chore(release): prep 6.38.0 - an untimed frame is repaired before it is refused

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01RbWZLwBVLGM1xUVXa9NeJ1

Author: superuser404notfound

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -12,6 +12,29 @@ the public-API contract.
 
 _Nothing yet._
 
+## [6.38.0] - 2026-08-24
+
+### Fixed
+
+- **A decoded frame with no timestamp of its own was refused rather than repaired (AE#407).** The
+  software path had a drop for an untimed frame at two layers (the deinterlacer discards its own
+  untimestamped output, `SampleBufferRenderer.enqueue` refuses a sample the render synchronizer
+  cannot pace and whose NaN would reorder its neighbours) and no repair between them, so the only
+  thing standing between an untimed picture and a dropped one was the demuxer's `+genpts`, one flag
+  on one open. The direct path now reads `best_effort_timestamp` when the decoder set no PTS, which
+  is libavcodec's own `guess_correct_pts(pts, pkt_dts)` and the reconstruction every other
+  FFmpeg-based player consumes. It is placed directly after `avcodec_receive_frame`, so captions,
+  the filter graph and the emit path all see one repaired timestamp rather than each reading the raw
+  field separately, and a frame carrying neither value still falls through to the gate, because
+  inventing a position is worse than losing a picture. Two shapes reach the decoder untimed on their
+  own: Matroska `V_MS/VFW/FOURCC` tracks, where `matroskadec.c` writes the block time to DTS and
+  leaves `pkt->pts` unset (which is how VC-1 and the legacy Microsoft codecs are stored), and live
+  MPEG-TS, which delivers untimed pictures outright. Measured on a VC-1 Matroska fixture with
+  `+genpts` suppressed: before, every frame was refused at the enqueue gate, no picture appeared and
+  the demux loop ran a 58 s file dry in 2.5 s because nothing paced it; after, 25 enqueues per second
+  on a 25 fps source and a clock that advances. With `+genpts` on, the repair never fires and nothing
+  changes. Reported by @classicjazz.
+
 ## [6.37.0] - 2026-08-23
 
 ### Fixed

Examples/README.md

@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ Three samples covering different audiences:
    ```
    https://github.com/superuser404notfound/AetherEngine
    ```
-   Dependency Rule: Up to Next Major Version, starting from `6.37.0`. Add the `AetherEngine` library product to your app target.
+   Dependency Rule: Up to Next Major Version, starting from `6.38.0`. Add the `AetherEngine` library product to your app target.
 
 3. **Drop the file in.** Replace the Xcode template's default `App.swift` (or whatever the generated `@main` file is called) with the contents of [`MinimalPlayerApp.swift`](MinimalPlayer/MinimalPlayerApp.swift). The file is self-contained: it defines both the `@main App` struct and the `ContentView`.
 

README.md

@@ -325,7 +325,7 @@ Subtitle cues land in raw source PTS; render the overlay against `player.sourceT
 Install via Swift Package Manager:
 
 ```swift
-.package(url: "https://github.com/superuser404notfound/AetherEngine", from: "6.37.0")
+.package(url: "https://github.com/superuser404notfound/AetherEngine", from: "6.38.0")
 ```
 
 Three samples ship in `Examples/`:
@@ -528,10 +528,10 @@ Browse all of this as a searchable site at **[aetherengine.superuser404.de](http
 AetherEngine uses [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org). The public API surface, every `public` declaration in `Sources/AetherEngine/`, is the stability contract. **Major** removes / renames public symbols or breaks adopters; **Minor** adds public API or codec / format support; **Patch** fixes bugs with no public API change. `internal` types are not part of the contract.
 
 ```swift
-.package(url: "https://github.com/superuser404notfound/AetherEngine", from: "6.37.0")
+.package(url: "https://github.com/superuser404notfound/AetherEngine", from: "6.38.0")
 ```
 
-Pin to `.upToNextMinor(from: "6.37.0")` for stricter teams that prefer to opt into minor bumps explicitly.
+Pin to `.upToNextMinor(from: "6.38.0")` for stricter teams that prefer to opt into minor bumps explicitly.
 
 ## Requirements