After keeping the faith through what seemed like an interminable wait, track video enthusiasts everywhere can finally rejoice, Apex Visualizations released TrackVision 2.0 and it's a major, major upgrade.
If you are not familiar with the program, it will superimpose a digital "dashboard" onto your video based on information from your data logger. Version 1 had been around for a few years and I think the authors would be the first to say that while functional, it was rather rough around the edges. Good news is that Version 2 is a huge step forward.
Gone are the finicky video input requirements and the limited output options. Gone is the reliance on Windows for the video codecs. The user interface is now much improved especially in preview mode.
As in version 1 you will need a video recorder and a data logger setup, we use Traqmate but there is built in support for pretty much every system on the market from AIM to Stack to even the more inexpensive "all in one" systems. Data is exported in a format Trackvision can read and translated into a graphic representation to be overlaid over the video track.
Sync is always a concern but one easily solved if you use Traqmate. Traqmate has the ability to start both data recording and video recording on a ChaseCam PDR100 at the moment it achieves GPS lock. This eliminates the need to sync, you simply drop the data and the video file into Trackvision and slave one to the other....done.
Once synced you will be able to choose a dashboard you like (you can also make your own), the start and end point of the video, and finally the output format. Big change from 1.0, you can output in many more sizes and formats, notably h.264 and support for 16x9 1440x1080 Mpeg2 HD.
As with Traqmate we were users long before TrackVision became a sponsor on this site and also like with Traqmate the team behind this product are racers and real live track-tards. They are, in fact..."one of us" and I urge you to take a look at their product. Their web site has an extensive description of all the features in Vesion 2.0 as well as a full user manual. A Demo version of the software is available for trial and there is a gallery of user videos.
A final note, while Trackvision is a Windows program (xp and Vista) it will work just as well on a Mac running Parallels which is how we run it.
The video below was made using the MPEG2 file from the ChaseCam PDR100 and data from Traqmate, it was output as 640x480 h.264 and then uploaded to this flash player.
You can download the original file HERE.
TrackVision 2.0 from Axis on Vimeo.
If you are not familiar with the program, it will superimpose a digital "dashboard" onto your video based on information from your data logger. Version 1 had been around for a few years and I think the authors would be the first to say that while functional, it was rather rough around the edges. Good news is that Version 2 is a huge step forward.Gone are the finicky video input requirements and the limited output options. Gone is the reliance on Windows for the video codecs. The user interface is now much improved especially in preview mode.
As in version 1 you will need a video recorder and a data logger setup, we use Traqmate but there is built in support for pretty much every system on the market from AIM to Stack to even the more inexpensive "all in one" systems. Data is exported in a format Trackvision can read and translated into a graphic representation to be overlaid over the video track.
Sync is always a concern but one easily solved if you use Traqmate. Traqmate has the ability to start both data recording and video recording on a ChaseCam PDR100 at the moment it achieves GPS lock. This eliminates the need to sync, you simply drop the data and the video file into Trackvision and slave one to the other....done.
Once synced you will be able to choose a dashboard you like (you can also make your own), the start and end point of the video, and finally the output format. Big change from 1.0, you can output in many more sizes and formats, notably h.264 and support for 16x9 1440x1080 Mpeg2 HD.
As with Traqmate we were users long before TrackVision became a sponsor on this site and also like with Traqmate the team behind this product are racers and real live track-tards. They are, in fact..."one of us" and I urge you to take a look at their product. Their web site has an extensive description of all the features in Vesion 2.0 as well as a full user manual. A Demo version of the software is available for trial and there is a gallery of user videos.A final note, while Trackvision is a Windows program (xp and Vista) it will work just as well on a Mac running Parallels which is how we run it.
The video below was made using the MPEG2 file from the ChaseCam PDR100 and data from Traqmate, it was output as 640x480 h.264 and then uploaded to this flash player.
You can download the original file HERE.
TrackVision 2.0 from Axis on Vimeo.
AC has the honor of being the very first user to post video using the new Traqmate II dashboard, and showing some righteous laps from the Glen. People seem to be enjoying V2.0, which makes the death march to release it all worthwhile. We had a ton of help and support from our hardy band of beta testers, including AC of course. After spending a year looking at test video, maybe I can now get time to run some of my own video at last. Thanks for the very nice review - much appreciated!
ReplyDeleteand Stee. he is actually the one who, using his awesome powers of repetition, dragged all of us into a data-fied world where we benefit immensely!
ReplyDelete