Adding multimedia files to Spike2

[mclanesv]

Hello All,

Is there a way to add videos taken outside of the spike2 video recorder to data files? I am currently recording electrophysiology on a separate program and then converting to spike2 for analysis. While recording I use a camera hooked up to the computer to capture video. It would be nice if I could open these videos in spike2 and see them synched with the data.

I have tried putting the video file in the same folder as the spike2 data file as well as converting from mp4 to avi however I still do not have the option to open multimedia files in spike2.

Best,
Autumn

[Tim Bergel]

Hi Autumn,

I am not very familiar with the internals of the video system, so I cannot say why you are not able to at least get at the video. One possibility is that you do not have the appropriate codecs installed on the Spike2 system - you can test for this by trying to view the video file with other software.

But this will not really help you because the Spike2 video recorder puts synchronisation information into the video so that it can be synchronised with the data file. Without that, you might be able to get at the video but it will not be properly synched with the data. Is there any reason why you cannot use the Spike2 video recorder, at least for the future?

Another trick people have used is to have a clock display visible in the video, this can then be used to find the right place in the video but special hardware mechanisms are often needed so the clock is perfectly synchronised with the 1401.

[mclanesv]

Hi Tim,

Thank you for your response. I haven't used the spike2 video recorder because I am not sampling directly in Spike2. I am sampling with Intan and then converting the files to Spike2. Am I able to use the spike2 video recorder without sampling in Spike2?

Best,
Autumn

[Tim Bergel]

Am I able to use the spike2 video recorder without sampling in Spike2

Sadly this isn't possible because there is no synchronisation information available.

However it is possible to sample data from Intan systems using the Intan talker, assuming you are using version 9 or 10 (maybe also the very latest version 8 release) of Spike2. Versions 9 and 10 will take data from the Intan talker without any 1401 being required. I should point out though that we do charge for the Intan talker software.