    });
+
+    it("should create an image config for a data-url", () => {
+        const config = createConfigFromSource({}, {}, "data:image/png;base64," +
+        "iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAABAAAAAQAQMAAAAlPW0iAAAABlBMVEUAAAD///+l2Z/d" +
+        "AAAAM0lEQVR4nGP4/5/h/1+G/58ZDrAz3D/McH8yw83NDDeNGe4Ug9C9zwz3gVLMDA/A" +
+        "6P9/AFGGFyjOXZtQAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC");
+
+        expectImageConfig(config);
+        expect(config.inputStream.src).to.have.string("data:image/png");
+    });
+
+    it("should create an image config for a regular image url", () => {
+        const config = createConfigFromSource({}, {}, "/image-001.jpg");
+        expectImageConfig(config);
+        expect(config.inputStream.src).to.have.string("/image-001.jpg");
+    });
+
+    it("should create an image config for an absolute image url", () => {
+        const config = createConfigFromSource({}, {}, "http://dja.com/ige.png");
+        expectImageConfig(config);
+        expect(config.inputStream.src).to.have.string("http://dja.com/ige.png");
+    });
+
+    it("should throw an error in case of an blob-url", () => {
+        expect(createConfigFromSource.bind(null, {}, {}, "blob:das"))
+            .to.throw(Error, /objectURL/);
+    });
+
+    it("should throw an error in case an arbitrary string is given", () => {
+        expect(createConfigFromSource.bind(null, {}, {}, "dhfskjdfhsdfsdf"))
+            .to.throw(Error, /dhfskjdfhsdfsdf/);
+    });
+
+    it("should throw an error in case of an unsupported mime type", () => {
+        expect(createConfigFromSource.bind(null, {}, {}, "data:audio/mp3;base64,379"))
+            .to.throw(Error, /mimetype/);
+    });
+
+    it("should throw an error in case of an unsupported extension", () => {
+        expect(createConfigFromSource.bind(null, {}, {}, "sdflsdkf.mp3"))
+            .to.throw(Error, /MediaString/);
+    });
+
+    it("should throw an error in case of an HTMLImageElement", () => {
+        expect(createConfigFromSource.bind(null, {}, {}, new Image()))
+            .to.throw(Error, /HTMLImageElement/);
+    });
+
+    it("should throw an error in case of an HTMLVideoElement", () => {
+        const video = document.createElement("video");
+        console.log(typeof video);
+        expect(createConfigFromSource.bind(null, {}, {}, video))
+            .to.throw(Error, /HTMLVideoElement/);
+    });
+
+    it("should work with a fileList", () => {
+        const file = new File([], "image.jpg", {type: 'image/jpg'});
+        const fileList = new MyFileList(file);
+        const config = createConfigFromSource({}, {}, fileList);
+        expectImageConfig(config);
+        expect(config.inputStream.src).to.have.string("blob:");
+    });
+
+    it("should create a video config for a given url", () => {
+        const config = createConfigFromSource({}, {}, "/video-001.ogg");
+        expectVideoConfig(config);
+        expect(config.inputStream.src).to.have.string("/video-001.ogg");
+    });
+
+    it("should create a video config for a given file", () => {
+        const file = new File([], "video-001.ogg", {type: 'video/ogg'});
+        const config = createConfigFromSource({}, {}, file);
+        expectVideoConfig(config);
+        expect(config.inputStream.src).to.have.string("blob:");
+    });
+
+    it("should create a live config", () => {
+        const config = createConfigFromSource({}, {}, {
+            constraints: {
+                width: 1280,
+                height: 480,
+                facingMode: "user"
+            }
+        });
+        expectLiveConfig(config);
+        expect(config.inputStream.constraints.facingMode).to.equal("user");
+    });
+});