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If you have specific questions related to your system, feel free to reach out to our team of trained vision scientists and support staff at scientist@vpixx.com
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Sales and Ordering Information
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If you would like to place an order, your institution will need to submit a purchase order referencing your quote. Once the purchase order is received, we will provide a Sales Order Acknowledgment for you to approve and sign (see What is an SOA and why do I have to sign it?). We will then manufacture your products.(see: https://vpixx-support.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/support/pages/edit-v2/41124043#What-is-a-SOA-and-why-do-I-have-to-sign-it?). We will then manufacture your products.
When your order ships, our team will contact you with tracking information and the invoice.
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A shipping address
A billing address
A contact at the university for financial inquiries and invoicing
A contact at the university who can respond to inquiries from our shipping agent (Fedex)
A summary of the ordered items
A copy of our payment terms
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The SOA provides an opportunity for all parties to verify the terms of the sale . It and should be reviewed by a representative of the university for correctness. The SOA does not supersede the purchase order, although it may contain information (such as the shipping contact) which that does not appear on the official order. This is especially useful in situations where the purchase order does not contain a descriptive list of the purchased items, is in a different language, or there is a long delay between the initial communication about the purchased items and the order being placed.
Who is qualified to sign an SOA?
The researcher requesting the equipment, a trainee or administrator acting on their behalf, or a university purchasing agent are all qualified to sign the SOA.
If no modification request is submitted within 5 business days, the provided information will be considered verified and the order confirmed.
Can I change the shipping address after the purchase order has been issued by my institution?
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Do you provide on-site installation and training?
VPixx Technologies is monitoring the COVID-19 global pandemic as it unfolds. Our team must adhere to government travel directives.
We are currently reviewing in-person installation We are currently reviewing in-person installation requests on a case-by-case basis. If you are interested in having your equipment installed by our team, please contact sales@vpixx.com with your location and approximate timeline for the installation.
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The short answer: our hardware is compatible with all recent major operating systems. We support:
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Windows 10
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macOS 10.14 and up
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To see what versions of each operating system we currently support, see Software Download .
The long answer: it depends on what you are trying to do. While our hardware supports all major operating systems, some of them are better suited to research. On the one hand, for timing-sensitive experiments and low-level control, open-source advocates like the makers of Psychtoolbox strongly recommend Linux-based operating systems. On the other hand, some major high-level experiment software tools like Presentation and E-Prime are only supported on Windows.
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As of September 2023, all units sold by VPixx Technologies are equipped with the “Full” data acquisition system. If you would like to upgrade a legacy Lite system, please contact sales@vpixx.com with your product serial code for pricing and details. |
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The DATAPixx series I/O hubs, VIEWPixx, VIEWPixx /3D and PROPixx controller all come with an onboard data acquisition system that can be used to log incoming data and send outgoing signals synchronized to events detected in the video signal. This is a powerful tool for managing multiple streams of data with microsecond-precise timing. These acquisition systems come in two “flavours:” Lite systems have the following features:
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Full systems have all of the same features as the Lite, as well as:
Please note that I/O cables are not included in the purchase of the core system; if you need standard or custom cables for data acquisition and output, please let our team know. |
Can I upgrade my “Lite” data acquisition system to a “Full” system?
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Yes, you can. The easiest way to do this is to use a KVM switch. These switches allow you to toggle between different PC inputs to the same display hardware. We recommend the following models:
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Can I use a video adapter if my graphics card does not have dual-link DVI output?
Almost all of our products require video in the form of dual-link DVI. The exception is the DATAPixx3 I/O hub, which uses Our VIEWPixx CRT replacement monitors use Dual-link DVI, and now come with a DisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI adapter. Our other systems use DisplayPort. Below are our some general recommendations for converting older systems and systems without our adapter.
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DisplayPort/DisplayPort mini/Thunderbolt 2: Possible. The adapter must be “active” like this one from Startech (we also carry it in stock). We recommend the Startech model specifically because we have tested it with our devices. We cannot guarantee all third-party active adapters will work. USB-C/Thunderbolt 3: Possible, using an adapter to dual-link DVI (we have tested and recommend this one) Single-link DVI: Not recommended due to limited bandwidth. HDMI: The encryption protocols on HDMI can wreak havoc on the display timing, and we do not recommend HDMI adapters for timing-sensitive research. For other applications, such as showing movies from a DVD player, you can use a passive adapter like this one. We have had some success converting HDMI --> DisplayPort --> Dual Link DVI using this adapter followed by this one, although this may not be suitable for |
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all applications. VGA: Not recommended. Analog video protocols are notoriously difficult to digitize and can create all kinds of display artefacts, if they work at all. |
Can I use multiple screens at the same time?
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This response is focused on setting up hardware. For tips on how to set up triggers in software, please see our software demos and our VOCAL guide to Pixel Mode. Pin assignment information can be found in your device user manual.
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Pin assignment details for specific ports are typically provided by the manufacturer. Pin assignments for all VPixx I/O ports are listed in the specific device user manual (you can log in to MyVPixx and navigate to ‘User Manuals’ to find ours). The exception to this is . The exception to this is a PC Parallel Port, which has a specific industry standard pin assignment.
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All of our screens use a solid plastic frame with a thin, flexible screen material that minimizes internal reflections. We have different materials optimized for front- or rear-projection, and 2D or 3D stimuli. Our screens use aluminum bases and are safe for use in MRI, MEG and other ferromagnatically ferromagnetically sensitive environments.
We do not offer hard acrylic screens or roll-up screens.
What is the difference between a 2D and a 3D projection screen?
Screen material optimized for 3D projection has a silver/grey coating and that preserves the clockwise and anticlockwise polarization of light for left- and right-eye images. This coating sacrifices a bit of image brightness, and has less uniform luminance across wide viewing angles. Screen material for 2D stimuli produces a brighter image and has has a high peak luminance gain that drops off rapidly with increasing viewing angles. In comparison, screen material optimized for 2D projection has moderate luminance gain and a more uniform luminance distribution.For front projection, we stock a ‘5D’ solution which is a good compromise between 2D and 3D screens.profile. In practice, when viewed directly, screens optimized for 3D will appear brighter but less uniform than screens optimized for 2D. However, when used with a 3D polarizer and passive filter glasses, the perceived brightness of images projected on a screen optimized for 3D is reduced significantly compared to a 2D screen due to the relatively low transmittance of the polarizer and the on-off nature of alternate frame sequencing.
For front projection, we stock a ‘5D’ screen material, a good all-in-one compromise between 2D- and 3D-optimized screen materials.
For rear projection, researchers must choose between 2D and 3D optimized screen materials. It is possible to show Showing 2D images on a 3D screen is possible, especially on smaller screens. ConverselyHowever, 2D material will scatter 3D polarization and is not compatible incompatible with 3D stimulus presentation with a polarizer.
Can I use a SHIELDPixx with a third-party projector?
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Not sure what lens you need? You can check out our guide to PROPixx projection geometry /wiki/spaces/Vocal/pages/13336578 , or contact our scientist team at scientist@vpixx.com.
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It is possible to connect a RESPONSEPixx to the parallel port on your PC with an adapter a cable manufactured by VPixx. You can then use the button boxes in conjunction with experiment software that samples parallel port input.
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Do you have a joystick or gamepad option available?
We do not. However, the ‘full’ versions of our data acquisition systems are capable of receiving analog signals from third party devices, such as joysticks.
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Our VIEWPixx series of monitors are LCD displays that use modern-day technology, but have custom hardware to mimic the highly desirable temporal properties of old-fashioned CRT displays. To find out more, see our /wiki/spaces/Vocal/pages/9666597 .
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There’s an entire VOCAL guide that explains this in detail: /wiki/spaces/Vocal/pages/9666597. You can jump to the end for a summary table that provides a side-by-side comparison.
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If your experiment requires extremely precise gamma correction, the best method to determine your display-specific gamma is to measure it directly with a spectrophotometer or colorimeter. See /wiki/spaces/Vocal/pages/13467704 with a spectrophotometer or colorimeter.
I want to mount my monitor on a wall bracket or rolling stand. What are your recommendations?
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In order to show video at higher bit depths, it is necessary to make a tradeoff to free up bandwidth for the additional bits. There is a guide to our high bit depth modes here: /wiki/spaces/Vocal/pages/10715269.
Software
Where can I find the most recent software release information?
You can find all details and documentation related to our releases at:MyVPixx > What’s Newin our release log: Software Revision Log.
How can I find out my current software/firmware revision?
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Don’t see these options? You are running an older version of our software tools. You can update to the newest version manually by installing the tools from our website, hereour software tools: Software Download. Once installation is complete, you can use PyPixx to check for firmware updates.
Any time you perform a software update, you will need to manually add the updated API libraries to your Psychtoolbox and Python folders in order to use them. For instructions see the following:
– Installing MATLAB .mex files
– Installing pypixxlib in Python
How do I install VPixx Software ToolsHow do I install VPixx Software Tools?
Your VPixx purchase should include a USB stick containing a copy of VPixx Software Tools. This includes all programs and software packages needed to run our devices. There is one set of Software Tools that covers all VPixx hardware.
Misplaced your USB? No problem! You can download a copy of our software tools from our website, here.
In Windows, open the USB contents/Downloads folder and launch setup.exe, and follow the instructions in the installation wizard.
In Linux: Software Download.
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MATLAB API users, please follow the Matlab Integration Guide for specific instructions on installing and configuring the necessary components. |
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Python API users, please refer to the /wiki/spaces/python/pages/59703347 for specific instructions on installing the required packages and setting up the environment. |
In Windows, open the USB contents/Downloads folder and launch setup.exe, and follow the instructions in the installation wizard.
In Linux, download or copy the .deb file to your machine and then run the following to install all tools and dependencies:
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sudo dkpg -i VPixx_Software_Tools.deb |
In Mac, mount the DMG by double clicking on it, then double click the VPixx Software Note, if you get an error installing on Ubuntu 18.04 because of missing dependencies, these can be fixed with the following commands:
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sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntu-toolchain-r/test
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt install gcc-10
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In Mac, mount the DMG by double clicking on it, then double click the VPixx Software Tools.pkg to launch the installation wizard and follow the instructions.
Once you have installed our software tools, you will need to manually add our API libraries to your Psychtoolbox and Python folders in order to use them. For instructions see the following:
– Installing MATLAB .mex files
– Installing pypixxlib in Python
What is PyPixx?
PyPixx is our standalone software utility that allows you to:
Setup hardware configuration
Run basic diagnostics for your devices and graphics card pipeline
Run demos on your VPixx hardware
Enable some automated settings like Pixel Mode
Calibrate your VPixx eye tracking system and toggle on recording
Obtain system information
Run automated screen calibration procedures and collect luminance and spectral measurements using our VPixx Edition X-Rite measurement tools
And more!
PyPixx is included in our VPixx Software Tools.
What is VPutil?
VPutil is a command-line tool that is included with our VPixx Software Tools. It allows you to change basic settings on your VPixx device, install firmware updates
What is PyPixx?
PyPixx is a standalone software utility included in our VPixx Software Tools. It is officially deprecated as of release 1.6.1.
What is VPutil?
VPutil is a command-line tool that is included with our VPixx Software Tools. It allows you to change basic settings on your VPixx device, install firmware updates, manually read the device register for diagnostic purposes, and run several demos to test hardware performance.
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For more details on installing our MATLAB/Octave tools, and for some example code, check out our online resources. /wiki/spaces/matlab/pages/55377999
Please note we no longer support 32-bit versions of MATLAB.
Do you support PsychoPy?
Our free software tools include a Python API that allows users to drive VPixx hardware via custom Python scripts.
In PsychoPy coder, these tools can be imported and their functions directly incorporated into your experiment code.
In PsychoPy’s builder interface, there is no integrated support for our tools. However, it is possible to insert custom code blocks into your routines that can drive our devices and record output. We recommend this code-based approach wherever possible, as low-level access to our devices allows the user to take advantage of the full range of our existing API and synchronization tools.
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PsychoPy?
See our VOCAL: /wiki/spaces/Vocal/pages/62849025
Do you support Python IDEs (PyCharm, Spyder, etc?)
Absolutely. Our Python API comes in two flavours. Pypixxlib uses an object-oriented approach, while the libdpx wrapper permits more sequential programming. Which strategy you opt for is a matter of personal preference. Throughout several VOCAL guides we provide examples of both types of Python code.
For more details on how to install our Python tools, click heresee our https://vpixx-support.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/python.
Do you support Presentation?
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With this method, you can log button presses from our response boxes, capture automated frame-locked TTL triggers from our hardware via Pixel Mode , and synchronize your experiment code with eye tracking data from either of our eye tracking systems. For more details on how to set up this connection, please contact scientist@vpixx.com.
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This error is usually caused by an outdated MATLAB executable (.mex file) in your Psychtoolbox folder. This file must be manually updated each time you update VPixx Software Tools. Please follow the steps here. on this page: /wiki/spaces/matlab/pages/55377999
MATLAB -1010 error or MATLAB script freezes and crashes
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Both of these commands instruct your VPixx hardware to perform a register write when a specific event is detected in the video signal. They are non-blocking commands, so the rest of your MATLAB code will continue to run. However, your device is now in a “busy” state while it waits for the event, and any further attempts to perform a write or write-read to the device register will be queued until the event is detected and the write can execute.
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As a first step, please follow the instructions here: /wiki/spaces/python/pages/59703347 and install your pypixxlib file in the appropriate Python folder. This is usually something like:
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Pixel Mode can be used with any of our displays, or the DATAPixx series I/O hubs paired with a third party screen. For an in-depth discussion of the timing and principles of Pixel Mode, please see our VOCAL guide on the subject: Sending Triggers with Pixel Mode /wiki/spaces/Vocal/pages/10715195.
While your system is in Pixel Mode, TTL signals are sent automatically based on the colour of the top left pixel on your display, as it is detected by the video signal. If, for some reason, the pixel you define is altered by either your experiment software or your GPU, this can lead your trigger to be altered.
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Make sure Pixel Mode is enabled. On some of our systems it is not on by default. The easiest way to turn this setting on is to navigate to our PyPixx software utility and go to Configuration > Output Mode. If this is a shared testing station, make sure to disable it after using.
If you are using the Builder, consider drawing your pixel in the Coder rather than using a drag and drop item. This will give you full control over the parameters which may be hidden in the Builder view. Some example code is given below.
Use the rgb255 colour space. This avoids rounding issues in colour assignment.
Draw your pixel as a line, not a shape. PsychoPy shape classes have both a line and a fill colour parameter, which do not seem to be fully compatible with the rgb255 colour space. Lines seem to be much more reliable.
Turn off interpolation. In PsychoPy pixel interpolation is on by default, and this can alter pixel values. Set this parameter to false for your specific line serving as your Pixel Mode pixel.
Account for any gamma correction applied by the monitor center. If you are applying blanket gamma corrections to your pixel values, this will surely alter your pixel as it is drawn in your code. This is not a problem as long as you account for this and draw a pixel that, when gamma corrected, produces the desired output.
Turn off the GUI feature. This feature adds a narrow interactive border to the window that can overwrite your pixel.
Check for dithering. The issue may not be specific to PsychoPy, especially if it is intermittent. See our Guide to Diagnosing and Disabling Dithering guide:/wiki/spaces/Vocal/pages/10649601 for more details.
Below is a snippet of code demonstrating how to draw a pixel with PsychoPy visual elements:
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