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BrainVision Recording Format (BVRF)
BVRF description
An EEG recording consists of four separate files with the same base name:
- Header file (*.bvrh): This is a JSON file containing recording parameters and further meta-information.
- Marker file (*.bvrm): This is a TSV file describing the events that have been collected during the recording.
- Data file (*.bvrd): This is a binary file containing the raw EEG data as well as additional signals recorded along with the EEG.
- Impedance file (*.bvri): This is a TSV file containing impedance values. The file is optional.
For further information refer to the official documentation of our format: BVRF Reference Specification. See also the BVRF License Agreement.
BVRF readers
BVRF files can be read in BrainVision Analyzer from version 2.3.1.8303. Make sure to download the current version here.
For MATLAB®
Alternatively, you can use the BrainVision BVRF Reader – MATLAB/EEGLAB Plugin, available on the Brain Products GitHub page. With this plugin, you can import data sets directly into MATLAB® and EEGLAB. Please read the provided documentation on GitHub to learn how to use the plugin.
For MNE-Python/MNELAB
In Python, you can use the new PyBVRF package to load the data directly for your own processing workflows or through its MNE-Python integration. The package is also seamlessly integrated into MNELAB (a standalone graphical user interface for MNE-Python) starting with version 1.3.1. Documentation is available on the PyBVRF GitHub website.