Hey guys,
I started to think about “playing” with my DAW on my Home PC via Remote on the way.

So I found a pretty cool software called SonoBus. You can google it.
I read, that you can stream your Audio via Network per Host to a client. They also provide a VST Plugin.

I have a IPad Pro 13” and already tried out classic RDP to my Windows and opened Bitwig in Tablet Mode.
That was already pretty cool and has enough potential to bring me some fun. Nothing big serious.
Touch worked really good. Working with the Plugins in Touchmode is really cool.
But the RDP is really laggy and slow and RDP also not famous for realtime audio.

So does somebody know a Remote Software where I can directly use my Home PC DAW on my IPad, or at least a Remote Software which is really snappy and I would test together the SonoBus Software.

Maybe someone has some inspiration for this small hobby project

 

Unfortunately not on iPad, but on macOS and Windows Parsec is a really good remote desktop, it's fast enough to play games and (depending on connection) can feel like sitting in front of the remote machine itself.

Edit: And it can deliver uncompressed PCM audio if the bandwidth is sufficient.

 

Parsec is great and probably the best (least latency) option if it's available for your platforms. I've used AnyDesk to work on Windows machines from phones and tablets before, and that was very snappy too. Snappy enough to co-op medium-paced games. Available on every platform. More recent versions are pretty obnoxious about buying a license from them though.

 

RDP is terrible but very resource efficient for lightweight remote, handy for troubleshooting, but also breaks audio engine (locked to 44.1k samplerate, can't bridge ASIO, may interrupt audio on logon/logoff session),

Sunshine (Windows) + Moonlight (PC/Mac/iPad/iPhone) offers high performance low latency remote desktop (good enough even for playing games),

VNC (server/client, native in MacOS) offers remote screensharing with control (no audio though),

Newtek NDI Tools offer video/audio (VST plugin on Windows, or OBS integration, cameras, phones etc...) streaming over network (no control though),

Reaper's ReaStream VST plugin provides low latency (multichannel) lossless audio (and/or MIDI) send/receive over network,

if you want just audio streaming, then (paid) Airfoil (MacOS only) + Airfoil Satellite works,

for internet bridging stuff mentioned above, Tailscale delivers zero-config VPN, or you can selfhost VPN server with DDNS or static public IP,


fingers crossed for the project!
from my experience on the topic (started around Covid), you'll end up with a combination, maybe tablet/phone for control, perhaps DAW in a virtual machine without physical audio interface, then separate computer device as audio receiver, and maybe even separate laptop for MIDI control/keyboard remote,
you'll need solid reliable fast network infrastructure to prevent lags/bugs, for wireless AP you definitely want at least WiFi 6 2x2 MIMO, and for wired network no less than 1Gbit

 

Thanks for your feedback guys. Tailscale looks nice as a VPN.
I just tested Jump Desktop because many people praise it. But I did not like. Connecting to Windows was already a mess because of Alt Strg Remv

And the Touch functions were not „delivered“ to the host.
Windows RDP looked pretty clear, but Jump Desktop not.

So i will test me through some more Softwares

 

Parsec vs Moonlight (2 years old video though):

 

They have a Logic remote app that works on ipad connected to the Mac via bluetooth. I tested it out for a little while and I did not like using it at all, but many people give good reviews of it. It's working smoothly and well-programmed like you would expect from Apple. Using it as a touch screen for the Logic RemixFX plugin especially, or the Korg Kaos pad and with other x/y style plugins is ok. But it was about 90% letdown from what I had expected.

If you find something for your ipad; maybe you could return with any suggestions.

 

It may help for RDP :
https://sysadmin-central.com/2021/0...uality-and-remove-delays-over-remote-desktop/

And a "new" contender :
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/remotix-vnc-rdp-near/id407498378?platform=ipad

 

I've used TeamViewer and Parsec over the last few years, but only use teamviewer as a backup nowadays. Here's my take on each:

Teamviewer

Pros: Easy to setup, audio quality and speed is acceptable for most things (like a 256kb mp3), has drag and drop features between host and remote computer.

Cons: Terrible nag screen that assumes commercial usage, even when your using for personal. They will limit your account and try and force you to buy a license.


Parsec

Pros: Full lossless audio quality, fastest speed (nearly real-time depending on connection). Free.

Cons: Setup is less user friendly, lacks native 'host/remote file management' tools like file transfer or drag and drop features. Requires a good connection/decent bandwidth to avoid disconnects.

 

if you want a free alternative to it, RustDesk is amazing

 

Short Update on this project.
The post from tzzsmk lead me the way to sunshine/moonlight.
I tried Anydesk, Splashtop, Jump, RDP.

but Sunshine/moonlight is another level. The App runs as webapp on the host. Settings directly looked more promising.
But out of the box the Experience was super nice.
I just tested it in my internal network.
The only trick was to add a custom resolution in moonlight: 1440x1080
My Ipad Pro has a 4:3 resolution

PC = Gigabit LAN
Ipad = 5 ghz WLAN
= SUUUPER Experience.

No lag, Drag and drop control is super smooth.
You can pinch in and out with the fingers.
So i zoom in to the FL pattern and it´s super snappy to click the beats

AAAND I got sound out of FL directly without huge latency.
Sure its not for live playing, but i can do some serious stuff here.

I continue now testing the VPN with Tailscale and the Asio Sound with SonoBus.
I also found a trick to start the PC remotely:
https://www.tp-link.com/de/home-networking/smart-plug/tapo-p110/

Smart Steckdose.
This toy costs 10€ :D
On reddit i read, you just need to configure your BIOS to Power On after power loss.
So the guys shut down their PC. Then stey power off the AC via the TPLink Cloud App.
When you POwer on the TPLink thingie, your PC directly starts and you can connect remotely

hahaaaaaaaaaaa , thats soooo cool


EDIT:
I can confirm: IT WORKS!!!
You need:
Sunshine/Moonlight (Edit here: Rustdesk in direct IP mode is better, see next site)
Tailscale
SonoBus

SonoBus installs as VST Plugin also.
You put it at the End on your master.
So it transfers all ASIO Audio to the ipad client. (CRAZY)

All of them don´t need long configuration. Super easy.
I tested to connect via Tailscale over my Wifi = Snappy
Wifi= Super Snappy, almost realtime
5G Hotspot with my Iphone: ~~~ hmmm you can play a bit, but not realtime.

So the conclusion: When you have a good internet Upload ~50mbits LAN
And a stable 5ghz Wifi or better LAN on the client site then this projects works really really good.

I make some research now about security and how to protect my stuff.
But with some Software Firewall rules and the Tailscale this sounds pretty secure

And then i will buy this TP Link Steckdose to Power On my PC from remote

And theeeeen i can make music everywhereeeee

Thank you so much guys, i´m super super happy.
I bought a Ipad Pro 12" with the m4 for cutting videos in Davinci for Ipad.
Thats a super cool "secret" because it works really good.
Now my Ipad is also a windows machine with all possibilities.
With FL and Bitwig on my Windows machine and FL or Cubase mobile for Ipad you really have everything you need on a Ipad.
And the touch function is really fun and very comfortable

 

Last edited: Jan 23, 2025

Hi,
i use my ipad of Iphone for controlling my daw pc for few years now and its really fun. https://imgur.com/a/bkglgai
just RDP from Windows and Sonobus... on 5G mobile network..... you can master the audio on your audio system in your car by Bluetooth :D

i hope someone knows how to use Midi on mobile 5G to play piano by RDP at you pc at home ?

when you put a midi controller in your ipad i can't get it to work proper by RDP to control your daw pc at home. Does some one knows a tools to send a midi signal from an Ipad on 5G to a pc at home ?

now i use ableton Note app and import the midi clips by cloud transfer. Maybe i need buy ableton Move? i want to have a realtime feel on keys, not pressing on a iphone screen.

 

Take a look here :
https://www.tobias-erichsen.de/software/rtpmidi.html

TouchOSC and Lemur supports "network MIDI" standard on ios.

 

haha how cool is THAT?

Standing on a snowy road, in your warm car. 20 nuggets from Burger king and then start to mixing on your Hifi in the car, remotely on your PC at home hahaha crazy good.

Thank you ItsFine for the Network midi link. Will also have a look-
Would be cool to have my small MPK mini with me ^^

 

but wait there's more - if you used Reaper as DAW, you could build custom modern WEB UI control for it via WRB - https://reaper.blog/reaperwrb-open-source/

 

i tried rtpmidi from tobias, but this not work on mobile network and the Ipad.
This works nice when you on 2 pc's on different places with 2 routers you can control. On a Ipad and mobile net you missed 1 router to control for opening ports.

The problem is i get the midikeyboard triggering an App on the ipad. But it not connect to the RDP environment.
all the RDP apps dont alow income midi signal.
I can get a work around when i am on wifi with both devices. I can use the IOS app MIDI Wrench to enable a delay signal on the ipad.
i askes Sonobus people to transfer the midi in their app. But didnt got response. And my health is bad atm. I don't have energie for this

I ended up searching searching for a possibility to open ports from your mobile net on you IPAD.
But this hard to do. And i dont like this option ...because apple pay is on that thing too :D

maybe i overlooked someting i forget? but in my head i tried everything atm.

 

hahah yeah this was indeed the idea... or in summer near a river with you legs in the water. But now i end up using it only for mix and mastering and testing on different systems and on different places. Still love that. This sonobus and RDP gives a realtime feel with almost no latency on a mobile 4G or 5G environment.

 

Thats so cool man.
Actually i think a lot to replace my Windows PC and get a Macbook Pro M3.
I really want to be more outside and find back to creativity.

Sitting in front of my PC at home makes me depressing. But i love making music.
So this solutions we have here are pure Gold.

The Problem here in Germany (or NOT a problem ^^ ) is that our internet and mobile internet is really bad ^^
I can still go into bigger cities and have no or bad signal ^^
Internet also still super expensive.

So i try out this solutions, otherwise i try to change my PC against a macbook.

Other Theme:
I tried Sunshine moonlight on a friends Macbook Pro 14" M3.
Super snappy experience. Better then on ipad.
But you need to set your Windows Host resolution to:
Windows: 1680x1050
Scale 125%

Otherwise you have this big black bars.

FL looks really good and feels responsive. Absolut no lag with internal network.

 

better go for a macbook pro i think. i noticed that Sonobus eats your battery level quick on the ipad.
I some times create tunes now in the waiting room in the hospital
And i like it when i am back home, because i can work in the same system and same project. So no transfering of data. No need to install 2 total systems to play a project on 2 systems.

I also use the Magickeyboad for Ipad so can more easy zoom and copy, past. But you will end up drawing your midi clips.
So i would advise a macbook pro with a external RME babyface and a portable midikeyboard. Then you can mobile record vocals and play piano everywhere and now worries for bad internet.

i am thinking more about adding this ableton move. just for easy quick create midi clip ideas and easy transfer this to the daw pc at home. i not create total tunes when i am outside... its to much distractions from life there.