Best practice for Real-Time Metering: How to pass dynamic peak values from RNBO to HISE UI?

[voxuer1]

Hi everyone,

I'm trying to build a Peak Meter in HISE where the UI fader/progress bar is driven by dynamic values calculated inside an RNBO patch.

I've been stuck for hours trying to bridge the gap between the RNBO C++ engine and the HISE UI Designer. My goal is simple: Read a real-time amplitude/peak value from RNBO and use it to animate a HISE component.

I've explored these three avenues, but each seems to have a "dead end" in my current workflow:

The Audio Out Way: I added extra out~ ports in RNBO (Channels 3+4) for the peak signal. My plan was to route these to a to_global_cable node in Scriptnode and read them via Globals.getValue() in the UI. However, I keep hitting "Channel Mismatch" errors or the extra pins simply don't show up in the Scriptnode UI.

The Data Port Way: Has anyone successfully used RNBO outport messages to send data values directly to the HISE message stack?

The Parameter Way: Can an RNBO param be updated internally by the RNBO logic (like a follower) and "push" that change back to the HISE parameter system so the UI can listen to it?

If you have a working project with RNBO and a dancing VU-meter, could you please share the "Golden Path"? Is the to_global_cable via extra audio channels indeed the way to go, or is there a more efficient "scripting" way?

Thanks for your help!

[Christoph Hart]

@voxuer1 yes global_cable is the best way, mod output => global_cable in scriptnode, then register the callback with AsyncNotification, then it's automatically polled and just updated when the value changes.

[voxuer1]

@Christoph-Hart said in Best practice for Real-Time Metering: How to pass dynamic peak values from RNBO to HISE UI?:

yes global_cable is the best way, mod output => global_cable in scriptnode, then register the callback with AsyncNotification, then it's automatically polled and just updated when the value changes.

Hi Christoph,

I'm following your advice regarding the global_cable and AsyncNotification, but I'm stuck at the very first step: getting any kind of value to show up in HISE.

I have tried every possible connection method in RNBO to send my peak-meter data (conditioned to 0.0 - 1.0) to HISE, but none of them seem to work:

Audio Outputs (out~ 3 / out~ 4): I set CompileChannelAmount to 4 and used "Wrap into chain", but the RNBO node in Scriptnode remains strictly Stereo (2 pins). No additional pins appear to connect to a core.peak.

The outport Object: I used the outport object, which is specifically designed in RNBO to send messages to the host. However, HISE doesn't seem to create a corresponding "mod output" or pin for it.

Standard Outputs (out 3): Tried the non-signal outputs as well. No luck.

Parameters (param): The parameter appears in the list, but it is static. It doesn't reflect real-time changes from the internal RNBO signal, so the global_cable gets no update.

It feels like the RNBO-exported nodes are "isolated" from HISE's modulation system. No matter what I define as an output in Max/RNBO, Scriptnode only sees standard Stereo IO and static parameters.

My Question:
Is there a specific "handshake", attribute, or naming convention required in RNBO so that HISE recognizes an output as a "mod output"?

Thanks for your help!

[Christoph Hart]

@voxuer1 have you checked the docs?

https://docs.hise.dev/glossary/rnbo.html

There is a specific chapter about mod outputs.

[voxuer1]

@Christoph-Hart Hi Christoph,

Thanks a lot for the quick response and the info!

That explains it—I'll check out the outport with the @tag mod and I think I can take it from here.

Cheers!

[voxuer1]

@Christoph-Hart yes that´s it Thanx!

[voxuer1]

@voxuer1 I hope one last question,

I successfully compiled my RNBO node with two outports (both using @tag mod).

In Scriptnode, I still only see one modulation target field. Right-clicking the icon also doesn't show the second port.

Any idea how to access both outputs? (See screenshots)

[Christoph Hart]

@voxuer1 ah here you hit a real limitation - multiple modulation outputs are not supported for RNBO at the moment.

According to your screenshot the second one is just a peak hold - if you replicate this in scriptnode you should be able to get by with a single output.

[voxuer1]

@Christoph-Hart said in Best practice for Real-Time Metering: How to pass dynamic peak values from RNBO to HISE UI?:

ah here you hit a real limitation - multiple modulation outputs are not supported for RNBO at the moment.

According to your screenshot the second one is just a peak hold - if you replicate this in scriptnode you should be able to get by with a single output.

Ah, ok, yes that´s a good idea, thanx