AnalyserNode.smoothingTimeConstant

The smoothingTimeConstant property of the AnalyserNode interface is a double value representing the averaging constant with the last analysis frame. It's basically an average between the current buffer and the last buffer the AnalyserNode processed, and results in a much smoother set of value changes over time.

Syntax

var smoothValue = analyserNode.smoothingTimeConstant;
analyserNode.smoothingTimeConstant = newValue;

Value

A double within the range 0 to 1 (0 meaning no time averaging). The default value is 0.8.

If 0 is set, there is no averaging done, whereas a value of 1 means "overlap the previous and current buffer quite a lot while computing the value", which essentially smoothes the changes across AnalyserNode.getFloatFrequencyData/AnalyserNode.getByteFrequencyData calls.

In technical terms, we apply a Blackman window and smooth the values over time. The default value is good enough for most cases.

Note: If a value outside the range 0–1 is set, an INDEX_SIZE_ERR exception is thrown.

Example

The following example shows basic usage of an AudioContext to create an AnalyserNode, then requestAnimationFrame and <canvas> to collect frequency data repeatedly and draw a "winamp bargraph style" output of the current audio input. For more complete applied examples/information, check out our Voice-change-O-matic demo (see app.js lines 128–205 for relevant code).

If you are curious about the effect the smoothingTimeConstant() has, try cloning the above example and setting analyser.smoothingTimeConstant = 0; instead. You'll notice that the value changes are much more jarring.

var audioCtx = new (window.AudioContext || window.webkitAudioContext)();
var analyser = audioCtx.createAnalyser();
analyser.minDecibels = -90;
analyser.maxDecibels = -10;
analyser.smoothingTimeConstant = 0.85;

  ...

analyser.fftSize = 256;
var bufferLength = analyser.frequencyBinCount;
console.log(bufferLength);
var dataArray = new Uint8Array(bufferLength);

canvasCtx.clearRect(0, 0, WIDTH, HEIGHT);

function draw() {
  drawVisual = requestAnimationFrame(draw);

  analyser.getByteFrequencyData(dataArray);

  canvasCtx.fillStyle = 'rgb(0, 0, 0)';
  canvasCtx.fillRect(0, 0, WIDTH, HEIGHT);

  var barWidth = (WIDTH / bufferLength) * 2.5;
  var barHeight;
  var x = 0;

  for(var i = 0; i < bufferLength; i++) {
    barHeight = dataArray[i];

    canvasCtx.fillStyle = 'rgb(' + (barHeight+100) + ',50,50)';
    canvasCtx.fillRect(x,HEIGHT-barHeight/2,barWidth,barHeight/2);

    x += barWidth + 1;
  }
};

draw();

Specifications

Specification Status Comment
Web Audio API
The definition of 'smoothingTimeConstant' in that specification.
Working Draft

Browser compatibility

DesktopMobile
ChromeEdgeFirefoxInternet ExplorerOperaSafariAndroid webviewChrome for AndroidFirefox for AndroidOpera for AndroidSafari on iOSSamsung Internet
smoothingTimeConstantChrome Full support 14Edge Full support 12Firefox Full support 25IE No support NoOpera Full support 15Safari Full support 6WebView Android Full support YesChrome Android Full support 18Firefox Android Full support 26Opera Android Full support 14Safari iOS Full support 6Samsung Internet Android Full support 1.0

Legend

Full support
Full support
No support
No support

See also