Requirements & Formats

This page covers where Cota runs, which plugin formats it ships in, and how accurate the measurement is.

Cota is in Early Access

Cota is in beta (build 1.0.0-beta.4). Platform and format support is expanding — in particular, AAX and Linux are not in this beta round. See below for what's shipping today versus planned.

Platforms

Cota ships today on:

• macOS — notarised, running natively on both Intel and Apple Silicon.
• Windows.

Linux is scaffolded only — it is not a usable build in this round.

Plugin formats

As a plugin, Cota ships in:

• CLAP — macOS and Windows.
• VST3 — macOS and Windows.
• AU — macOS only.

No AAX this beta round

There is no AAX build in this beta. Full AAX support is planned later this year, alongside a second beta. If you rely on Pro Tools' native format, watch for that round.

Standalone and remote view

You don't need a DAW to use Cota:

• The standalone app meters a WAV file or a live audio input directly.
• The remote view serves Cota's live meters over your local network to any phone, tablet or browser — any screen on the LAN becomes a monitoring station. See Features for details.

Accuracy

Cota's guiding principle is measured, not claimed. The metering sits comfortably inside published EBU R128 / ITU-R BS.1770 tolerance. These are the quoted worst-case errors:

Measurement	Worst-case error	Typical limit
Momentary	0.04 LU	±0.1 LU
Short-term	0.04 LU	±0.1 LU
Integrated	0.06 LU	±0.1 LU
True peak	0.17 dB	—
LRA	0.05 LU	—

In other words, every headline loudness figure lands well within the ±0.1 LU envelope the standards allow. This is the same loudness implementation the Orbit app uses.

Delivery-target presets

Cota ships presets for the common delivery targets, so you can set your intended spec and let the Gauge warn you when you cross it:

• EBU R128
• ATSC — −24
• Apple — −16
• Stream — −14
• Netflix — −27

Where next

• Features — the Gauge, spectral terrain, spatial metering, Dashboard, remote view and reports.
• Cota vs Cota Lite — what's in each edition.
• FAQ — beta status, pricing and common questions.