GETTING STARTED: Experiment Advisor [22679]

Experiment Advisor

The Experiment Advisor provides E-Prime experiments the ability to detect design and timing errors in E-Studio and E-Run. In addition, statistics on the OnsetToOnsetTime, OnsetDelay, and LoadTime of objects can be reported.

The Experiment Advisor tab is accessed through the Experiment Object:

The Experiment Advisor tab is also displayed in the Output window when you generate your experiment.

Once you run or test your experiment Experiment Advisor creates an .xml report. A link to the report is displayed in the output window for easy access. A copy of the file is also saved in the same directory you experiment (.es3 file) is being saved in as well.

Once you click the link, the report should open in your default browser. The report will contain several types of timing statistics along with the Experiment Advisor findings. The Experiment Advisor Findings will alert you to possible timing problems, information about your clock and devices, and applications that are currently running on your system.

Experiment Advisor: Timing Challenges

TIMING CHALLENGE: Confirmation timing results with Experiment Advisor
The Experiment Advisor provides E-Prime users the ability to detect design and timing errors in E-Studio and E-Run. The Experiment Advisor modules are enabled or disabled through the Experiment Object, on the Experiment Advisor tab. Experiment Advisor reports are automatically generated for any enabled modules when the experiment is compiled or run. FEATURE: Experiment Advisor. Experiment Advisor findings are reported in the Output window in the following ways:
E-Prime Tools	User Actions
Display adapter set to clone mode	The display adapter of the machine is set to clone or mirror mode. Mirroring can cause timing issues since vertical blank synchronization is not accurate between multiple displays, and determining which display is considered primary can cause confusion and may not be consistent between computer configurations.
DisplayDevice uses Match Desktop	A DisplayDevice has the “Match desktop resolution at runtime” property set to Yes which can lead to timing and performance issues.
Experiment Advisor suggests advice on objects not divisible by refresh.	When duration values are not divisible by the refresh duration, large OnsetDelay values can occur. This Experiment Advisor Module will report a finding any time an object has a Duration value not divisible by the refresh rate and suggest an alternative.
Evaluate SoundDevice. API	A SoundDevice is using the DirectSound API on Windows Vista or later which typically cannot achieve latency values under 30 ms. CoreAudio or ASIO APIs are recommended for Windows Vista or later.
Large OnsetDelay	An object is collecting OnsetDelay Stats and has an OnsetDelay that is larger than a single refresh. Setting the Duration property to a value divisible by the refresh rate and the PreRelease property to (same as duration) will typically reduce OnsetDelay values.
Non-Visual object using OnsetSync or OffsetSync	A non-visual object (SoundOut, SoundIn, Wait) has either of its OnsetSync or OffsetSync properties set to (vertical blank) which is usually unnecessary unless syncing with external equipment.
Experiment Advisor detects when inappropriate mixture of Cumulative and Event TimingMode in use	Using an inappropriate mixture of cumulative and event timing mode can lead to unexpected results.
Use of ClearAfter	An object has its ClearAfter property set to Yes. ClearAfter is a legacy property that should be set to No. Consider using a blank TextDisplay object to clear the screen.
Use of Stretch	A visual object has its Stretch property set to Yes, which can cause display timing anomalies. Instead of using Stretch, consider editing the source material to match the size and proportions you want to display during the experiment.
WaitForVerticalBlank with Flipping	The DisplayDevice.WaitForVerticalBlank E-Basic command is used when the DisplayDevice.FlippingEnabled property is set to Yes/True. Calling WaitForVerticalBlank while flipping is enabled can cause timing concerns.
Volatile Clock on Windows OS	The E-Prime Primary Clock is configured in a way that could cause timing inconsistencies on Windows OS. Contact PST Tech Support to configure the clock for more stabilized performance when using Windows OS with this finding.