Flick 0.21.0-beta.1

0.21.0-beta.1 is a major release, shipped while continuously keeping up with improvements and bug fixing across the app: network sources for self-hosted music servers (Subsonic, Jellyfin, DLNA, WebDAV, Tidal), DLNA and Chromecast casting, an HTTP audio streaming engine, a parametric equalizer refactor, configurable player action buttons, a volume tier system, bit-perfect passthrough mode, USB DAC fixes, and reliability improvements.

Overview

This release adds ten headline features:

1. Network sources — stream from Subsonic, Jellyfin/Emby, UPnP/DLNA, WebDAV, and Tidal servers
2. Casting — DLNA/UPnP and Google Chromecast support with device discovery
3. HTTP audio streaming — ranged HTTP playback with seekable remote streams
4. Parametric EQ — variable band types with RBJ biquad coefficients
5. Player action buttons — configurable center, top-left, top-right, and bottom actions
6. Volume tier system — deterministic volume capability detection with unavailable tier
7. Passthrough mode — bit-perfect PCM on direct USB with software gain removed
8. USB DAC fixes — Fosi Audio DS2 quirk, 0 Hz readback fix, sample rate guards
9. Reliability — wake lock, auto-resume fix, persistent WAV cache, dev log gating
10. UI polish — ambient EQ background, USB volume preferences, settings scaling

Highlights

• Network sources: Connect to your own music server. Subsonic, Jellyfin/Emby, UPnP/DLNA MediaServer, WebDAV, and Tidal are all supported through a unified NetworkSourceService abstraction. Each protocol has its own implementation handling auth, album art, and stream resolution. Server credentials are stored in NetworkServerEntity (Isar). A Network Sources screen provides server add/edit/delete with validation and failure banners. Remote songs carry sourceType, remoteId, and remoteServerId for sync tracking. A bounded LRU NetworkCacheService caches downloads for offline-ready playback. Subsonic prefetch enables gapless crossfade between streamed tracks. Album art resolution is generalized across all protocols.
• Casting: A CastingService orchestrates DLNA/UPnP renderers and Google Chromecast. The Chromecast backend uses CastController with cast channels and the Google Cast SDK. The DLNA backend handles renderer discovery and control. A casting settings screen provides device discovery and output routing. A cast button in the player action row lets you start casting from the player.
• HTTP streaming: Remote audio plays directly via HTTP with ranged requests using the ureq Rust client. A seekable HTTP media source lets you scrub through network streams. HTTP-first source resolution means network songs stream directly without requiring a local download. streamDescriptor on NetworkSourceService enables per-protocol HTTP playback. HTTP play and queue methods are exposed via FFI and integrated into RustAudioEngine and RustAudioService. Network-source prefetch ensures gapless crossfade between streamed tracks.
• Parametric EQ: The graphic EQ was converted to a full parametric EQ with variable band types (peak, low-shelf, high-shelf, low-pass, high-pass) using RBJ biquad coefficients. EqBandSpec and EqBandType FFI types replace the old raw gain arrays. Bands can be added and removed dynamically with animated transitions. The BMT tone controls are preserved alongside the parametric bands.
• Player action buttons: The player now has configurable action button slots: center (default: equalizer), top-left, top-right, and the existing bottom pair. Each slot can be assigned any action or set to none to hide it. The player layout sheet provides a selector for each slot. Sleep timer is available as an action. All preferences are persisted.
• Volume tier system: The old HwVolumeCapability enum was replaced with determineVolumeTier(), a pure function that's fully testable. A new unavailable tier handles DACs that report no volume control. A _hwVolumeFailed lie-detector flag catches DACs that claim volume support but fail at runtime. When hardware volume is unavailable, the slider is disabled with an explanatory message. All volume control is now routed through PlayerService as the single source of truth.
• Passthrough: The new audio_set_pipeline_mode_passthrough API forces a bit-perfect PCM path on direct USB. Software gain was removed from the passthrough PCM path for true bit-perfect output. Verified with wire audit (supportsVerifiedBitPerfect = true).
• USB DAC fixes: A Fosi Audio DS2 quirk was added for its broken clock control (SkipClockValidation). The 0 Hz DAC readback bug is fixed — handles DACs that return zero sample rate. Division-by-zero is guarded when output_sample_rate is 0. The preferred sample rate is no longer overwritten by the DAC's stored format. Non-finite and negative position/duration values are guarded in audio progress updates.
• Reliability: A wake lock keeps the CPU awake during audio playback, preventing sleep-related dropouts. Auto-resume after audio interruptions (phone calls, notifications) is fixed. Converted WAV files are cached persistently across app restarts. A custom artwork cache in the support directory replaces flutter_cache_manager. dev_eprintln! now prints to the terminal, and AppLog is gated behind developer mode. The audio stream supervisor is enabled on non-Android platforms for desktop testing.

What's New

Network Sources — Self-Hosted Music Servers

• Subsonic, Jellyfin/Emby, UPnP/DLNA, WebDAV, Tidal protocol support
• NetworkSourceService abstraction with per-protocol implementations
• NetworkServerEntity Isar collection for credentials
• Network Sources screen with server management
• RemoteSourceService for network song resolution
• NetworkCacheService with bounded LRU caching
• Remote sync tracking on SongEntity
• Generalized album art resolution
• Subsonic prefetch for gapless playback

Casting — DLNA & Chromecast

• CastingService for DLNA and Chromecast
• Chromecast with CastController and Google Cast SDK
• DLNA/UPnP renderer discovery and control
• Casting settings screen
• Cast button in player action row

HTTP Audio Streaming Engine

• HTTP streaming via ureq with ranged requests
• Seekable HTTP media source
• HTTP-first source resolution
• streamDescriptor per protocol
• HTTP play/queue via FFI
• Gapless crossfade for streamed tracks

Parametric Equalizer Refactor

• Variable band types with RBJ biquad coefficients
• EqBandSpec and EqBandType FFI types
• Dynamic band add/removal with animations
• BMT tone controls preserved

Player Action Button Layout

• Configurable center action (default: equalizer)
• Top-left and top-right action buttons
• none option to hide slots
• Player layout settings reorganized

Volume Tier System

• determineVolumeTier() pure function
• unavailable tier
• _hwVolumeFailed lie-detector flag
• Volume slider disabled when unavailable
• Volume routed through PlayerService

Passthrough Pipeline Mode

• audio_set_pipeline_mode_passthrough API
• Software gain removed for bit-perfect
• Wire audit verified

USB DAC Fixes & Quirks

• Fosi Audio DS2 quirk (SkipClockValidation)
• 0 Hz DAC readback fix
• Division-by-zero guard
• Sample rate preservation guards
• Non-finite/negative value guards

Reliability & Performance

• Wake lock during playback
• Auto-resume fix after interruptions
• Persistent WAV cache
• Custom artwork cache
• dev_eprintln to terminal; AppLog gated on dev mode
• Audio stream supervisor on desktop

UI Polish

• Ambient background on equalizer screen
• BlurredSongBackground removed from lists
• USB volume visibility preferences
• Responsive settings icon scaling
• Launcher icons updated
• VIEW intent queries for Android 11+

Files Changed

Upgrading

1. Network sources: Settings → Network Sources → Add Server → choose protocol (Subsonic, Jellyfin, DLNA, WebDAV, Tidal)
2. Casting: Settings → Casting → Discover Devices, or tap the cast button in the player
3. Parametric EQ: add/remove bands dynamically from the equalizer screen
4. Player buttons: Settings → Player → Layout to configure center, top, and bottom actions
5. Passthrough mode applies automatically on direct USB when supported
6. Volume tier detection is automatic — unavailable DACs show a disabled slider with message
7. Wake lock is automatic during playback — no configuration needed
8. Network songs stream via HTTP by default; enable caching from Network Sources settings