diff --git a/doc/examples/demuxing.c b/doc/examples/demuxing.c
index 7ae3654faa..b13246e2a4 100644
--- a/doc/examples/demuxing.c
+++ b/doc/examples/demuxing.c
@@ -53,6 +53,18 @@ static AVPacket pkt;
 static int video_frame_count = 0;
 static int audio_frame_count = 0;
 
+/* The different ways of decoding and managing data memory. You are not
+ * supposed to support all the modes in your application but pick the one most
+ * appropriate to your needs. Look for the use of api_mode in this example to
+ * see what are the differences of API usage between them */
+enum {
+    API_MODE_OLD                  = 0, /* old method, deprecated */
+    API_MODE_NEW_API_REF_COUNT    = 1, /* new method, using the frame reference counting */
+    API_MODE_NEW_API_NO_REF_COUNT = 2, /* new method, without reference counting */
+};
+
+static int api_mode = API_MODE_OLD;
+
 static int decode_packet(int *got_frame, int cached)
 {
     int ret = 0;
@@ -115,6 +127,11 @@ static int decode_packet(int *got_frame, int cached)
         }
     }
 
+    /* If we use the new API with reference counting, we own the data and need
+     * to de-reference it when we don't use it anymore */
+    if (*got_frame && api_mode == API_MODE_NEW_API_REF_COUNT)
+        av_frame_unref(frame);
+
     return decoded;
 }
 
@@ -125,6 +142,7 @@ static int open_codec_context(int *stream_idx,
     AVStream *st;
     AVCodecContext *dec_ctx = NULL;
     AVCodec *dec = NULL;
+    AVDictionary *opts = NULL;
 
     ret = av_find_best_stream(fmt_ctx, type, -1, -1, NULL, 0);
     if (ret < 0) {
@@ -144,7 +162,10 @@ static int open_codec_context(int *stream_idx,
             return ret;
         }
 
-        if ((ret = avcodec_open2(dec_ctx, dec, NULL)) < 0) {
+        /* Init the decoders, with or without reference counting */
+        if (api_mode == API_MODE_NEW_API_REF_COUNT)
+            av_dict_set(&opts, "refcounted_frames", "1", 0);
+        if ((ret = avcodec_open2(dec_ctx, dec, &opts)) < 0) {
             fprintf(stderr, "Failed to open %s codec\n",
                     av_get_media_type_string(type));
             return ret;
@@ -187,15 +208,31 @@ int main (int argc, char **argv)
 {
     int ret = 0, got_frame;
 
-    if (argc != 4) {
-        fprintf(stderr, "usage: %s input_file video_output_file audio_output_file\n"
+    if (argc != 4 && argc != 5) {
+        fprintf(stderr, "usage: %s [-refcount=<old|new_norefcount|new_refcount>] "
+                "input_file video_output_file audio_output_file\n"
                 "API example program to show how to read frames from an input file.\n"
                 "This program reads frames from a file, decodes them, and writes decoded\n"
                 "video frames to a rawvideo file named video_output_file, and decoded\n"
-                "audio frames to a rawaudio file named audio_output_file.\n"
+                "audio frames to a rawaudio file named audio_output_file.\n\n"
+                "If the -refcount option is specified, the program use the\n"
+                "reference counting frame system which allows keeping a copy of\n"
+                "the data for longer than one decode call. If unset, it's using\n"
+                "the classic old method.\n"
                 "\n", argv[0]);
         exit(1);
     }
+    if (argc == 5) {
+        const char *mode = argv[1] + strlen("-refcount=");
+        if      (!strcmp(mode, "old"))            api_mode = API_MODE_OLD;
+        else if (!strcmp(mode, "new_norefcount")) api_mode = API_MODE_NEW_API_NO_REF_COUNT;
+        else if (!strcmp(mode, "new_refcount"))   api_mode = API_MODE_NEW_API_REF_COUNT;
+        else {
+            fprintf(stderr, "unknow mode '%s'\n", mode);
+            exit(1);
+        }
+        argv++;
+    }
     src_filename = argv[1];
     video_dst_filename = argv[2];
     audio_dst_filename = argv[3];
@@ -257,7 +294,12 @@ int main (int argc, char **argv)
         goto end;
     }
 
-    frame = avcodec_alloc_frame();
+    /* When using the new API, you need to use the libavutil/frame.h API, while
+     * the classic frame management is available in libavcodec */
+    if (api_mode == API_MODE_OLD)
+        frame = avcodec_alloc_frame();
+    else
+        frame = av_frame_alloc();
     if (!frame) {
         fprintf(stderr, "Could not allocate frame\n");
         ret = AVERROR(ENOMEM);
@@ -336,7 +378,10 @@ end:
         fclose(video_dst_file);
     if (audio_dst_file)
         fclose(audio_dst_file);
-    av_free(frame);
+    if (api_mode == API_MODE_OLD)
+        avcodec_free_frame(&frame);
+    else
+        av_frame_free(&frame);
     av_free(video_dst_data[0]);
 
     return ret < 0;