Version 2.1.0

This update makes playback feel smoother and more dependable, keeps Spotify ready in the background, and removes the legacy volume helper.

What's new

• Background Spotify sign-in and startup - once Spotify is configured, Now Playing prepares the connection without waiting for you to open or select the Spotify source.
• Direct Windows app volume control - music apps now use Windows Core Audio directly, with no separate AppVolumeBridge.exe executable.

Improvements

• Progress is interpolated locally for smoother movement without aggressive API polling.
• Spotify Connect playback started from another device can be adopted while the plugin is running in the background.
• The local music picker is now centered, bounded to the screen, and scans selected files or folders in the background.
• Volume changes are serialized and revisioned, so holding the gamepad control remains responsive and the newest value always "wins".
• QAM and Big Picture share stable playback, artwork, progress, and volume state.
• Fullscreen rendering and background observers do less work while the plugin is idle.

Fixes

• Album covers no longer clear or reload during play, pause, previous, next, shuffle, repeat, progress updates, or temporary source refreshes.
• Fixed delayed volume commands overriding a newer value or briefly jumping to 100%.
• Fixed Spotify progress moving in visible multi-second steps.
• Fixed local file and folder selection from Big Picture settings.
• Fixed Spotify initialization being delayed until the source was manually opened.