docs: reconcile Phase 21 spec with as-built Phase 18 (two decode paths)

Window both the WAV StreamDecoder and Opus WebCodecs paths feeding one PlaybackScheduler — shared eviction, per-path back-pressure; reuse the now-live index-driven Opus seek for refill. Drops stale approximate-seek language; adds OQ6/OQ7.
This commit is contained in:
daniel-c-harvey
2026-06-23 22:01:49 -04:00
parent bbcf8be677
commit ccf7d3dbe3
2 changed files with 395 additions and 211 deletions
@@ -1,27 +1,39 @@
# Phase 21 — Windowed Streaming Buffer (bounded client memory for long streams)
Product spec. Status: **design / framing — implementation-ready pending Daniel's open-question calls.**
Author: product-designer. Date: 2026-06-23. **No code has been written by this doc.**
Product spec. Status: **design / framing — reconciled to as-built Phase 18 (two decode paths);
implementation-ready pending Daniel's open-question calls (OQ1OQ4 product; OQ6OQ7 staff-engineer
architecture).** Author: product-designer. Date: 2026-06-23 (reconciliation pass after Phase 18 landed).
**No code has been written by this doc.**
Surface: **public listener site only** (`DeepDrftPublic.Client` player stack + `DeepDrftPublic`
TypeScript audio interop). No CMS (`DeepDrftManager`) change. No data-model or schema change. The one
server touch is **reuse, not new surface**: the existing `DeepDrftAPI` HTTP `Range: bytes=X-`
partial-content primitive (Phase 4, landed) is the load-bearing dependency; this phase adds no new API
endpoint.
> **Sequencing dependency (Daniel, 2026-06-23): Phase 18 (Opus Low-Data Streaming) comes BEFORE this
> phase.** Format support — specifically the derived **Ogg Opus fullband 320** low-data delivery path
> (`product-notes/phase-18-opus-low-data-streaming.md`) — is a prerequisite that sequences ahead of
> windowing. Phase 21's windowing must work across **both** delivery formats (lossless WAV and Opus).
> Its C5 invariant below already anticipated this ("must not foreclose MP3/FLAC"); **Opus is now the
> concrete VBR/containerized driver of C5.** Windowing an Opus stream uses the decoder's **accurate
> index-based** byte↔time mapping (`OpusFormatDecoder.calculateByteOffset` — a binary search in the Phase 18
> precomputed seek index), exactly the C5 case — *not* the exact CBR-WAV `byteRate` math, and *not*
> approximate Ogg-page interpolation. **Correction (Daniel, 2026-06-23):** an earlier draft described the
> Opus mapping as "approximate page interpolation"; the Phase 18 seek-model resolution rejected that — Opus
> seeking is **accurate**, backed by a precomputed seek index built at transcode time, so refill resolves to
> the *exact* page offset. The windowed refill controller calls the **same** index resolver an explicit seek
> does (Phase 18 §3.4a D); a window opening away from byte 0 still decodes via the Phase 18 sidecar setup
> header. Build the window machinery format-agnostically (§2 C3/C5) so it inherits Opus for free.
> **Phase 18 (Opus Low-Data Streaming) has LANDED (2026-06-23, `COMPLETED.md`). This spec is reconciled
> to the as-built reality.** Phase 18 changed the landscape in two ways that reshape this phase:
>
> 1. **There are now TWO decode paths feeding the one `PlaybackScheduler`, not one.** (a) The original
> **WAV/MP3/FLAC** path — `StreamDecoder` → `IFormatDecoder` (wrap-each-segment + `decodeAudioData`).
> (b) A new **Opus** path — `OggDemuxer` → `OpusStreamDecoder` (the `IStreamingDecoder` seam, a stateful
> **WebCodecs `AudioDecoder`** pipeline). The §3.1 unbounded-memory root cause (the scheduler's
> push-only `AudioBuffer[]`) applies to **both** — but the Opus path adds a *second* accumulation locus
> upstream of the scheduler (the WebCodecs decode queue + `decodedQueue: AudioData[]`), so windowing it
> is not the same mechanism as windowing WAV. See §3.1.
> 2. **The accurate index-driven Opus seek the original spec assumed Phase 21 would build is ALREADY
> LIVE.** Phase 18 ships `resolveOpusByteOffset` (binary-search the precomputed seek index in
> `OpusSeekData`) → Range fetch → `OpusStreamDecoder.reinitializeForRangeContinuation(landingTime,
> target)` with frame-accurate lead-trim. Opus seek is **accurate, not approximate** — and **already
> shipping**. Phase 21 does **not** build Opus seek; it **reuses** that live seek for window-miss
> refills.
>
> **Correction of stale spec language.** The original draft described Opus as a future-wired
> `OpusFormatDecoder.calculateByteOffset` joining the `IFormatDecoder` registry, with seek as "approximate
> vs accurate." All of that is now wrong against the landed code: Opus does **not** use `IFormatDecoder`
> (it diverged to the `IStreamingDecoder`/WebCodecs seam precisely because per-segment `decodeAudioData` is
> architecturally wrong for Opus — see `IStreamingDecoder.ts`), and its seek is accurate and shipping. The
> body below is rewritten to the two-path reality. **The headline is unchanged:** bound client memory to a
> sliding window regardless of stream length, for the canonical 1 GB mix, across both delivery formats.
---
@@ -31,18 +43,34 @@ Bound the **client memory** a playing track consumes to a small, configurable fo
**independent of total stream length** — so a 1 GB+ DJ MIX (Phase 9 `Mix` medium: a single long track)
plays without the whole decoded PCM accumulating in the browser.
**The defect, stated precisely.** The network path already streams in adaptive 1664 KB chunks
(`StreamingAudioPlayerService.StreamAudioWithEarlyPlayback`) — that part is fine. The accumulation is on
the **decode side**: `PlaybackScheduler` holds `private buffers: AudioBuffer[]` and **never evicts**
("Supports pause/resume/seek by **retaining all buffers**" — its own doc comment). Every 64 KB segment
the `StreamDecoder` decodes is pushed via `addBuffer()` and kept for the life of the track. Decoded PCM
is **larger than the compressed-or-raw source** in memory (Web Audio `AudioBuffer` is 32-bit float per
sample per channel — a 16-bit stereo WAV roughly **doubles** in size once decoded), so a 1 GB WAV becomes
~2 GB of retained `AudioBuffer` float data. That is the OOM.
**The defect, stated precisely — and it now has two faces, one shared.** The network path already
streams in adaptive 1664 KB chunks (`StreamingAudioPlayerService.StreamAudioWithEarlyPlayback`) — that
part is fine. The accumulation is on the **decode side**, and Phase 18 split the decode side into two
pipelines that both terminate at the same sink:
**One-line framing:** today the player decodes the whole track into memory and keeps it; Phase 21 makes
it keep only a sliding forward window and discard what has already played, refilling on demand from the
Range primitive it already uses for seek.
- **The shared sink (both paths) — the unbounded scheduler.** `PlaybackScheduler` holds
`private buffers: AudioBuffer[]` and **never evicts** ("Supports pause/resume/seek by **retaining all
buffers**" — its own doc comment). Both decode paths call `scheduler.addBuffer()` (via
`AudioPlayer.processFormatChunk` for WAV/MP3/FLAC and `processOpusChunk` for Opus); nothing is ever
removed. Decoded PCM is **larger than the source** in memory (Web Audio `AudioBuffer` is 32-bit float
per sample per channel — a 16-bit stereo WAV roughly **doubles** once decoded; Opus decodes to the same
48 kHz float PCM regardless of how few bytes the *compressed* stream was). So a 1 GB WAV becomes ~2 GB
of retained float, **and a low-data Opus mix becomes the same ~2 GB of decoded float once played**
the compressed transfer is small, but the *decoded* footprint is identical. The scheduler is the OOM for
both. **This is the §3.1 root cause, unchanged from the original spec — it just now afflicts two
producers.**
- **The Opus-only second locus — upstream decode-ahead.** The Opus path accumulates *before* the
scheduler too: the WebCodecs `AudioDecoder` work queue (`decodeQueueSize`), the `decodedQueue:
AudioData[]` awaiting conversion, and the `OggDemuxer`'s partial-page state. Bounding the scheduler
alone does not bound these — they fill from the same C# `ReadAsync` loop, so they need their own
back-pressure (on the *demuxer/decoder feed*), not only the read loop's. WAV has no equivalent
upstream queue (its `StreamDecoder` decodes synchronously into the scheduler), so this is genuinely
Opus-specific.
**One-line framing:** today the player decodes the whole track into memory and keeps it — true for both
formats; Phase 21 makes it keep only a sliding forward window and discard what has already played,
refilling on demand from the Range primitive both paths already use for seek (WAV via `IFormatDecoder`,
Opus via the live index-driven `resolveOpusByteOffset`).
---
@@ -60,36 +88,51 @@ docs. This phase **modifies that seam** — so the contract it must preserve is
- **C2 — Playback start latency unchanged.** Today playback starts as soon as a configurable minimum
buffer count is queued (header-derived duration, not full-file). The window model must keep first-audio
latency at parity — bounding memory must not reintroduce a fetch-then-play stall.
- **C3 — The format-decoder abstraction is untouched.** `IFormatDecoder` owns all format-specific
byte math; `AudioPlayer.createFormatDecoder` already dispatches on `Content-Type` (WAV/MP3/FLAC
decoders all wired today — verified 2026-06-23; an `OpusFormatDecoder` joins them in Phase 18).
Windowing lives in the
**format-agnostic** layer (`PlaybackScheduler` eviction + `StreamDecoder`/player refill
orchestration); it must add **no** format-specific branches. A future wired MP3/FLAC decoder inherits
windowing for free.
- **C3 — Neither decoder seam's contract is forked; windowing lives in the shared layer plus a thin
per-seam hook.** There are two decoder seams as of Phase 18: `IFormatDecoder` (WAV/MP3/FLAC, owns
format byte math; `AudioPlayer.createFormatDecoder` dispatches on `Content-Type`) and `IStreamingDecoder`
(Opus, the WebCodecs pipeline; selected in `initializeStreaming` when the content type is
`audio/ogg`/`audio/opus` and a sidecar is present). **The eviction half of windowing is fully shared**
it lives in `PlaybackScheduler`, which both seams feed identically via `addBuffer`, so eviction adds
**zero** format branches. **The back-pressure / decode-ahead half is necessarily seam-aware** — the WAV
path back-pressures the C# `ReadAsync` loop; the Opus path must additionally bound the WebCodecs
decode-ahead and the `decodedQueue` (§3.1). Express that as a **small uniform signal** ("the scheduler is
full, stop producing") that each decode path honors in its own way, rather than a windowing controller
that reaches into either decoder's internals. The goal the original C3 stated still holds — no
format-specific logic leaking into the *scheduler* — but the spec now acknowledges the producer side has
two shapes, not one.
- **C4 — Read-only playback only.** This is a memory-management change, not a UX change. No new
user-visible control, no change to seek/transport semantics beyond what the listener already
experiences. Seek must still feel identical.
- **C5 — Must window both delivery formats (WAV lossless AND Opus low-data).** Byte↔time mapping for
refill is exact and cheap for WAV (CBR: `byteRate` from the header). **Phase 18 (Opus) is sequenced
before this phase and is the concrete VBR driver here** — and its mapping is **also exact**, but by a
different mechanism: an Ogg Opus 320 stream has no linear time↔byte relationship, so
`OpusFormatDecoder.calculateByteOffset` resolves via a **precomputed seek index** (granule→byte, built at
transcode; Phase 18 §3.4a), a binary search that returns the exact page offset — **not** an approximate
page interpolation. (An earlier draft of this invariant said "approximate"; the Phase 18 seek-model
resolution, Daniel 2026-06-23, made Opus seeking accurate. Corrected here.) The window machinery must
express refill purely in terms of the decoder's existing `calculateByteOffset`, so the same code windows
WAV (via `byteRate`) and Opus (via the index) — **no WAV-special-cased offset math in the window layer**,
and no approximation for either. A window that opens away from byte 0 must also prepend the decoder's
retained/sidecar setup header (Phase 18 §3.4a B) — the format-agnostic refill path already routes
continuations through the decoder's header-carry, so this comes for free. (MP3/FLAC decoders are already
wired in the registry too — the registry dispatches on content-type today; an `OpusFormatDecoder` joins
them in Phase 18.)
- **C6 — No regression to the single-instance JS decoder concurrency guarantees.** The current code is
careful that only one streaming loop touches the single JS `StreamDecoder` at a time
(`DrainActiveStreamingTaskAsync`, the `_streamingCancellation` identity dance). Windowed refill
introduces *more* mid-stream fetches; it must route through the **same** drain/cancellation discipline,
not around it.
- **C5 — Window both decode paths without forking the scheduler/seam, reusing the live index-driven
seek for refill.** Both delivery formats must be windowed, and the byte↔time mapping each refill needs is
**already accurate and already shipping** for both:
- **WAV/MP3/FLAC** — `IFormatDecoder.calculateByteOffset` (CBR `byteRate` for WAV; the MP3/FLAC seek
accelerators for those), reached through `StreamDecoder.calculateByteOffset` / `AudioPlayer.seekBeyondBuffer`.
- **Opus** — `resolveOpusByteOffset(activeOpusSidecar, t)` (binary search the precomputed granule→byte
seek index in `OpusSeekData`), returning an exact page-start offset **and** a `landingTimeSeconds` for
the decoder's frame-accurate lead-trim. This is **accurate, not approximate, and landed in Phase 18.**
Phase 21 does **not** build either mapping. The window's refill trigger calls *whichever resolver the
active path already uses* — for Opus, the **same** `resolveOpusByteOffset` an explicit listener seek
calls (the live path in `AudioPlayer.seekBeyondBuffer`), so windowed refill is literally "a seek the
listener didn't initiate." A window opening away from byte 0 decodes correctly on the Opus path because
the setup header (`OpusHead`/`OpusTags`) is already cached from the sidecar and re-applied by
`reinitializeForRangeContinuation` (Phase 18 §3.4a B); the WAV path re-applies its retained header the
same way. **No new offset math, no approximation, no header re-fetch — all reused.** The invariant is
therefore *not* "make refill format-agnostic" (the two paths legitimately resolve offsets through
different code); it is **"reuse the live seek of each path verbatim; add only the eviction and the
refill *trigger*, never a second seek mechanism."**
- **C6 — No regression to the single-writer decoder concurrency guarantee — now covering both decoders.**
The C# loop is careful that only one streaming task feeds the active JS decoder at a time
(`DrainActiveStreamingTaskAsync`, the `_streamingCancellation` identity dance in
`StreamingAudioPlayerService`). This matters *more* for Opus: the WebCodecs `AudioDecoder` is stateful
and async — a `reset()`+`configure()` on a range-continuation (`reinitializeForRangeContinuation`) racing
a still-draining `push()` from a stale loop would corrupt inter-frame state, not merely deliver a wrong
buffer. Windowed refill introduces *more* mid-stream fetches against whichever decoder is active; every
one must route through the **same** drain/cancellation discipline, not around it. The discipline is
already decoder-agnostic at the C# layer (it cancels the loop, not the decoder), so this is a "keep using
it" invariant — but it is the rule most likely to be violated by a naive Opus refill, and is the hardest
failure to diagnose, so it is called out as a hard invariant for both paths.
- **C7 — The Mix visualizer's data source is independent and must stay that way.** The Phase 10/12
WebGL2 lava visualizer renders from a **preprocessed high-res waveform datum** fetched per-track
(`GET api/track/{entryKey}/waveform/high-res`), **not** from live decoded PCM. Confirmed: evicting
@@ -103,8 +146,10 @@ docs. This phase **modifies that seam** — so the contract it must preserve is
### 3.0 The mental model
A track's audio is a byte range `[0, fileLength)` on disk. At any moment the listener is at playback
position `P` (seconds → byte offset via the format decoder). The player should hold decoded
`AudioBuffer`s only for a bounded window roughly `[P - back, P + ahead]`:
position `P` (seconds → byte offset via the active path's resolver — `IFormatDecoder.calculateByteOffset`
for WAV/MP3/FLAC, `resolveOpusByteOffset` over the seek index for Opus). The player should hold decoded
`AudioBuffer`s only for a bounded window roughly `[P - back, P + ahead]` — and, on the Opus path, keep the
upstream WebCodecs decode queue near-empty too (§3.1):
- **forward fill (`ahead`)** — enough decoded lookahead that playback never starves (covers the existing
500 ms scheduler lookahead plus network jitter headroom);
@@ -119,42 +164,64 @@ position `P` (seconds → byte offset via the format decoder). The player should
This is a **ring/sliding-window buffer keyed on playback position**, driven by high/low-water marks —
the standard bounded-producer/bounded-consumer pattern, transplanted onto the decode→schedule seam.
### 3.1 Why this is a generalization of seek-beyond-buffer, not a new mechanism
### 3.1 Why refill is a generalization of seek-beyond-buffer, not a new mechanism — for both paths
The seek-beyond-buffer path already does **every primitive** the window needs, just triggered manually
and one-shot:
The seek-beyond-buffer path already does **every refill primitive** the window needs, just triggered
manually and one-shot. As of Phase 18 each primitive has a WAV branch and an Opus branch, both live:
| Window operation | Existing seek-beyond-buffer machinery it reuses |
|-------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Discard buffers, keep offset | `PlaybackScheduler.clearForSeek()` + `setPlaybackOffset()` (clears buffers, retains the absolute-time anchor) |
| Fetch from a byte offset | `TrackMediaClient.GetTrackMedia(key, byteOffset)``Range: bytes=X-` → 206 |
| Decode a header-less body | `StreamDecoder.reinitializeForRangeContinuation(remainingByteLength)` |
| Map time → byte offset | `StreamDecoder.calculateByteOffset()``IFormatDecoder.calculateByteOffset()` |
| Single-loop safety on refetch | `_streamingCancellation` swap + `DrainActiveStreamingTaskAsync()` |
| Window operation | WAV/MP3/FLAC machinery reused | Opus machinery reused (Phase 18, landed) |
|-------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Discard buffers, keep offset | `PlaybackScheduler.clearForSeek()` + `setPlaybackOffset()` | *same* — the scheduler is shared |
| Fetch from a byte offset | `TrackMediaClient``Range: bytes=X-` → 206 | *same* (with `?format=opus`) — the Range path is shared |
| Map time → byte offset | `StreamDecoder.calculateByteOffset()``IFormatDecoder` | `resolveOpusByteOffset(activeOpusSidecar, t)` (index binary search → exact page) |
| Decode a header-less body | `StreamDecoder.reinitializeForRangeContinuation(len)` | `OpusStreamDecoder.reinitializeForRangeContinuation(landingTime, target)` (demux/codec reset + lead-trim) |
| Single-loop safety on refetch | `_streamingCancellation` swap + `DrainActiveStreamingTaskAsync()` | *same* — the C# discipline is decoder-agnostic |
The difference is **eviction does not exist yet** (the scheduler only ever `clear()`s wholesale) and
**refill is one-shot** (a seek, not a continuous low-water-triggered loop). So the new work is two
seams: a *partial-evict* on the scheduler, and a *position-driven refill controller* on the player. The
fetch/decode/offset plumbing is reused verbatim.
The genuinely-new work, by path:
- **Shared (both paths):** *partial eviction* on `PlaybackScheduler` (today it only ever `clear()`s
wholesale), and a *position-driven refill trigger* (a continuous low-water loop, not a one-shot seek).
- **WAV path:** *back-pressure on the C# `ReadAsync` loop* — stop reading the socket above the high-water
mark, resume below low-water. WAV's `StreamDecoder` decodes synchronously into the scheduler, so the
read loop is the *only* producer to throttle; pausing `ReadAsync` bounds it fully.
- **Opus path:** *the same C# back-pressure, plus bounding the WebCodecs decode-ahead.* Throttling
`ReadAsync` alone is **not sufficient** for Opus, because `OpusStreamDecoder.push()` is async and the
WebCodecs `AudioDecoder` keeps its own internal work queue (`decodeQueueSize`) plus a `decodedQueue:
AudioData[]` of decoded-but-not-yet-converted frames. The Opus producer must also stop *feeding the
decoder* (stop demuxing/decoding new packets) when the scheduler is full, and resume below low-water —
back-pressure on the **demuxer/decoder feed**, not only on the socket read. This is the one place the
two paths' windowing genuinely diverges.
Everything else — the fetch, the offset resolution, the header-carry continuation, the single-loop
cancellation safety — is **reused verbatim** on both paths. Phase 21 builds eviction + the refill trigger
+ the (per-path) back-pressure; it builds **no** new fetch, offset, or seek mechanism.
### 3.2 The three candidate directions
Per file convention the alternatives are recorded; the recommendation follows.
**Direction A — Sliding window on the existing single forward stream (recommended).**
Keep the current model where the C# loop reads one forward HTTP stream and pumps chunks into the JS
decoder. Add two things: (1) `PlaybackScheduler` gains *partial eviction* — drop buffers whose
Keep the current model where the C# loop reads one forward HTTP stream and pumps chunks into the active
JS decoder. Add three things: (1) `PlaybackScheduler` gains *partial eviction* — drop buffers whose
absolute-time end is older than `P - back`, adjusting its index bookkeeping so `getCurrentPosition()`
and scheduling stay correct against a buffer array that no longer starts at index 0; (2) a
*back-pressure* signalwhen forward decoded lookahead exceeds the high-water mark, the C# loop
**pauses reading** the HTTP stream (stops calling `ReadAsync`) until playback drains it below low-water,
then resumes. Memory is bounded by high-water + back-retain. Seek-back beyond the retained window falls
through to the **existing** seek-beyond-buffer path unchanged.
and scheduling stay correct against a buffer array that no longer starts at index 0 (**shared by both
paths**the scheduler is the common sink); (2) *back-pressure on the C# read loop* — when forward
decoded lookahead exceeds the high-water mark, the C# loop **pauses reading** the HTTP stream (stops
calling `ReadAsync`) until playback drains it below low-water, then resumes; (3) **for the Opus path
only, back-pressure on the WebCodecs decode-ahead** — the producer also stops demuxing/decoding new
packets when the scheduler is full, so the `AudioDecoder` work queue and `decodedQueue` do not balloon
behind a throttled socket. Memory is bounded by high-water + back-retain on both paths. Seek-back beyond
the retained window falls through to the **existing** seek-beyond-buffer path (the right one per format)
unchanged.
*Why recommended:* smallest change to the load-bearing seam; reuses the live forward stream (no extra
connections in the common case); eviction and back-pressure are the only genuinely new mechanisms, and
both are local (one to the scheduler, one to the read loop). Back-pressure via "stop reading the socket"
is exactly how TCP flow control already wants to behave — pausing `ReadAsync` lets the kernel window
close; we are not fighting the transport.
connections in the common case); eviction and back-pressure are the only genuinely new mechanisms, all
local (the scheduler; the read loop; for Opus, the demux/decode feed). Back-pressure via "stop reading
the socket" is exactly how TCP flow control already wants to behave — pausing `ReadAsync` lets the kernel
window close; we are not fighting the transport. The Opus decode-ahead bound is the one addition Phase 18
forces, and it is local to the Opus producer.
*Open question it raises (OQ6, new):* whether the two paths' back-pressure is driven by **one shared
window controller** that exposes a "scheduler full / drained" signal both producers poll, or by **two
parallel implementations** sharing only the eviction code. Recommend the **shared signal** — see §6 OQ6.
**Direction B — Discrete window segments, each its own Range fetch.**
Treat the file as fixed-size byte segments (e.g. 4 MB). Hold N decoded segments around `P`; fetch the
@@ -177,32 +244,41 @@ problem.
wants containerized formats (fragmented MP4/WebM, or MP3/AAC elementary streams). The entire bespoke
visualizer/spectrum graph is wired to the Web Audio `AudioContext`, not a `<media>` element. Adopting
MSE is a **rewrite of the playback substrate**, not a windowing change. It *looked* like the real
long-term answer once compressed delivery arrived — but Daniel has decided compressed delivery
(**Phase 18 Opus**) will feed the **same bespoke graph** via the `IFormatDecoder` seam, so the
compressed-delivery move that would have justified MSE happens *without* surrendering the graph. **The
bespoke graph is a deliberate long-term commitment; MSE is rejected.** Direction A is therefore the
permanent destination, not a stopgap that MSE will retire. Recorded as considered-and-declined.
long-term answer once compressed delivery arrived — but compressed delivery (**Phase 18 Opus, now
landed**) feeds the **same bespoke graph** via the WebCodecs `IStreamingDecoder` seam (parallel to the
WAV `IFormatDecoder` seam, both terminating at the shared `PlaybackScheduler`), so the compressed-delivery
move that would have justified MSE happened *without* surrendering the graph. Notably, Phase 18 chose a
**WebCodecs `AudioDecoder`** for Opus rather than `decodeAudioData` — which is itself the "use the platform
codec, keep the bespoke graph" move, but at the *decoder* granularity, not the *media-element* granularity
MSE would impose. **The bespoke graph is a deliberate long-term commitment; MSE is rejected.** Direction A
is therefore the permanent destination, not a stopgap that MSE will retire. Recorded as
considered-and-declined.
### 3.3 Recommended direction: A, with B held as the documented fallback
Direction A is the smallest coherent change that hits the headline (bounded memory under a 1 GB stream)
while honoring C1C7. It keeps the live forward stream, reuses the seek-beyond-buffer path for the only
genuinely random-access case (seek-back past the retained tail), and isolates the two new mechanisms.
**The final architecture and the exact eviction/back-pressure API are staff-engineer's call at
implementation** (per file convention); this spec fixes the *shape* and the invariants, not the method
signatures.
while honoring C1C7. It keeps the live forward stream, reuses each path's seek-beyond-buffer machinery
for the only genuinely random-access case (seek-back past the retained tail), and isolates the new
mechanisms (eviction shared; back-pressure per path). **The final architecture and the exact
eviction/back-pressure API are staff-engineer's call at implementation** (per file convention); this spec
fixes the *shape* and the invariants, not the method signatures.
### 3.4 SOLID / road-not-taken rationale
- **SRP, preserved.** Eviction is a `PlaybackScheduler` concern (it already owns buffer storage); refill
orchestration is a player-service/`StreamDecoder` concern (they already own the fetch loop); byte↔time
math stays in `IFormatDecoder`. No responsibility crosses a boundary it does not already own.
- **OCP, via C3/C5.** Windowing added in the format-agnostic layer means wiring MP3/FLAC later changes
zero window code. The window expresses refill through `calculateByteOffset` — the one seam the
decoders already implement.
- **The seam stays single-writer (C6).** Every new refetch routes through the existing
cancellation/drain discipline, so "only one loop touches the JS decoder" remains true. This is the
rule most likely to be violated by a naive implementation and is called out as a hard invariant.
- **SRP, preserved.** Eviction is a `PlaybackScheduler` concern (it already owns buffer storage, and is
the single shared sink both decode paths feed); refill orchestration is a player-service concern (it
already owns the C# fetch loop and the seek dispatch); byte↔time math stays where each path already keeps
it — `IFormatDecoder.calculateByteOffset` for WAV/MP3/FLAC, `resolveOpusByteOffset` (over `OpusSeekData`)
for Opus. No responsibility crosses a boundary it does not already own.
- **OCP, via the shared sink + the live per-path seek.** Eviction added at the scheduler changes zero
decoder code on either path. Refill reuses each path's *already-implemented* offset resolver — Phase 21
adds no offset math to either seam. The one place windowing is not purely additive is the Opus
decode-ahead bound (§3.1), which lives inside the Opus producer, not in the shared layer.
- **The seam stays single-writer (C6) — for both decoders.** Every new refetch routes through the existing
C# cancellation/drain discipline, so "only one loop feeds the active decoder" remains true for the WAV
`StreamDecoder` and the stateful Opus `AudioDecoder` alike. This is the rule most likely to be violated
by a naive Opus refill (a stale `push()` racing a `reset()`+`configure()`), and is called out as a hard
invariant.
- **Road not taken — eager full decode with a memory cap that just stops decoding.** Tempting (decode
until you hit a byte budget, then stop) but it breaks playback of long tracks past the cap entirely —
it bounds memory by *refusing to play the rest*, not by sliding. Rejected: it is a degradation, not a
@@ -213,8 +289,15 @@ signatures.
## 4. Use cases
- **UC1 — Play a 1 GB+ DJ MIX start to finish (the headline).** Memory stays bounded throughout; the
listener experiences continuous playback identical to a short track.
- **UC2 — Seek forward within a long track.** Already handled by seek-beyond-buffer; under windowing the
listener experiences continuous playback identical to a short track. **Holds in both formats** — the
lossless WAV mix (~2 GB decoded if unbounded) and the low-data Opus mix (small transfer, but the *same*
~2 GB decoded float once played, so it needs windowing just as much; see §1).
- **UC1-Opus — The same mix streamed as Opus, windowed.** The low-data win (Phase 18) shrinks the
*transfer*; Phase 21 shrinks the *decoded footprint*. The two compound: a metered-connection listener on
Opus gets both the small download and the bounded memory. Windowing the Opus path additionally bounds the
WebCodecs decode-ahead and `decodedQueue`, not only the scheduler (§3.1).
- **UC2 — Seek forward within a long track.** Already handled by seek-beyond-buffer (the right resolver per
format — `IFormatDecoder` for WAV, the live `resolveOpusByteOffset` for Opus); under windowing the
forward seek clears the window and refills at the target — no behavior change, now with eviction so the
pre-seek region does not linger.
- **UC3 — Seek back a few seconds.** Served from the back-retain window with **no** network refetch
@@ -248,8 +331,11 @@ This phase touches the **same decoder/scheduler seam** as the deferred Phase 1.3
- **1.5 Gapless (deferred).** Sample-accurate hand-off of the next track's first buffer at the current
track's last buffer. Windowing changes *which* buffers are retained but not the hand-off mechanism;
the only care point is that the current track's **final** window must not be evicted before the gapless
boundary is scheduled. A minor invariant for whoever builds 1.5, not a blocker. Note 1.5's existing
WAV-only caveat stands.
boundary is scheduled. A minor invariant for whoever builds 1.5, not a blocker. **Phase 18 note:** the
former "1.5 is WAV-only" caveat is superseded — Opus is live, and it has its own encoder pre-skip/priming
(handled once by the WebCodecs decoder, see `OpusStreamDecoder.ts`), so a gapless Opus hand-off must
respect the end-trim against the sidecar's authoritative total length. That is 1.5's problem to absorb,
not Phase 21's; flagged so 1.5 inherits it.
- **1.6 Track-skip on error (deferred).** *Windowing enlarges the error surface — call this out.* Today
a fetch failure happens at load (one fetch) or at a user seek (one fetch). Windowed refill issues
**mid-stream** fetches the listener did not initiate; one of those can fail at byte 700 M of a 1 GB
@@ -260,9 +346,12 @@ This phase touches the **same decoder/scheduler seam** as the deferred Phase 1.3
failure handling into Phase 21's acceptance criteria** (AC6) rather than leaving it entirely to 1.6 —
it is created by this phase.
- **1.7 Safari compatibility (deferred).** Windowing adds no new Safari-specific surface beyond what the
streaming path already has. The one adjacency: more frequent `AudioContext` activity during refill
should be checked against the older-Safari `webkitAudioContext` quirks when 1.7 is addressed — note it,
do not block on it.
streaming path already has. Two adjacencies, both Phase-18-introduced: (a) more frequent `AudioContext`
activity during refill should be checked against older-Safari `webkitAudioContext` quirks; (b) the Opus
path depends on **WebCodecs `AudioDecoder`**, whose Safari availability is narrower than `decodeAudioData`
Ogg-Opus support — Phase 18's capability gate already falls a non-WebCodecs browser back to the lossless
WAV path, so a Safari that can't run the Opus pipeline windows the *WAV* path (which has no decode-ahead
locus, only the scheduler), i.e. the simpler windowing case. Note it; do not block on it.
---
@@ -294,22 +383,50 @@ These are policy calls with user-visible or resource trade-offs — flagged rath
adopt MSE. The bespoke Web Audio decode→schedule graph stays — it is bespoke by deliberate choice, a
long-term commitment, not a stopgap.** Daniel's rationale: the player is intentionally a custom
graph, not an HTML `<media>` element; the compressed-delivery move that *would* have made MSE
tempting is being met instead by **Phase 18 (Opus low-data path)** feeding the **same bespoke graph**
through the `IFormatDecoder` seam — so compressed delivery arrives *without* surrendering the graph.
Consequence for this phase: Direction A (the hand-rolled sliding window) is the destination, not a
placeholder; invest in it as permanent machinery. It will window both the WAV and the Opus path
(the sequencing note at the top). Direction C is recorded as **considered and declined** per file
convention; kept visible so a future reader sees the road not taken and why.
`[RESOLVED — bespoke graph retained; MSE rejected]`
tempting was met instead by **Phase 18 (Opus low-data path, now landed)** feeding the **same bespoke
graph** through the WebCodecs `IStreamingDecoder` seam (parallel to the WAV `IFormatDecoder` seam) — so
compressed delivery arrived *without* surrendering the graph. Consequence for this phase: Direction A
(the hand-rolled sliding window) is the destination, not a placeholder; invest in it as permanent
machinery. It windows both the WAV and the Opus path (the header note). Direction C is recorded as
**considered and declined** per file convention; kept visible so a future reader sees the road not taken
and why. `[RESOLVED — bespoke graph retained; MSE rejected]`
- **OQ6 — One window controller for both decode paths, or two? (NEW — raised by the Phase 18 two-path
reality.)** Eviction is unambiguously shared (the scheduler is the one sink). Back-pressure is not: the
WAV path throttles the C# `ReadAsync` loop; the Opus path must *also* throttle the WebCodecs
decode-ahead (§3.1). Should there be **one window controller** exposing a uniform "scheduler full /
drained" signal that both producers honor in their own way (recommended — keeps the *policy* — window
sizes, water-marks, OQ1/OQ3 — in one place, with two thin per-path back-pressure hooks), or **two
parallel windowing implementations** sharing only the eviction code (simpler per-path, but duplicates the
water-mark logic and risks the two drifting)? Recommend the **shared controller + per-path hook**. This
is more an architecture call than a product call — flagged for staff-engineer at implementation, with the
recommendation as the default. `[staff-engineer call; recommendation: shared controller]`
- **OQ7 — How does the Opus WebCodecs decode-ahead bound interact with scheduler eviction? (NEW; technical,
for staff-engineer.)** The Opus producer has two queues to bound (the `AudioDecoder` work queue and
`decodedQueue: AudioData[]`) *plus* the shared scheduler. The clean rule is "stop feeding the decoder when
decoded-lookahead-in-the-scheduler exceeds high-water" — i.e. the **scheduler's** fill level is the
single back-pressure signal, and the upstream Opus queues are kept near-empty by simply not demuxing
ahead. The alternative (let the decoder run ahead into `decodedQueue` and bound *that* separately) adds a
second budget to tune and a second eviction point. Recommend the former: **one fill signal (scheduler
decoded-lookahead), drive both the read-loop pause and the demux/decode pause from it.** Confirm at
implementation that the WebCodecs decoder tolerates being starved of input mid-stream and resumes cleanly
(it should — it is fed packet-by-packet via `decode()`), and that `decodedQueue` is drained promptly so
it never holds more than one `push()` worth. `[staff-engineer call; recommendation: single
scheduler-fill signal]`
---
## 7. Acceptance criteria
- **AC1 (headline) — Bounded memory under a 1 GB stream.** Playing a 1 GB+ WAV mix start to finish, the
browser tab's retained decoded-audio memory stays bounded to the configured window (not growing toward
~2 GB). Verifiable via browser memory tooling: peak decoded-audio footprint is independent of track
length and tracks the window-size policy, not the file size.
- **AC1 (headline) — Bounded memory under a 1 GB stream, in BOTH formats.** Playing a 1 GB+ mix start to
finish — **as lossless WAV and as low-data Opus** — the browser tab's retained decoded-audio memory
stays bounded to the configured window (not growing toward ~2 GB). Verifiable via browser memory tooling:
peak decoded-audio footprint is independent of track length and tracks the window-size policy, not the
file size. The Opus case must be verified explicitly — its small *transfer* does not imply a small
*decoded* footprint (§1), so "Opus already streams small" is **not** sufficient.
- **AC1-Opus — The Opus upstream decode-ahead is bounded too (§3.1 / OQ7).** Under a long Opus stream, the
WebCodecs decode queue and `decodedQueue` do not grow unboundedly behind the scheduler — back-pressure
reaches the demux/decode feed, not only the scheduler. Verifiable: the upstream queues stay near-empty
(one `push()` worth) regardless of stream length.
- **AC2 — Playback-start latency at parity (C2).** First-audio latency for a track is unchanged from
pre-windowing (within noise). Windowing does not introduce a fetch-then-play stall.
- **AC3 — Continuous playback, no starvation.** A long mix plays edge to edge with no audible gaps,
@@ -324,41 +441,70 @@ These are policy calls with user-visible or resource trade-offs — flagged rath
"playing" with a starved scheduler). It must not silently hang.
- **AC7 — The Mix visualizer is unaffected (C7).** With the lava visualizer running on a long mix, the
visualizer renders identically (it reads the preprocessed datum, never the evicted buffers).
- **AC8 — Single-decoder concurrency invariant holds (C6).** Under rapid seek + refill activity, no
interleaved `ProcessStreamingChunk` calls corrupt the single JS decoder (the existing drain/cancel
discipline still governs every fetch).
- **AC8 — Single-writer decoder concurrency invariant holds (C6) — both decoders.** Under rapid seek +
refill activity, no interleaved `ProcessStreamingChunk` / `push` calls corrupt the active decoder the
existing drain/cancel discipline still governs every fetch. **For Opus this is stricter:** no stale
`push()` may land against the WebCodecs `AudioDecoder` across a `reinitializeForRangeContinuation`
reset+reconfigure (which would corrupt inter-frame state, not just a buffer). Verify under a rapid
seek-storm on an Opus mix specifically.
---
## 8. Wave decomposition
**Decomposition choice: split by *concern* (eviction → back-pressure → seek-back refill → validate), not
by *path* (WAV-track vs Opus-track).** Rationale: the eviction concern (21.1) is genuinely shared — the
scheduler is the one sink both paths feed — so a path-split would duplicate the hardest correctness work or
arbitrarily assign it to one track. The concern spine keeps that shared work as a single cold-start wave
and lets the *one* genuinely path-divergent concern (back-pressure, 21.2) carry an explicit two-track
split *inside* the wave rather than fracturing the whole phase. This also matches how the seek-back refill
(21.3) reuses each path's already-live seek — it is one concern (window-miss → refetch) with a per-path
resolver underneath, not two features. The spine is unchanged from the original spec; the mechanisms
inside 21.2 and 21.3 are made correct for both paths.
Dependency shape: `21.1 → 21.2 → 21.3`, with `21.4` validating the whole. 21.1 is the cold-start
prerequisite and the load-bearing change; the rest layer on it.
- **21.1 — Partial eviction in `PlaybackScheduler` (cold-start; the load-bearing change).** Give the
scheduler the ability to drop already-played buffers and keep its position/index bookkeeping correct
against a buffer array that no longer begins at absolute time 0 (today `getCurrentPosition`,
`playFromPosition`, and the scheduling loop all assume `buffers[0]` is the track start). This is the
hardest correctness work in the phase — the time-anchor math must stay exact through eviction. No
refill yet; with eviction alone and the forward read loop unchanged, this is provably memory-bounded
for the *played* region. **Independent of the §6 open questions** — it can begin immediately; the
window *sizes* (OQ1/OQ3) are parameters fed in later. Settled and cold-start.
- **21.2 — Back-pressure on the forward read loop (the bound on the *unplayed* region).** Make the C#
`StreamAudioWithEarlyPlayback` loop stop calling `ReadAsync` when forward decoded lookahead exceeds the
high-water mark, and resume below low-water. Together with 21.1, this bounds *both* the played and
unplayed sides — the full memory guarantee (AC1). Must route resume/pause through the existing
cancellation-safe single-loop discipline (C6). **Depends on 21.1** (eviction must exist so the drained
region is reclaimed, not merely un-read).
- **21.3Seek-back-past-window refill (close the random-access case).** Wire UC4 — when a backward
seek lands earlier than the retained tail, refetch via the existing seek-beyond-buffer Range path
pointed at the earlier offset, and the minimal AC6 refill-failure handling. Mostly **reuse** of the
landed seek path; the new work is the trigger (window-miss detection) and the clean-failure path.
**Depends on 21.1 + 21.2** (needs the window boundaries they define).
- **21.4 — Validation pass against the 1 GB target (acceptance).** Exercise AC1AC8 against a real 1 GB+
mix: memory profiling (AC1), latency parity (AC2), edge-to-edge playback (AC3), the seek matrix
(AC4/AC5), induced refill failure (AC6), visualizer-running (AC7), and rapid-seek concurrency (AC8).
Largely test/measurement; any break is likely a tuning fix in the 21.1 anchor math or the 21.2
water-marks. **Depends on 21.121.3.**
- **21.1 — Partial eviction in `PlaybackScheduler` (cold-start; the load-bearing change; SHARED by both
paths).** Give the scheduler the ability to drop already-played buffers and keep its position/index
bookkeeping correct against a buffer array that no longer begins at absolute time 0 (today
`getCurrentPosition`, `playFromPosition`, and the scheduling loop all assume `buffers[0]` is the track
start). This is the hardest correctness work in the phase — the time-anchor math must stay exact through
eviction. Because both decode paths feed the scheduler identically via `addBuffer`, **eviction is written
once and serves both** — no per-path branch. No refill yet; with eviction alone and the forward producers
unchanged, this is provably memory-bounded for the *played* region on both paths. **Independent of the §6
open questions** — it can begin immediately; the window *sizes* (OQ1/OQ3) are parameters fed in later.
Settled and cold-start.
- **21.2 — Back-pressure (the bound on the *unplayed* region) — two tracks, one signal.** Bound the
not-yet-played decoded audio by stopping production above a high-water mark and resuming below low-water,
driven by the scheduler's decoded-lookahead fill (OQ7). The fill *signal* is shared; the *throttle* has
two sites because Phase 18 gave the two paths different producers:
- **21.2aC# read-loop back-pressure (serves both paths).** Make `StreamAudioWithEarlyPlayback` stop
calling `ReadAsync` above high-water and resume below low-water. Routes resume/pause through the
existing cancellation-safe single-loop discipline (C6). For the WAV path this is *sufficient* (its
`StreamDecoder` decodes synchronously into the scheduler).
- **21.2b — Opus decode-ahead back-pressure (Opus path only).** Additionally stop demuxing/decoding new
packets when the same fill signal is over high-water, so the WebCodecs decode queue and `decodedQueue`
do not balloon behind a throttled socket (§3.1, OQ7). This is the one mechanism with no WAV analogue.
Confirm the WebCodecs decoder resumes cleanly after being starved of input mid-stream.
Together with 21.1 this bounds *both* the played and unplayed sides on *both* formats — the full memory
guarantee (AC1 + AC1-Opus). **Depends on 21.1** (eviction must exist so the drained region is reclaimed,
not merely un-read). Per OQ6, 21.2a and 21.2b ideally share one window controller exposing the fill
signal; the recommendation is the shared controller + two thin hooks.
- **21.3 — Seek-back-past-window refill (close the random-access case; one concern, per-path resolver).**
Wire UC4 — when a backward seek lands earlier than the retained tail, refetch via the existing
seek-beyond-buffer path pointed at the earlier offset, **using whichever resolver the active path already
ships** (`IFormatDecoder`/`StreamDecoder.calculateByteOffset` for WAV; the live
`resolveOpusByteOffset` + `OpusStreamDecoder.reinitializeForRangeContinuation` for Opus) — plus the
minimal AC6 refill-failure handling. Mostly **reuse** of the landed seek paths; the new work is the
trigger (window-miss detection) and the clean-failure path, both format-agnostic. **Depends on 21.1 +
21.2** (needs the window boundaries they define).
- **21.4 — Validation pass against the 1 GB target, BOTH formats (acceptance).** Exercise AC1AC8 against a
real 1 GB+ mix **streamed as WAV and as Opus**: memory profiling (AC1 both formats + AC1-Opus upstream
queues), latency parity (AC2), edge-to-edge playback (AC3), the seek matrix (AC4/AC5), induced refill
failure (AC6), visualizer-running (AC7), and rapid-seek concurrency (AC8 — including the Opus
seek-storm). Largely test/measurement; any break is likely a tuning fix in the 21.1 anchor math, the
21.2 water-marks, or the 21.2b Opus decode-ahead bound. **Depends on 21.121.3.**
---
@@ -366,18 +512,35 @@ prerequisite and the load-bearing change; the rest layer on it.
- Root `CLAUDE.md` "Streaming-first audio playback" / `CONTEXT.md §3.5` — the seam this phase modifies;
the §2 invariants here restate its contract. Both flag it as the most load-bearing path.
- `PLAN.md` Phase 4 (landed) / `COMPLETED.md` — the HTTP Range `bytes=X-` primitive this generalizes.
- **`COMPLETED.md` Phase 18 — Opus Low-Data Streaming (landed 2026-06-23) — read this first.** The
"as-built divergence" note records why Opus uses a **WebCodecs `AudioDecoder`** streaming pipeline
(`IStreamingDecoder`) rather than the spec'd-and-replaced per-segment `decodeAudioData`/`IFormatDecoder`
model. This is the two-path reality this phase reconciles to. `product-notes/phase-18-opus-low-data-streaming.md`
is the design memo (note: its §3.4 `OpusFormatDecoder` framing predates the WebCodecs divergence — the
*seek-index/sidecar* design in §3.4a is accurate and landed; the *decoder-shape* discussion was superseded
by `IStreamingDecoder`).
- `PLAN.md` Phase 4 (landed) / `COMPLETED.md` — the HTTP Range `bytes=X-` primitive this generalizes
(now serving both `?format=lossless` and `?format=opus`).
- `PLAN.md` Phase 1.3 / 1.4 / 1.5 / 1.6 / 1.7 — the deferred decoder/scheduler-seam features; §5 above
reconciles each.
reconciles each (1.5 and 1.7 updated for the Opus path).
- `PLAN.md` Phase 9 — defines the `Mix` medium (single long track), the canonical 1 GB case.
- `PLAN.md` Phase 10 / `product-notes/phase-10-mix-visualizer-lava-reframe.md` /
`product-notes/phase-12-waveform-visualizer-generalization.md` — establishes the preprocessed
per-track high-res waveform datum; the basis for C7 (visualizer does not read live PCM).
- `DeepDrftPublic/Interop/audio/PlaybackScheduler.ts` — owns the unbounded `buffers: AudioBuffer[]`;
21.1 lives here.
- `DeepDrftPublic/Interop/audio/StreamDecoder.ts``reinitializeForRangeContinuation`,
`calculateByteOffset`; the refill substrate.
- `DeepDrftPublic/Interop/audio/PlaybackScheduler.ts` — owns the unbounded `buffers: AudioBuffer[]`, the
**shared sink for both decode paths**; 21.1 (eviction) lives here.
- `DeepDrftPublic/Interop/audio/AudioPlayer.ts` — the dispatch: `processFormatChunk` (WAV/MP3/FLAC) vs
`processOpusChunk` (Opus), both calling `scheduler.addBuffer`; `seekBeyondBuffer`/`reinitializeFromOffset`
branch per path; the place the refill trigger (21.3) and the fill-signal wiring (21.2) hook.
- `DeepDrftPublic/Interop/audio/StreamDecoder.ts` + `IFormatDecoder.ts` — the WAV/MP3/FLAC refill substrate
(`reinitializeForRangeContinuation`, `calculateByteOffset`).
- `DeepDrftPublic/Interop/audio/IStreamingDecoder.ts` + `OpusStreamDecoder.ts` + `OggDemuxer.ts` +
`OpusSidecar.ts` — the **Opus** path: the WebCodecs decode pipeline, the `decodeQueueSize`/`decodedQueue`
upstream accumulation 21.2b must bound, and the live `resolveOpusByteOffset` /
`reinitializeForRangeContinuation(landingTime, target)` seek 21.3 reuses. **`IStreamingDecoder.ts` is the
seam the Opus windowing hooks into** (push/complete/reinitialize lifecycle).
- `DeepDrftPublic.Client/Services/StreamingAudioPlayerService.cs` — the C# forward read loop
(`StreamAudioWithEarlyPlayback`), the seek-beyond-buffer path (`SeekBeyondBuffer`), and the
cancellation/drain discipline (C6); 21.2/21.3 live here.
- `DeepDrftPublic.Client/Clients/TrackMediaClient.cs` — the Range-capable media fetch reused by refill.
(`StreamAudioWithEarlyPlayback`, feeding *both* decoders), the seek-beyond-buffer path (`SeekBeyondBuffer`),
and the cancellation/drain discipline (C6); 21.2a/21.3 live here.
- `DeepDrftPublic.Client/Clients/TrackMediaClient.cs` — the Range-capable media fetch (with the `?format=`
param) reused by refill on both paths.