Vernier Video and Logger Pro Guide - Manual

Video in Logger Pro 2011 1
Video in Logger Pro
There are many ways to create and use video clips and still images in Logger Pro.
• Insert an existing video clip into a Logger Pro experiment. Supported file formats include
.avi and .mov. Any video file that can be opened by QuickTime can be inserted into
Logger Pro.
• Capture a video clip using a digital still camera. Many still cameras include a video
mode, and these videos can be of quite high quality, as well as potentially high frame
rate. Transfer the video to your computer via USB or SD card.
• Record a video clip from an attached web camera or Digital Video (DV) camera directly
into Logger Pro. This process is called video capture.
• Take a still image from an attached web camera or DV camera.
• Insert an existing or captured video clip that shows a sensor-based experiment in
progress. Note that this mode uses both a video and sensor data. The clip can be
synchronized to the sensor data after the clip is inserted. When the video and data are
replayed, the rate can be adjusted as appropriate. Examine mode will highlight the data
and jump the video to the corresponding frame. An example of this usage is a video of a
dancer jumping on a Force Plate, with force sensor data recorded in Logger Pro. On
synchronized playback, the graph will draw as the video plays. This process is called
synchronized video and sensor data playback.
• Insert an existing or captured video that does not have corresponding sensor data. Video
analysis tools allow you to track multiple objects, frame by frame, and extract X and Y
position data as a function of time for those objects. For example, you might track the
flight of a basketball in two dimensions. This process is called video analysis.
• Insert an existing still image to illustrate an experimental setup. Supported file formats
include .jpg, .gif and .bmp. Any image file that can be opened by QuickTime can be
inserted into Logger Pro.
• Insert an existing or captured still image for image (or photo) analysis. Analysis of a still
image is similar to video analysis, but all the marked points are on a single frame. For
example, the mathematical form of a catenary curve can be studied from a photo of the
St. Louis arch. Points are marked along the edge of the arch, which are then plotted in
Logger Pro for analysis. This process is called photo analysis.
In these notes we will look at several of these common uses of video in Logger Pro: video
analysis, synchronized video and sensor playback, and video capture. The first two examples will
make use of existing videos, and the last example will discuss collecting your own videos for
analysis or synchronization.