What it is
Max is the granddaddy of patching environments, and Jitter is its video, matrix, and OpenGL world. Together they are less a visuals product than a laboratory: any signal can drive any pixel, and forty years of computer-music culture has built in it everything from gallery installations to entire commercial products.
That last point matters for this map: Vsynth is built in Max, and when Ableton Live Suite includes Max for Live, it is including this environment. Photism runs as a VST3 or AU plugin in any DAW, as a standalone app, and in the browser.
What it costs
Subscription or perpetual licensing from Cycling ’74, and effectively included with Ableton Live Suite as Max for Live. macOS and Windows.
Best for
Artists and researchers who want to invent their instrument, audiovisual composers, and anyone whose idea does not exist as a product yet.
Skip it if
Your goal is a result rather than an invention. Jitter rewards patching fluency and punishes impatience; for finished visuals tonight, use something built IN it rather than building in it yourself.