BIOBSERVE-Products overview


	Our software usability testing solution is a hardware/software combination that offers many advantages compared to the ordinary scanconverter/video mixer solutions. We use a special device, that captures the monitor signal in full resolution and saves this signal as a digital MPEG-4 file. Thus the monitor video has the same quality and size as the live monitor signal. The user video is also directly encoded into a second digital file and synchronized with the monitor video by our "Spectator" software.

	The screen recorder

			The screen recorder is a stand alone device (size of a VCR) that captures the VGA monitor signal with the full resolution, converts it into a MPEG 4 video and saves this video on its own internal hard disk. The screen recorder is controlled (Start/stop recording, file transfer) by the "Spectator" software that runs on a separate PC.

	The "Spectator" software

			The "Spectator" software runs on a Windows® 2000/XP PC and has several tasks and features: - control the recording - convert the signal of the video camera (user video and audio) into a digital video - synchronize the monitor video made by the screen recorder and the user video - provide short cuts to code the behaviors and mark interesting scenes - provide an annotation function - generate a statistical analysis of the coded behaviors - create a CD for your clients with the videos and coded behaviors

	The scheme below shows, how the system works and how the different signals are captured.

			Test situation: A video camera records the face and the voice of the user. This signal is directly encoded to an MPEG file on the computer (works perfectly with DV-Cameras and FireWire/iLink/IEEE1394). The signal of the monitor with the test application is also recorded full screen to the hard disk of the screen recorder as a MPEG file. Both MPEG files are synchronized during the recording. Data Acquisition: First, the MPEG file from the monitor is transferred from the screen recorder to the computer via TCP/IP. Our analyzing software "Spectator" is the perfect tool for usability data acquisition. By using a dual head graphic card, two monitors are connected to the computer. Now the user video is loaded in our software. Automatically the appropriate monitor video for the test session is loaded and represented in an extra window on the second monitor in full size. You can read all menus and see everything what the user has done during the test session.

	Now you can analyze the test session using all MPEG features provided by the "Spectator" software such as slow motion, experiment review, jump markers, adding and deleting data. Of course you can also acquire the behavioral data already during the test session.


	Even on one screen
			If you use a big computer screen with a 1600x1200 resolution it is for example even possible to see both videos on one screen. The original 1024x768 monitor video and the user video in the "Spectator" coding software.


	If you have questions or comments, please don't hesitate to use the following e-mail address: info@usability.biobserve.com

European headquarter:
BIOBSERVE GmbH • Koenigswinterer Str. 418 • 53227 Bonn • Germany
Phone: +49 228 2016020 • Fax: +49 228 2016029
info@biobserve.com

North America:
2125 Center Ave. • Suite 500 • Fort Lee, NJ 07024
Phone: 201-302-6083 • Fax: 201-302-6062
info@biobserve.com