All the timing measurements of Paradigm are done with the Black Box Toolkit. We try to run our tests on hardware from as many different vendors as possible (although everyone seems to be using Dell PCs these days). The timing results below are a small subset of the tests we have run. This is just to get a general idea of how accurate Paradigm is. The results from the two machines below represent opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of hardware quality. The Dell Precision is a high-end desktop with great graphics and sound cards while the Dell Latitute is a low-end laptop with integrated audio and sound hardware.
Image presentation accuracy was measured by showing a single image every 200 ms. The results from the two test machines below show onset error measurements from a run of 250 trials.
Dell Precision 390 Desktop
Intel Core 2 Duo 1.86GHz w/ 2.0 GB of RAM, GeForce FX 5500 graphics
card
The average onset error was 0.1090 ms with a SD of 0.0295
Dell Latitude D505 Laptop
Intel Pentium M 1.6 GHz w/ 512 MB of RAM, Intel GM/GME Integrated Graphics
The average onset error was 0.2369 ms with a SD of 0.0394.
Audio presentation accuracy was measured by continously presenting a 45 ms sound file. The sound file presentation was measured at the speaker using the Black Box Toolkit's microphone device. These are not measurements of when Paradigm initated the sound playback but of when the sound output was detected at the speaker. The results from the two test machines below show onset error measurement from a run of 300 trials.
Dell Precision 390 Desktop
Intel Core 2 Duo 1.86GHz w/ 2.0 GB of RAM Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS
The average onset error was 0.0479 ms with an SD of 0.0506
Dell Latitude D505 Laptop
Intel Pentium M 1.6 GHz w/ 512 MB of RAM SigmaTel Integrated Sound Card
The average onset error was 2.3505 ms with a SD 4.8704
