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path: root/doc/SAMPLE_ACCURATE_TIMING_FIX.md
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11 hoursfix(audio): Implement sample-accurate event timingskal
This fixes the "off-beat" timing issue where audio events (drum hits, notes) were triggering with random jitter of up to ±16ms. ROOT CAUSE: Events were quantized to frame boundaries (60fps = 16.6ms intervals) instead of triggering at exact sample positions. When tracker_update() detected an event had passed, it triggered the voice immediately, causing it to start "sometime during this frame". SOLUTION: Implement sample-accurate trigger offsets: 1. Calculate exact sample offset when triggering events 2. Add start_sample_offset field to Voice struct 3. Skip samples in synth_render() until offset elapses CHANGES: - synth.h: Add optional start_offset_samples parameter to synth_trigger_voice() - synth.cc: Add start_sample_offset field to Voice, implement offset logic in render loop - tracker.cc: Calculate sample offsets based on event_trigger_time vs current_playback_time BENEFITS: - Sample-accurate timing (0ms error vs ±16ms before) - Zero CPU overhead (just integer decrement per voice) - Backward compatible (default offset=0) - Improves audio/visual sync, variable tempo accuracy TIMING EXAMPLE: Before: Event at 0.500s could trigger at 0.483s or 0.517s (frame boundaries) After: Event triggers at exactly 0.500s (1600 sample offset calculated) See doc/SAMPLE_ACCURATE_TIMING_FIX.md for detailed explanation. Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 4.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>