v0.4.0-beta

Welcome to Prism v0.4.0-beta

Prism v0.4.0-beta introduces Prism Bridge for bringing DAW audio into the desktop rack, a new Waterfall analyzer for viewing spectrum history, and reference tracks for comparing your audio against a saved spectrum.

This release also adds CLAP plugins, multichannel input routing across Windows, macOS, and Linux, linked measurements between scopes, 32-bit float rolling capture exports, TIDAL integration, Windows screen-space docking, and a refreshed settings interface.

Prism Bridge & DAW Plugins

• Added Prism Bridge, a lightweight plugin that sends a DAW track or bus into the standalone Prism application
• Bridge passes audio through unchanged and works with mono and stereo sources
• Multiple Bridge instances can be available at once; choose the source to analyze under DAW Bridges in Prism’s audio selector
• Only the selected Bridge instance streams audio, and its plugin window can remain closed
• Bridge uses the host’s track name when available, with editable custom names saved in the DAW project
• Added connection indicators and clearer source labels for distinguishing tracks, hosts, and duplicate names
• Bridge automatically reconnects when Prism becomes available; a disconnected source remains selected in a waiting state
• Added optional Bars + Beats and Seconds timeline rulers to Waveform and Spectrogram when using Bridge
• Timeline history marks loops, seeks, and audio gaps, with a seconds fallback when the host does not provide beat information
• Added CLAP versions of all eight analyzers and Prism Bridge on Windows, macOS, and Linux
• Bridge is also available as VST3 on all three platforms and AU on macOS

Waterfall

• Added Waterfall, Prism’s eighth analyzer, for viewing a live spectrum alongside its recent history
• Available in the desktop rack, scope pop-outs, prism-tui, and a dedicated VST3/AU/CLAP plugin
• Added adjustable history from 1 to 30 seconds, with a 5-second default
• Added Sparse, Balanced, and Dense ridge settings that adapt to the available space while retaining the selected history duration
• Added theme-colored ridges that fade with age and an alternative level-based heat color mode
• Added frequency and time guides, with foreground ridges hiding covered portions of older lines
• Includes FFT size, frequency scale, frequency range, smoothing, and spectral tilt controls
• History follows captured audio timing independently of the display’s refresh rate
• Waterfall settings are saved in profiles and DAW projects; existing layouts remain unchanged

Spectrum Reference Tracks

• Added whole-track spectrum references for comparing live audio against a reference recording
• Load a mono or stereo WAV, AIFF, FLAC, or MP3 through Spectrum settings, or drag a file directly onto the scope
• Added a dashed Overlay view and a centered Difference view showing where the live spectrum sits above or below the reference
• Added reference trim from −24 dB to +24 dB
• Added Match level to align the reference with recent live audio in a single step
• Reference trim and level matching affect the visual comparison without changing the audio
• Track analysis runs in the background with progress, an evolving preview, and cancellation support
• A failed or canceled import leaves the previous reference available
• Analyzed reference curves are saved with profiles and Spectrum plugin state, so recalling them does not require the original audio file
• Spectrum settings now separate general analyzer controls from reference-track controls

Linked Analysis & Channel Routing

• Added optional Linked Analysis for sharing compatible measurement guides between desktop scopes
• Frequency guides link Spectrum and Spectrogram, history-time guides link Spectrogram and Waveform, and amplitude guides link Oscilloscope and Waveform
• Linked guides work across the main rack and detached scope windows, including rotated and mirrored displays
• Guides are hidden when the corresponding value falls outside another scope’s visible range
• Added a Channel Routing matrix for system audio and device inputs on Windows, macOS, and Linux
• Select any source channel exposed by the operating system independently for Prism’s left and right analysis channels
• The same source channel can feed both sides for mono inspection
• Added live activity fills across all available source channels, including channels that are not currently selected
• Activity indicators show incoming signal strength before routing and input trim
• Routing can be changed during capture without reopening the device, and selections are remembered per source
• Added native device-input capture on all three platforms and improved handling of source channel-layout and sample-rate changes

Rolling Capture

• Added a choice of 16-bit PCM or 32-bit float WAV export in Rolling Capture settings
• The rolling buffer now retains floating-point samples, preserving captured precision and values above full scale for float exports
• Changing the export format applies to the next clip without clearing buffered audio
• Exported clips retain the source sample rate without normalization or dithering
• The export preference is remembered between launches, with 16-bit PCM remaining the default

Now Playing

• Added local TIDAL integration without requiring account setup in Prism
• Windows supports track information and playback controls through TIDAL’s local media session
• Linux supports track information and playback controls through compatible dedicated clients, including TIDAL Hi-Fi
• macOS supports track information and progress while TIDAL owns system Now Playing, with artwork when supplied by macOS; playback controls remain in TIDAL
• Improved provider configuration, availability messages, connection status, and retry controls
• Now Playing continues checking for updates while its settings or configuration window is open, even when the display module is hidden

Desktop & Workflow

• Added Reserve screen space on Windows to dock the rack along the top or bottom of a monitor
• Maximized applications use the remaining workspace while Prism is docked
• Dock height can be adjusted from the edge facing the workspace
• Dragging the rack’s grab handle returns it to a floating window; disabling docking restores its previous position and size
• Settings open in a separate panel beside the dock without changing the reserved space
• Docking preferences are remembered on the current computer independently of profiles
• Minimizing or hiding Prism releases its reserved screen space
• Reorganized settings into clearer groups for modules, audio, rolling capture, appearance, Now Playing, startup, and performance
• Refined profile dialogs with theme-aware styling, improved sizing, clearer focus behavior, and keyboard interaction
• Updated built-in theme colors for the Vectorscope’s phase-warning regions

Performance, Stability & Packaging

• Optimized Vectorscope rendering to reduce repeated calculations and temporary allocations, including Polar and multiband views
• Fixed false Spectrum peaks and display artifacts before the first audio data arrives and during silence
• Fixed scope pop-outs and profile dialogs that could remain hidden on Linux Wayland
• Improved Linux plugin-editor compatibility with DAWs whose bundled libraries interfered with the embedded browser
• Standardized Linux release builds on Ubuntu 24.04 to improve binary compatibility across supported environments
• Fixed Windows TUI and plugin compilation issues
• Improved Windows native-build scripts to use the intended build tools and distinguish Node.js builds from Electron builds
• Added dedicated plugin build, staging, and installation commands
• The Windows installer now offers separate VST3 and CLAP options
• macOS packages install VST3, AU, and CLAP; Linux deb/rpm packages install VST3 and CLAP
• Expanded automated coverage for Bridge, Waterfall, reference tracks, routing, channel activity, float exports, docking, profiles, and Now Playing
• Added six-channel Linux capture integration tests for PulseAudio and PipeWire compatibility
• Added CLAP validation and expanded cross-platform plugin packaging checks
• Published latency measurements and methodology: the default four-scope rack measured approximately 7 ms median capture-to-render latency on the tested M5 Pro at 120 FPS. This measures capture callback to drawing-command completion, excluding physical display latency; results vary by setup

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Full Changelog: v0.3.0-beta...v0.4.0-beta