There are two potential CinePlex upgrade scenarios. The scenario you use depends on whether
you are using

1. An external USB drive, such as the one shipped with previous versions of CinePlex.
2. A USB-USB link between the CinePlex Capture processor and a computer.

The illustration and text instructions that follow show the upgrade process.

Note: This procedure assumes you are upgrading an existing installation as opposed to a new installation.

Warning: Under no circumstances should you run the CPXv1Setup.exe you downloaded from www.plexon.com on the CinePlex Capture processor . It is important to run the CinePlex installation program on the computer attached to your data acquisition system, the Markup computer. Then transfer the CaptureUpdate folder onto the CinePlex Capture processor. (This can be accomplished with an external USB drive, or a USB-to-USB link).

External USB Drive

If you are using a USB drive, such as the one shipped with some previous versions of CinePlex, use the following procedure:

1. Download the CinePlex installation file onto a computer desktop, preferably the Markup computer attached to your data acquisition system.
2. Run the installation file CPXv1Setup.exe.
3. Connect a USB external drive to the Markup computer. If you are using the USB hard drive shipped with earlier versions of CinePlex, use Windows Explorer to inspect the contents of the drive. If there is a folder on the drive named CaptureUpdate, delete it.
4. Browse to the CaptureUpdate folder in the CinePlex install directory
   (C:\Program Files\Plexon Inc\CinePlex).
5. If you have Capture 1.0, copy the entire folder to the root directory of the USB hard drive. For example, if the USB hard drive appears as “Drive (E:)”, the folder would be located at E:\CaptureUpdate. If you have v1.1 you can browse to the folder wherever it is located.
6. Disconnect the USB drive from the Markup computer and connect it to the CinePlex Capture
   processor unit.
7. If needed, turn on the CinePlex Capture processor unit.
8. After it has booted up and Capture starts, select the Help menu and click Update.
9. Browse to the CaptureUpdate folder.
10. Follow the onscreen prompts in the confirmation dialog box. It will prompt you to install both a camera driver and the CinePlex upgrade. The CinePlex Capture application automatically shuts down, performs the update, and restarts the CinePlex Capture application. NOTE: Do not shut down the CinePlex Capture processor unit until the upgrade procedure finishes and the CinePlex Capture main window reappears.

USB-USB Link

If you are using a USB-USB link, use the following procedure:

1. Download the CinePlex installation file onto a computer desktop, preferably the Markup computer that is attached to your data acquisition system.
2. Run the installation file CPXv1Setup.exe.
3. Connect a USB-USB cable between the Markup computer and the CinePlex Capture processor.
4. Browse to the CaptureUpdate folder in the CinePlex install directory on the Markup computer
   (C:\Program Files\Plexon Inc\CinePlex).
5. Copy the entire CaptureUpdate folder to the CinePlex Capture processor.
6. Move to the CinePlex Capture processor
7. After Capture starts, select the Help menu and click Update.
8. Follow the onscreen prompts in the confirmation dialog box. It will prompt you to install both a camera driver and the CinePlex upgrade. The CinePlex Capture application automatically shuts down, performs the update, and restarts the CinePlex Capture application. NOTE: Do not shut down the CinePlex Capture processor unit until the upgrade procedure finishes and the CinePlex Capture main window reappear
   
   

An overview of the new features is in the Release Notes.

The Smart Tracking algorithms use predictive tracking windows to eliminate the contaminating effects of reflections and better cope in cases where the object of interest momentarily disappears, as when occluded by the headstage cable or the animal’s body. Red, Green, and Blue LED colors are now automatically detected and tracked, for more accurate and reliable object tracking setup and operation.

New features of CinePlex v1.2:

• Smart tracking windows that use speed and trajectory information to predict where the color target is most likely to be, and to focus the tracking algorithms within those areas.
• Definable arenas – round, rectangle, and free-style polygons.
• Improved tracking performance when the color target disappears (for example, occlusions by the headstage cable) and avoiding the contaminating influence of spurious reflections against cables and chamber walls.
• Automatic identification and calibration of LED color tracking. Brightness contrast is first used to identify the locations of LEDs, followed by color information to distinguish different LEDs. No more struggling to manually select the right shade of red to track!
• Improved object contour identification algorithms using color information to detect boundary of animal’s body for center of mass tracking. This, for instance, allows the location of brown mice to be tracked even though the brightness of the brown mouse is similar to that of the background.
• Real-time display of LED trajectory, color markers, or animal’s center of gravity over live video image.

Below are answers to some commonly asked questions received by our Tech Support Department. You may submit a question to our growing FAQ list here.

[Q] Can I connect my Cineplex computer to the internet?
[A] Cineplex Capture requires full use of the computer’s processor. Because of this, connecting the Cineplex computer to a network, or even running other programs, is not recommended and usually not possible. The Cineplex computer is an appliance solely for the functions of the Cineplex Capture software.

[Q] Do I need to upgrade my CinePlex Capture processor to run this new version of Cineplex?
[A] No, CinePlex v1.2 will run on any CinePlex capture processor shipped to date.

[Q] What data acquisition hardware is compatible with Cineplex?
[A] Cineplex can be used with (and controlled by) both MAP and Recorder. Using Cineplex with third party hardware is possible as long as the hardware can provide the right timing and control signals.

[Q] How can I grab individual frames from an .avi into an image?
[A] The most straightforward way of doing this is to run Cineplex Markup and hit the “Print Screen” button on the keyboard. Then just paste that into your image editor of choice and crop out everything but the frame. If that’s too time consuming for you, then I recommend using something like VirtualDub (or any other video editor) to quickly export frames into .jpg or other image formats.

[Q] Can I use different cameras with Cineplex?
[A] No, right now Cineplex only supports the camera we include. In the future we will support other cameras, including ones with faster frame rates.

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