Pulse Mixer - Documentation

1. Overview

The Pulse Mixer is the control center of the PulseSync experience. It transforms saved Pulse Segments—emotionally meaningful snippets created through the Pulse Editor—into fully dynamic emotional mixes.

Users can shape how these segments blend together using:

• Emotion presets
• Energy range filters
• Mix behavior toggles
• Duration limits
• Max segment thresholds

The Pulse Mixer produces a personalized emotional stream—crossfaded, lightly beat-aligned, and curated entirely by the listener’s emotional intent.

2. Purpose and User Value

The Pulse Mixer empowers the listener to:

• Combine meaningful emotional fragments
• Match playback to their emotional state
• Control energy flow and mix behavior
• Build emotional journeys
• Relive nostalgic or intense moments
• Use presets for instant mood creation

More than a playlist, the Pulse Mixer is an emotional engine that generates mood-specific sessions.

3. Accessing the Pulse Mixer

1. Navigate to the Now Playing screen
2. Ensure the app is in Sync Mode
3. Tap the Pulse Mixer button (bottom-right)
4. Tap again to hide controls

This toggle-based visibility keeps the mixer accessible yet unobtrusive.

4. Mixer Interface & Controls

4.1 Emotion Presets

Emotion Presets determine which Pulse Segments are eligible based on their emotional category.

Available presets:

• Happy Mix
• Calm Mix
• Romantic Mix
• Party Mix
• Epic Mix
• Lo-Fi Mix
• Workout Mix
• Dark Mix
• Sad Mix
• Nature Mix
• Spiritual Mix

4.2 Energy Range Selector

A dual-handle slider lets the user select a minimum and maximum emotional intensity level. Only Pulse Segments whose intensity matches this range will be included.

Example settings:

• Calm → Low–Medium
• Epic → Medium–High
• Lo-Fi → Low
• Workout → High

4.3 Mix Behavior Toggles

1. Rising Energy — builds progressively upward.
2. Oscillating Energy — alternates intensity.
3. Shuffle Mode — randomizes order (overrides 1 & 2).
4. Newest First — plays newest segments first (overrides 1, 2, and 3).

Toggle priority: Newest First > Shuffle > Oscillating/Rising.

4.4 Target Duration Selector

Duration slider: 5 minutes → 120 minutes.

4.5 Max Segment Count

Defines the maximum allowed Pulse Segments (1 → 100).

4.6 Start Mixing

Pressing Start Mixing initiates the PulseSync pipeline:

1. Emotion filtering
2. Intensity filtering
3. Behavior toggles applied
4. Duration limit enforced
5. Segment count enforced
6. Queue built via ClippingMediaSource
7. Crossfades + light beatmatching
8. Playback begins

If no playback occurs, the chosen filters produced zero viable segments.

5. How Pulse Mixer Builds a Mix

1. Collect segments matching the emotion preset
2. Filter by intensity (energy range)
3. Apply toggle-based ordering logic
4. Clip based on target duration
5. Apply max segment limit
6. Build Media3 ClippingMediaSource queue
7. Apply crossfades + beatmatching
8. Start seamless PulseSync playback

6. Edge Cases and Safeguards

• No matching segments → no playback
• Duration always overrides segment count
• Newest First overrides all toggles
• Narrow intensity ranges may exclude too many segments
• PulseSync disabled if no Pulse Segments exist
• Sync Mode required to access mixer
• Mixer hides automatically when playback mode changes

7. Known Limitations

• No beat-snapped boundaries
• Lightweight DSP → approximate energy detection
• No multi-emotion blending
• No undo, redo, or history
• No segment repetition rules
• Non-MP3 files lack waveform DSP accuracy