Overview
The MovieDisplay object is used to present pre-recorded digital video in DivX, XVid, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, H-264, WMV formats (proper codecs must be installed) to the subject. Both the MovieDisplay object and the SlideMovie sub-object provide the same functionality with respect to playing movies. However, the SlideMovie sub-object may be more convenient to use in some circumstances.
The Movie Display object as it appears in the Toolbox.
Interface
A new MovieDisplay object may be added by clicking the MovieDisplay object icon in the Toolbox, and dragging the object to the Workspace or to a procedural timeline in the Structure view. For existing MovieDisplay objects, clicking the object once with the mouse in the Structure view to select it will result in the display of that object’s properties in the Properties window. Double-clicking an existing MovieDisplay object in the Structure view will result in that object being opened in the Workspace.
A MovieDisplay object opened in the Workspace displays the name of the object, along with the MovieDisplay icon in the title bar at the top of the object window. Below the title bar, the toolbar lists the tool button associated with the MovieDisplay. Currently, the only active tool button is the Property Pages button.
Property Pages
The properties for the MovieDisplay may be set using the Property Pages. The Property Pages may be displayed using the Property Pages tool button on the MovieDisplay toolbar, or by clicking the ellipsis (…) in the Property Pages field in the Properties window.
Using the Properties window or the Property Pages, the properties of the display may be set. The setting of observable properties (e.g. BorderColor, X/Y location, etc) will take effect immediately in the Movie window.
The filename for the movie may be indicated directly in the MovieDisplay properties, or the bracket/ attribute notation may be used to vary the movie to be displayed. The [Attribute] notation, i.e., [MovieFile], indicates to E-Run that the information requested varies at run time, and E-Run will look to the context to resolve the value of the attribute name in brackets.
E-Studio will automatically use relative paths. If no path is specified, E-Run will look for files in the current directory, and an error will occur if the files cannot be located. The best way to specify a file path outside the current directory in E-Basic is to use the forward slash (“/”) character. This is because some instances in E-Basic use the backslash (“\”) character as an escape sequence, and some instances require \\ to indicate a path. Using the forward slash (“/”) character will overt any potential misuse.
MovieFrameTime
MovieFrameTime is a value used in E-Prime to specify a frame or position within a movie. MovieFrameTime is used to specify where movie playback should begin or end if you do not want to present the entire movie. The MovieFrameTime is located on the Property Pages under the General tab. Use the Start Position to specify the desired move start location and the Stop Position to specify the desired endpoint. MovieFrameTime is specified in hours, minutes, seconds, and milliseconds. For example, 03:45:15.230 would mean 3 hours, 45 minutes, 15 seconds, and 230 milliseconds. For timing purposes, it is important to note that movies play at an average frame rate, and that this may not translate directly to milliseconds.
General Tab
The Property pages open by default to display the General tab. The General tab allows the specification of the movie to be presented, the position within the movie (specified as hh:mm:ss.xxx – hours, minutes, seconds, and milliseconds, respectively), and the action to take when the movie has finished playing or the object has finished executing.
| Property | Possible Values | Description |
| Filename | Strings, Attribute references | Sets the name of the movie to display. Note that variable and constant information can be concatenated (e.g. [Filename].mpg, where [Filename]is an attribute defined in a List object). |
| StartPosition | Strings, Attribute references | Specifies the position within the movie to begin playback using a MovieFrameTime. |
| StopPosition | Strings, Attribute references | Specifies the position within the movie to stop playback using a MovieFrameTime. |
| BackColor | Color values (RGB values), Specific color strings (e.g. black, maroon, lime), Attribute references. | The background color on which to display the movie (i.e. if the movie does not take up the full area, the area behind the movie will be filled with the BackColor setting). Functionality depends on BackStyle property. |
| BackStyle | Opaque, Transparent, Attribute references | Sets the style of the background for the display object. |
| StopAfter | Yes, No, Attribute references | Indicates whether movie playback should end when the object stops executing (e.g. the time specified in the Duration property has elapsed). |
| StopAfterMode | NextOnsetTime, OffsetTime | Indicates whether the movie should be stretched or reduced to fit the defined display area. |
| Stretch | Yes, No, Attribute references | Indicates whether the movie should be stretched or reduced to fit the defined display area. |
| StretchMode | Both, LeftRight, UpDown | Determines if the images is to be sized to accommodate the display area of the object. The aspect ratio can be stretched left to right, up to down, or both directions. |
| EndMovieAction | (none), Terminate, Jump | Determines the action to be taken upon the end of movie playback. |
| DisplayName | Display device name | Specifies which Display device the movie should be presented on (when using multiple monitors). |
| AlignHorizontal | Left, Center, Right, Attribute references | Determines the horizontal alignment of the movie within the defined display area. |
| AlignVertical | Top, Center, Bottom, Attribute references | Determines the vertical alignment of the movie within the defined display area. |
| ClearAfter | Yes, No | Determines whether the display is cleared after the video terminates. |
Properties Window
The Properties of the MovieDisplay object may be set using the fields in the Properties window. Properties to be set include the duration of the MovieDisplay, whether input is allowed, and the termination conditions for the playback of the MovieDisplay.
| Property | Possible Values | Description |
| (Name) | String values | Assigns a user-entered string as the name of the MovieDisplay object. |
| (About) | ---------- | Displays the About MovieDisplay dialog. |
| (Property Pages) | ---------- | Opens the Property pages for the MovieDisplay |
| AlignHorizontal | Left, Center, Right, Attribute references | Determines the horizontal alignment of the movie within the defined display area. |
| AlignVertical | Top, Center, Bottom, Attribute references | Determines the vertical alignment of the movie within the defined display area. |
| BackColor | Color values (RGB values), Specific color strings (e.g. black, maroon, lime), Attribute references. | The background color on which to display the movie (i.e. if the movie does not take up the full area, the area behind the movie will be filled with the BackColor setting). Functionality depends on BackStyle property. |
| BackStyle | Opaque, Transparent, Attribute references | Sets the style of the background for the display object. |
| BorderColor | Color values (RGB values), Specific color strings (e.g. black, maroon, lime), Attribute references. | Sets the color of the border of the defined display area. |
| BorderWidth | Numeric values in pixels (e.g. "10"), Attribute references | Reflects the size of the border of the display area. |
| ClearAfter | Yes, No *Not recommended | Controls the clearing of the defined display area after the object’s termination condition is met. |
| DataLogging | None, Standard, Response Only, Time Audit Only, Custom | Determines the category of variables logged for the object. |
| DisplayName | Active Displays in the experiment | Determines the Display the movie is played on. |
| Duration | -1 (infinite), Numeric values (default in ms), Attribute references | Determines the duration of the object in milliseconds. |
| EndMovieAction | (none), Terminate, Jump | Determines the action to be taken upon the end of movie playback. |
| Filename | String values (e.g. Movie.mpg), Attribute references | Designates the name of the file to load for display. |
| GeneratePostRun | Inherit, EndOfProcedure, AfterObjectRun | Where the postrun part of this object is generated in the script. |
| GeneratePreRun | Inherit, TopOfProcedure, BeforeObjectRun | Where the prerun part of this object is generated in the script. |
| HandlesConditionalExit | Yes, No | Determines whether or not the E-Object responds to the conditional exit event. |
| Height | Numeric values in pixels (e.g. “10”), Relative values (e.g. 10%), Attribute references | Sets the height of the display area. |
| JumpLabel | String values, Attribute references | Identifies a Label object within the current Procedure to which program execution jumps when input is received on an input mask that has an End Action of "Jump". |
| LoadTimeStatsEnabled | Yes, No | Determines if the LoadTimes stats will be included in the ExperimentAdvisor experiment report. |
| Notes | String values | User-entered text useful for storing information or comments related to an object. |
| OffsetSync | (none), Vertical Blank | Sets the object or event with which the offset of the object is synchronized. |
| OnsetDelayStatsEnabled | Yes, No | Determines if the OnsetDelay stats will be included in the ExperimentAdvisor experiment report. |
| OnsetSync | (none), Vertical Blank | Sets the object or event with which the onset of the object is synchronized. |
| OnsetToOnsetStatsEnabled | Yes, No | Determines if the OnsetToOnset stats will be included in the ExperimentAdvisor experiment report. |
| PreRelease | Numeric values (default in ms), (same as duration), Attribute references | Amount of time released during the processing of the current object to allow for setup of the next object. |
| ResetLoggingProperties | Yes, No | Determines if the logging properties should be reset at the top of the procedure. |
| StartPosition | Strings, Attribute references | Specifies the position within the movie to begin playback using a MovieFrameTime. |
| StopPosition | Strings, Attribute references | Specifies the position within the movie to stop playback using a MovieFrameTime. |
| StopAfter | Yes, No, Attribute references | Indicates whether movie playback should end when the object stops executing (e.g. the time specified in the Duration property has elapsed). |
| StopAfterMode | NextOnsetTime, OffsetTime | Determines when the movie file playback stops. |
| Stretch | Yes, No | Indicates whether the movie should be stretched or reduced to fit the defined display area. |
| StretchMode | Both, LeftRight, UpDown | Determines if the images is to be sized to accommodate the display area of the object. The aspect ratio can be stretched left to right, up to down, or both directions. |
| Tag | String values, Attribute references | Defines a string value to be logged with the object. |
| TimingMode | Event, Cumulative, Custom | Sets the timing method to be used by the object. Cumulative timing is used to absorb the processing time between events, and to maintain a certain interval duration between events or between trials. |
| Width | Numeric values in pixels (e.g. "10"), Relative values (e.g. 10%), Attribute references | Sets the width of the display area. |
| X | Left, Center, Right, Numeric values in pixels (e.g. "10"), Relative values (e.g. 10%), Attribute references | Sets the X-coordinate position for the anchor position of the display area. |
| XAlign | Left, Center, Right | Sets the alignment of the defined frame area along the horizontal (x) axis relative to the anchor position (X and Y property values). |
| Y | Left, Center, Right, Numeric values in pixels (e.g. "10"), Relative values (e.g.10%), Attribute references | Sets the Y-coordinate position for the anchor position of the display area. |
| YAlign | Left, Center, Right | Sets the alignment of the defined frame area along the vertical (y) axis relative to the anchor position (X and Y property values). |
Sub-Objects
Each SlideState object within the Slide object collection houses various sub-objects used to present text, images, sounds, and movies. A SlideState may contain a single sub-object, or a combination of several sub-objects to present text, graphics, sounds, and movies concurrently. Different types of sub-objects are available to allow the presentations text, images, sounds, and movies, and set parameters specific to these different types of stimuli.
Stretch Mode
E-Prime offers additional choices on how to render image and movie components when using the Stretch property. By offering the StretchMode property, an experiment author can choose to conform to the aspect ratio of the source image. The aspect ratio can be stretched left to right, up to down, or both directions.
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