Using a quick hack (loading the GIF into a picturebox and saving it with SavePicture to a BMP), you can easily read both GIF and JPEG formats. This takes up a bit of space, however. I believe the tutorial's on DirectX4VB (http://www.vbexplorer.com/directx4vb/)
All contents of the above post that aren't somebody elses are mine, not the property of some media corporation.
(Just a heads-up)