Web/API/AnalyserNode/getByteTimeDomainData

The getByteTimeDomainData() method of the AnalyserNode Interface copies the current waveform, or time-domain, data into a Uint8Array (unsigned byte array) passed into it.

If the array has fewer elements than the AnalyserNode.fftSize, excess elements are dropped. If it has more elements than needed, excess elements are ignored.

Syntax

const audioCtx = new AudioContext();
const analyser = audioCtx.createAnalyser();
const dataArray = new Uint8Array(analyser.fftSize); // Uint8Array should be the same length as the fftSize 
analyser.getByteTimeDomainData(dataArray); // fill the Uint8Array with data returned from getByteTimeDomainData()

Parameters

array: The Uint8Array that the time domain data will be copied to. If the array has fewer elements than the AnalyserNode.fftSize, excess elements are dropped. If it has more elements than needed, excess elements are ignored.

Return value

void | None

Example

The following example shows basic usage of an AudioContext to create an AnalyserNode, then requestAnimationFrame and <canvas> to collect time domain data repeatedly and draw an "oscilloscope style" output of the current audio input. For more complete applied examples/information, check out our [[../../../../../../../mdn.github.io/voice-change-o-matic/index|Voice-change-O-matic]] demo (see app.js lines 128–205 for relevant code).

const audioCtx = new (window.AudioContext || window.webkitAudioContext)();
const analyser = audioCtx.createAnalyser();

  ...

analyser.fftSize = 2048;
const bufferLength = analyser.fftSize;
const dataArray = new Uint8Array(bufferLength);
analyser.getByteTimeDomainData(dataArray);

// draw an oscilloscope of the current audio source
function draw() {
  drawVisual = requestAnimationFrame(draw);
  analyser.getByteTimeDomainData(dataArray);

  canvasCtx.fillStyle = 'rgb(200, 200, 200)';
  canvasCtx.fillRect(0, 0, WIDTH, HEIGHT);

  canvasCtx.lineWidth = 2;
  canvasCtx.strokeStyle = 'rgb(0, 0, 0)';

  const sliceWidth = WIDTH * 1.0 / bufferLength;
  let x = 0;

  canvasCtx.beginPath();
  for(var i = 0; i < bufferLength; i++) {
    const v = dataArray[i]/128.0;
    const y = v * HEIGHT/2;

    if(i === 0)
      canvasCtx.moveTo(x, y);
    else
      canvasCtx.lineTo(x, y);

    x += sliceWidth;
  }

  canvasCtx.lineTo(WIDTH, HEIGHT/2);
  canvasCtx.stroke();
};

draw();

Specifications

Specification	Status	Comment
Web Audio APIThe definition of 'getByteTimeDomainData()' in that specification.	Working Draft

Browser compatibility

Update compatibility data on GitHub

	Desktop						Mobile
	Chrome	Edge	Firefox	Internet Explorer	Opera	Safari	Android webview	Chrome for Android	Firefox for Android	Opera for Android	Safari on iOS	Samsung Internet
`getByteTimeDomainData`	Chrome Full support 14	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support 25	IE No support No	Opera Full support 15	Safari Full support 6	WebView Android Full support Yes	Chrome Android Full support 18	Firefox Android Full support 26	Opera Android Full support 14	Safari iOS Full support 6	Samsung Internet Android Full support 1.0

Legend

Full support: Full support
No support: No support