Virtual webcam
Synthscape registers a CoreMediaIO device on macOS and a DirectShow source on Windows, so Discord, Zoom, Teams, Meet, OBS, and Streamlabs see it exactly like a USB camera. No plugins on either end.
Audio visualizer · Windows & macOS
See your sound.
Use it as a webcam.
A real-time audio visualizer that registers as a virtual webcam in Discord, Zoom, Teams, and OBS. Twenty-four reactive styles, BPM detection from spectral flux, saveable presets. We built it because we wanted to watch our playlists.
Windows
macOS
Steam
No account, no email
1
Download
Free. Install and launch.
2
Pick a style
Twenty four to choose from. Switch any time.
3
Use it
Discord, Zoom, OBS, or leave it running on your desktop.
What it does
The list of things it does,
and how.
Each item on this list exists because one of us got annoyed at the lack of it. Build log, not feature roster.
Beat detection
Spectral flux onset detection over a 2048-sample FFT, with adaptive thresholding. BPM updates in real time and the visuals lock to what the audio is actually doing.
Saveable presets
The full configuration (style, colors, bloom, sensitivity, audio source) saves as a named preset with a thumbnail. Six built-in starters; the rest are yours.
Bloom that holds 60 fps
Multi-pass downsample bloom with adjustable radius, threshold, and intensity. Runs in WebGL 2; integrated GPUs hold sixty frames.
Color and pattern controls
Hue, saturation, brightness, plus six animated patterns (Rainbow, Breathing, Wave, Comet, Neon, Pulse). Eight starting swatches for when you don't feel like picking.
Now playing overlay
Reads the current Spotify track from the local API and fades the title and artist on screen for a few seconds when the song changes. Part of the render, not a separate window.
Chroma key, or true alpha
Green, blue, or magenta backgrounds for the usual OBS chroma key. Or pipe out a real alpha channel and skip the keying step.
Widget and wallpaper modes
Pin it as an always-on-top widget in the corner, or push it behind your icons as a reactive wallpaper. Same renderer, smaller window.
Audio controls all the way down
Smoothing, sensitivity, noise gate, low and high frequency cuts. Switch between mic and desktop audio without restarting the FFT.
Twenty four styles
All in the same renderer.
Switch any time.
Each style reads bass, mids, and treble differently, sometimes from the time-domain waveform, sometimes from the frequency-domain magnitudes, sometimes both. We kept adding them because we kept wanting one more.
6
3D
Orb, Helix, Gaussian, Water Orb, Galaxy, Metaballs.
7
Lines & waves
Wave, Smooth Wave, Circular Wave, Line, Lissajous, Envelope, Ring Spectrum.
4
Bars
Bars, Thin, Block, Dense.
7
Immersive
Tunnel, Kaleidoscope, Mountain Reflect, Fractal Tree, Spike Peaks, Swarm, Dot Columns.
Who uses it
Same app,
several reasons.
We see Synthscape get used in three or four very different shapes. They're worth describing because each one leans on a different feature.
Discord & voice chat
On a voice call with the camera off.
Everyone's cameras are off and the call is a grid of static avatars. Switch your camera to Synthscape and the avatar slot becomes a visualizer that responds to whatever's coming through your mic and the music playing through it. Discord doesn't know the difference; it just sees a webcam.
- Registers as a normal webcam. No bot, no plugin.
- Works in voice channels and full video calls.
- Spotify track and artist fade in on song changes.
- Pick a style once, save it as a preset, leave it.
Discord
Zoom · Teams · Meet
Work calls
Monday standup, camera off. Instead of a blank square, Synthscape gives you a pulsing orb that responds when you talk. Not for client calls; very good for the cameras-off ones.
- Pick "Synthscape" in the camera settings.
- Reads your mic, brightens when you speak.
- No one on the call installs anything.
OBS · Streamlabs
Streamers
Add Synthscape as a Video Capture source in OBS. Turn on chroma key, or pipe out a true alpha channel, and the visualizer becomes an overlay that reacts to game audio, your mic, or both. No browser sources, no plugins.
- Green, blue, or magenta chroma backgrounds.
- True alpha output for keyer-less compositing.
- 720p and 1080p output at 60 fps with Pro.
Spotify · any audio
Listening
Put on an album, pick a style, leave it. No stream, no audience, just the visualizer on a screen somewhere. This is what we built it for first.
- Spotify now-playing reads artist and track from the local API.
- BPM detection locks visuals to the beat.
- Desktop wallpaper mode pushes it behind your icons.
YouTube · TikTok
Content visuals
Quick visuals for a music video, podcast clip, or reaction reel: screenshot or screen-record Synthscape responding to your audio. Faster than reaching for After Effects.
- One-click screenshot to clipboard or file.
- Twenty four styles to swap between takes.
- Custom presets for a consistent look across uploads.
Focus · ambient
Study and lo-fi sessions
Pin Synthscape as a desktop widget, drop the intensity, put on lo-fi. You get a quiet, breathing light in the corner of the screen instead of a static taskbar icon.
- Always-on-top floating widget.
- Low-intensity settings for ambient use.
- Breathing and Wave color patterns.
Podcasts · VTubers
Voice and podcasting
Recording a podcast or going live as voice-only. Synthscape turns mic input into a reactive visual that brightens on speech and settles in silence. More legible than a static logo.
- Mic input drives the visual in real time.
- Noise gate filters background hum and HVAC.
- Consistent look across episodes via presets.
Pricing
Free, with a Pro tier
for HD output.
Everything that makes Synthscape interesting is in the free build: all twenty four styles, BPM detection, presets, the virtual camera at 360p. Pro adds 720p and 1080p output and the higher framerates streamers want. One five-dollar payment, lifetime, no subscription.
Free
$0
forever
- All twenty four visualization styles
- Full color and bloom controls
- BPM detection and beat sync
- Saveable presets
- Spotify now-playing overlay
- Desktop widget and wallpaper modes
- Screenshot capture
- Virtual camera at 360p, 30 fps
Pro
Pro
$5
one time, lifetime
- Everything in Free
- Virtual camera at 720p and 1080p
- 60 fps, 120 fps, and VSync
- Lifetime license, no subscription
Questions
Things people
actually ask.
Can I use Synthscape as my camera in Discord, Zoom, or Teams?
Yes. Toggle the virtual camera on, then pick "Synthscape" as your camera in any video app. It registers as a normal webcam at the OS level (CoreMediaIO on macOS, DirectShow on Windows), so apps don't need plugins or any awareness that it's a visualizer.
Is it actually free?
Yes. All twenty four styles, BPM detection, presets, Spotify overlay, widget mode, virtual camera at 360p. The $5 Pro upgrade unlocks 720p and 1080p output and higher frame rates. The free build isn't deliberately crippled; the things gated behind Pro are the ones with real GPU cost.
What audio sources does it support?
Any system microphone or audio input device, plus virtual audio cables like VoiceMeeter and VB-Cable for routing desktop audio in.
How do I add it to OBS?
Enable the virtual camera in Synthscape, add a Video Capture Device source in OBS, and select Synthscape from the list. For transparent overlays, turn on chroma key in the app and add a Chroma Key filter in OBS. Or use true alpha output and skip the keyer entirely.
Can I visualize Spotify, YouTube, or game audio?
Yes. Route desktop audio through a virtual audio cable (VB-Cable on macOS, VoiceMeeter on Windows) and select it as the input. About two minutes of setup the first time, nothing afterwards.
What are the system requirements?
Windows 10+ (64-bit) or macOS 11+. Any GPU with WebGL 2.0 support, which covers everything in the last decade including integrated graphics. Roughly 200 MB of RAM, holds sixty frames per second.
How does the beat detection work?
Spectral flux onset detection on a 2048-sample FFT. We take the half-wave-rectified positive change in spectral magnitude per frame, sum across bins, and threshold against a running mean to call onsets. Inter-onset intervals feed a histogram that we read as BPM.
Can I save and share presets?
Yes. Save the style, colors, bloom, sensitivity, and audio source as a named preset with a thumbnail. Six starters ship in the box (Deep Bass Pulse, Neon Galaxy, and others). The rest you make.
Download
Free download.
No account, no email.
Pick your platform. Notarized on macOS, signed on Windows. The Steam build mirrors the direct download with the same release cadence.
v1.0.3 · Windows 10+ · macOS 11+ · ~90MB