Knowledge Base

Specify the Duration of the Observation

Select one of the following options:

• Open Ended Observation – The observation ends when you stop it manually, or when the end of the video file has been reached. Select one of the other options if you want the observation to stop automatically after a predefined time.
• Duration Based on Elapsed Time – The observation stops after a predefined time. Enter the time in the Observation Duration field that appears.
• Duration Based on Observed Time – The observation stops after a predefined time, excluding the time the observation was suspended (see Suspend an Observation). Enter the time in the Observation Duration field that appears. If you observe from pre-recorded video, there is no difference between the elapsed and observed time. There is only a difference when you observe live and at some point you suspend the observation.
• Duration Based on Sample Intervals – This option is only available when you chose Instantaneous Sampling, or Combine Continuous and Instantaneous Sampling as observation method. Enter the Sample Interval Length and the Number of Sample Intervals in the fields that appear. The Observation Duration is calculated automatically based on the combination of Number of Sample Intervals and Sample Interval Length. The first sample is taken at 0 seconds, and there is no sample at the stop of the observation. Therefore, the duration of the observation is actually one sample interval shorter than the displayed Observation Duration. For example, if you set the Sample Interval Length to 60 seconds and the Number of Sample Intervals to 10, the Observation Duration is automatically set to 600 seconds. However, since the first sample is at 0 seconds, the last sample is at 540 seconds. There is no sample at the exact stop time of the observation.

Enter Project Information

Under Project Information, you can enter important information about your project. The following project information is available:

• Date Created – The date and time when the project was created. This field cannot be edited.
• Location – The location where your project is stored on your computer. For the default location, see File Locations in File Management. To change the default location of future projects, see File Locations in Installation.
• Description – Enter information about your project such as location, date or time of year of the study, observers, the scientific research question that you aim to answer with this study, etc. You can edit the description at any time. You can enter a maximum of 2047 ASCII characters.

Template Information

If your project is based on a template, the Project Setup window also contains Template Information with the Name, Date Created, and additional information. The template information cannot be edited. See also: Create a New Project from a Template in File Management.

Lock the Project Setup

To prevent changes to the setup, lock your setup. Choose Setup > Lock Configuration.

In a locked configuration the following items cannot be edited:

• Observation Source – You cannot change the observation source from Offline Observation to Live Observation or vice versa. However, if the observation source is live, you can select new devices, deselect devices, edit settings for the devices, or add new external programs. See External Programs for more information about selecting devices for live observation.
• Observation Method
• Observation Duration – See Specify the Duration of the Observation.
• Sample Interval Length
• Project Information – See Enter Project Information.
• Coding Scheme – See Create Coding Scheme.
• Independent Variables – You cannot define new independent variables or change the properties of existing variables. Entering and editing independent variable values is possible. If you observe offline, you can add new video files.

When you save your project as a template project, the project setup in the new project created with the template is locked.

To Unlock the Project Setup

To unlock the project setup, choose Setup > Unlock Configuration.

External Programs

Use External Programs to control external programs with The Observer XT.

Examples

• Example 1 – Start video recording with MediaRecorder when you start an observation and stop recording when the observation ends. See Observe Live and Record Video with MediaRecorder.
• Example 2 – Start and stop facial expression analysis with FaceReader together with an observation. See Observe Live and Analyze with FaceReader.
• Example 3 – Start and stop an eye tracker that cannot be controlled with N-Linx together with an observation. See Add a Custom External Device.

Observe Live and Record Video with MediaRecorder

Configuring this integration provides the following behavior:

1. When you create a new observation, MediaRecorder starts and loads a camera configuration.
2. When you start an observation, MediaRecorder starts recording.
3. When you stop an observation, MediaRecorder stops recording.
4. The recorded videos are automatically linked to the observation.
5. The recorded videos are automatically synchronized with the events.

Prerequisites

• You have MediaRecorder 4 or higher. For earlier versions of MediaRecorder, the procedure may be different; consult the documentation of that version.
• The Observer XT, MediaRecorder, and N-Linx Server are installed on computers that are in the same network.
• On the computer with MediaRecorder, you installed N-Linx Agent and selected Noldus MediaRecorder in the installation window.
• In N-Linx Agent, you entered the computer name or IP address of the computer with N-Linx Server.
• In MediaRecorder, you selected Allow Communication with N-Linx as N-Linx Settings and entered the computer name or IP address and the port of the computer with N-Linx Server.
• If MediaRecorder, N-Linx Server, and The Observer XT do not all run on the same computer, you created exceptions in Windows Firewall for the default port 5672 on all computers. If you chose another port, you created exceptions in Windows Firewall for that port.
• If MediaRecorder and The Observer XT run on different computers, you made sure that the computer with The Observer XT can access the MediaRecorder video files.