real time afni

Hello all,

Following the instructions, I was able to run the real-time demo using programs under AFNI_data6/realtime_demos, but there are still a few things not clear to me.
My settings: - The three components (1) image monitor (using Dimon), (2) afni+ RT plugin, (3) real-time receiver are run on the same system (a Mac).
- I use Matlab installed on a separate PC to display feedback.
- Data from the scanner are deposited in real-time to a folder in the Mac.

Question 1. Do I have to always open three different Terminals to run the three afni components above? Will this work for real scanning as well or just for offline testing (given the following: AFNI_TRUSTHOST = localhost / AFNI_REALTIME_MP_HOST_PORT = localhost:53214 / Data from the scanner are deposited in real-time to a folder in the Mac)?

Question 2. Is there any concern about processing speed if the three components are run on the same computer?

Question 3. I see no options in the ‘realtime_receiver’ where I can set a path and a prefix for the text files that store ROI data (average or all voxels) that this program will output at each time point. By “path”, I mean I want to write data to a local folder that my Matlab program from the other PC can access instead of outputting data to the serial port. I tried setting AFNI_REALTIME_WRITEMODE=1 and AFNI_REALTIME_Root = /, but could not find text files anywhere. Did I do something not right?

Question 4. Also in terms of timing, what is the typical delay between the time an EPI.dcm is received and the time the corresponding text file for ROI data is generated?

Thank you for your helps.

Duong