.ov or .gdf file?

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illusion
Posts: 7
Joined: Tue Dec 27, 2022 11:24 am

.ov or .gdf file?

Post by illusion »

Hello,

What are the differences between .ov and .gdf file and why?
Is it better to save my EEG signals in .ov format or .gdf format?
Are there other options except of these?

Thomas
Posts: 210
Joined: Wed Mar 04, 2020 3:38 pm

Re: .ov or .gdf file?

Post by Thomas »

Hi illusion,

The .ov format is the OpenViBE format. Historically I think that OpenViBE started with its own format and was then extended to other formats such as .gdf in order to increase compatibility with other tools.

For example, if you need to post process your data with python and a library like MNE, you might want .gdf files, as MNE can read them. At the moment MNE does not have support for .ov files.
If you don't plan on working outside OpenViBE, you can keep going with .ov files just fine. Note that you can convert your files anytime with OpenViBE.

With OpenViBE you can also use the .edf format (simpler format from which .gdf is implemented), the BrainVision format, and also the CSV format. The latter is a bit different since it's actual text, meaning the files are substantially bigger, but they are human readable.

Hope this helps a bit.
For more details on the specific formats, there are Wikipedia pages for each that will provide more that my simple post.

All the best,
Thomas

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