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Message: [QUOTE="Bombastus, post: 91764, member: 2178"] Harmonic DJ 1.2.0 ships VST3, Audio Unit, AUv3, and AAX formats, but the actual format mix changes by operating system. Seeing four plug-in names in a release note can make the package look more uniform than it is. On macOS, the installation includes the universal standalone app alongside VST3, Audio Unit, AUv3, and AAX builds. Windows gets the standalone app, VST3, and AAX, with separate x64 and x86 packages rather than the Apple-only Audio Unit formats. Linux is the odd one out. APU supplies an x64 standalone application and VST3 build, but its documentation says Linux plug-in host qualification is deferred while current release validation concentrates on macOS and Windows. [HEADING=2]macOS gets the widest format choice[/HEADING] Apple users have the broadest set of host options because Harmonic DJ ships both Audio Unit generations as well as VST3 and AAX. The AUv3 piece is slightly unusual because the extension lives inside the APU Harmonic DJ application bundle, so keeping the app installed is part of keeping AUv3 installed. Removing the standalone application because you only plan to use the plug-in is therefore the wrong cleanup move. Harmonic DJ uses the app for the shared Library database, scanning, and analysis work, while plug-in instances connect back to that same local library when their editors open. A DAW can scan the plug-in without forcing the Harmonic DJ window onto your desktop. Opening the editor establishes the Library connection, and the application can start with its window hidden when needed, which keeps ordinary project loading from becoming a parade of extra windows. The [B][URL='https://goldmidi.com/community/threads/apu-software-has-expanded-harmonic-dj-with-plug-in-formats.77146/']new Harmonic DJ plug-in formats[/URL][/B] matter most when you match them to the host you actually use. A Mac producer might choose Audio Unit in an Apple-centric setup, VST3 in another host, or AAX for a Pro Tools workflow, without changing the underlying Harmonic DJ library. Format support and host qualification are not the same promise. Academic work on [B][URL='https://lac.linuxaudio.org/2018/pdf/LAC2018_proceedings.pdf']cross-platform audio plug-in research[/URL][/B] treats the plug-in format as the compatibility layer between processing software and a DAW, which is useful context when a vendor lists a format but narrows its tested host coverage. [HEADING=2]Windows has fewer formats and one extra dependency[/HEADING] Windows avoids the Apple formats entirely. The useful choices are VST3 and AAX, and APU provides both 64-bit and 32-bit Windows packages, which matters if you still run an older x86 host or a machine that cannot use the x64 package. Architecture still has to match the host you expect to load the plug-in. Installing an x64 build does not magically make a 32-bit DAW discover it, so choosing the correct Windows package comes before chasing scan paths or resetting a host's plug-in database. A less obvious requirement appears on Windows N and KN editions. Harmonic DJ needs Microsoft's Media Feature Pack there, and the installer checks for the Media Foundation components it expects before directing you to Windows Optional Features when they are missing. This dependency is not just installer trivia. AAC and ALAC files in M4A containers rely on Media Foundation under Windows, so a machine missing those components can lose access to audio formats that work normally on a standard Windows installation. The practical symptom may look like a Harmonic DJ file problem rather than an operating-system problem. If M4A files refuse to analyze or play on Windows N or KN, installing the required media components and restarting Windows is a more sensible first check than repeatedly rescanning the same library. [HEADING=2]Linux VST3 exists without the same validation promise[/HEADING] Linux users do get a Harmonic DJ VST3 build alongside the x64 standalone application. APU is explicit, however, that Linux plug-in host qualification is deferred, so the presence of a VST3 package should not be read as the same breadth of tested host support currently given to macOS and Windows. This distinction matters because VST3 describes the plug-in interface, not every combination of distribution, desktop environment, host version, graphics stack, and audio configuration a Linux user might run. A host can support VST3 in principle while a particular setup still exposes a problem the vendor has not qualified. One more compatibility rule applies across platforms. The standalone application and plug-ins are a matched installation and are supposed to use the same Harmonic DJ version, since the plug-in depends on the application's shared services instead of behaving as a completely self-contained effect. A version-mismatch warning therefore points to the installation before it points to your project. Updating only one component can leave the DAW plug-in and the Library-owning application out of step, while reinstalling the complete matching package restores the combination APU expects to run together. [/QUOTE]

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