A “lesson segment” can be recorded for a student that features on-screen review of one or two clips with drawings, motion, and voice-over commentary provided by the instructor.

Lesson summaries (swings, photos, lesson segments, instructional clips) can be grouped into a list and either recorded onto a CD-ROM or sent to a student via email and then viewed with the RightView Pro Home Viewer software (Cv300 or Pv300) or in Windows Media Player.

With the Is300 software a user can:

·        create a database of player names specific to an event

·        capture either a single or dual video clip of each player

·        record and distribute a CD-ROM to each player that may include:

q       the captured swing clip(s)

q       a personalized analysis of the captured clip(s)

q       a prerecorded instructional clip or clips

q       telestrated photos

q       a promotional or marketing clip for a client

q       a promotional or marketing clip for a facility

q       banner advertising

Tools are included to create and manage a large coach and student database.

The software features state of the art graphical analysis, telestration, and modeling features.

Compare your students against the best players in the game.  Data can be easily analyzed to show differences in key measurements in a swing.

Recommended Hardware

Currently we recommend running the IS300 software on any laptop or desktop computer that is compatible with the Microsoft Windows XP and 2000 operating systems and that meet the minimum requirements listed below. Our camera recommendations are any Mini-DV camcorder with a firewire port (IEEE 1394).    We also recommend an external microphone jack for anyone wanting to record drills or lessons. We also recommend using a dual-port Firewire PC card for dual captures with two firewire cables.  Finally, we recommend the Samson microphone/transmitter/receiver system (the VT3L transmitter and the VM1 receiver) for recording remote audio on instructional clips, and an Audio-Technica ATR35s Lavalier microphone for use as an audio trigger and for recording audio in lesson segments.  These accessories are available for purchase from several electronics suppliers.

System Requirements

The IS300 software has the following minimum requirements:

· 1.6 GHz or higher CP
· 256MB RAM
· 30 GB UDMA Hard Disk
· CD-ROM Drive
· Windows 2000 Home Edition

The IS300 software has the following recommended configuration:

· Pentium 4 2GHz or higher processor
· 512MB RAM
· 40 GB or larger UDMA Hard Disk Drive
· CD-RW drive
· Windows XP Professional Edition

Getting started

If you purchased a full system (computer, software, cameras, etc) please follow this order of procedures when starting the IS300 software:

1.      Start your computer and install firewire card bus if necessary.

2.      With the camera(s) off, connect the Firewire card, all the Firewire cables, and the cameras.

3.      After all connections have been made turn on the cameras, wait for the computer to recognize the cameras and choose “take no action” when the menu pops up.

4.      Start the IS300 software.

5.      Proceed to Chapter II to learn how to use your software.

Note 1:  For full screen display set your display resolution to 800x600.  The IS300 software will work at any screen resolution, however the display colors must be set to 16bit (medium).  Also, please be sure that the DPI setting is “normal”, some computers have been found to be set at “large” and this setting can block some of the buttons in the software from view.  (To check your DPI setting—Right click on desktop, choose properties, click on settings tab, click “advanced” button, your DPI setting will appear under the general tab.  It should be set to Normal 96 DPI.)

Note 2:  Some current displays are available in widescreen video format, please be aware that if the software is viewed in this format that the aspect ratio will be distorted, in this case you should set the display properties to view as full screen aspect ratio. 

Loading the Software onto Your System

If you did not purchase a computer system pre-loaded with the IS300 software and are installing the software from a CD, please follow these steps:

1.      Insert the IS300 software CD into your computer's CD-ROM drive.

2.      Wait a few moments.  Most Windows systems will detect that a CD has been inserted, and then automatically launch the Setup program on the CD.  You should see this screen:

3.      Click the “Install” button.

4.      We recommend that you accept the default destination location (c:\Program Files\ \SmartView Suite ).

5.      You should select to install all software components. 

6.      The software disc will automatically create a desktop and Start menu icon identified as “Instruction System.”

7.      We recommend that you accept the default Program Folder (SmartView Suite).

8.      We also recommend that you install the Capture Viewer software at the same time as the IS300 software, follow the same steps, the default destination will be c:\Program Files\Smartview Home, and the desktop icon will be identified as “Capture Viewer.”

9.      Proceed to Chapter II to learn how to use your software.

II. Getting Started

The Main Page

To start the IS300 software, double click the icon on the desktop identified as “Instruction System.”  This screen is then displayed:

You can access a particular function in the software by clicking on one of the buttons:

The Analysis button opens the IS300 video capture and viewing software program, let's start this discussion with the analysis window and an explanation of the features and functions there.  Later we will return to discuss the System Options and other buttons on the main page. 

The Analysis screen user interface

To open the video program, click on the Analysis button on the lower left of the main screen.  When this button is clicked the software searches for camera sources connected to the computer, if two cameras are connected the software will open the analysis screen after a few moments: 

This view (above) appears when two camcorders are connected and turned on.  In the event that one camcorder is connected rather than two the software will display this message after the Analysis button is clicked:

Click the “OK” button (or the cancel button in the upper right corner), and the single video source is then displayed in a full screen view:

When only one camera source is connected the default setting in the software is that the left window is displayed and is considered the front view of the player rather than the target.  This can be changed if desired, consult the section of the text covering System Options to learn how. 

Next, if the software is started without any video source connected, two messages are displayed in succession:

Click “OK” on both messages and the analysis window opens with blank windows due to the lack of video sources:

It is quite common to open and use the software in order to view and analyze swing clips that are saved in the system, create supporting materials, manage the database, or for other reasons, so this is a normal sequence in those situations.  Once swing clips are loaded into one or both video windows the software assumes a more conventional appearance:

Moving forward, the layout of the analysis window from top to bottom is as follows:

As mentioned above, there are a series of tabs located at the bottom of the screen, and when the Analysis button is clicked on the main page the “Select” tab is the default choice.

Here is a table giving the basic function of all the tabs:

As mentioned, the “select” tab displays a series of buttons at the bottom of the screen; here is one more table that gives some detail about each button:

As stated in the introduction, there are many features and functions in the IS300 software that could be useful for an instructor in teaching or for a facility in producing video services for a baseball camp or tournament.  There is considerable overlap in these two scenarios, but for the purposes of this user guide they will be divided, and teaching functions will be discussed first.

III. Using the IS300 software for instruction

Here is a basic format or sequence that is used in most Baseball lessons when digital video capture takes place:

· Select the student and coach in the software's database (Swing Manager)

· Capture video clips

· Review the captured clips and analyze

· Make coaching recommendations

· Possibly give the student something that summarizes the lesson content for future review

The IS300 software allows an instructor to easily move through this process, and in fact customize it to their needs and instructional style.  The following sections will explain how to use the software in an actual teaching situation as well as to describe functions in detail.

Creating and selecting a student and coach

This step must happen immediately after opening the analysis page, both in using the software to capture video clips and also simply for viewing and analyzing swing clips saved in the system.  The creation or selection of coaches and students is done in the Swing Manager page, to access this page choose the “Select” tab and then click on the “Swing Manager” button.

The following page is then displayed:

Briefly, the Swing Manager page enables

· Creation of a database of coaches and students

· A preview of both front and target recorded swing files for any individual student (the preview window is the large dark area in the image above)

· A preview of saved snapshot images of any individual student

· A preview of audio/visual lesson segments or instructional clips that an instructor has created and saved

· The addition or editing of student information

(For a detailed treatment of the functions contained in the Swing Manager please consult Appendix II.)

The first step in using the software is to create a coach (coach names are listed in the “Coaches” column).  To do this, right click on the blue “Coaches” heading, and then select “add new coach.”  The following window is displayed:

Type in the name and click OK, and the new coach name is then displayed in the “Coaches” column. 

To add/create a student, first click the coach name that the student will be associated with, and then right click the blue “Students” column heading and click “Add new student.”  The following window is displayed:

Type the new student name in the box, click OK, and the student is then added to the coach's database of students.

To add or edit student information double click on the student's name in the “Students” column and the following window will be displayed:

There are two ways to start a lesson once a coach has created their own profile and is in the process of building a database of students:

1 - Open the Swing Manager and select the desired coach and student names from the Coaches and Students columns.  The selected names will then appear in the Coach and Student box in the lower right section of the Swing Manager window.  Verify that the names are correct; close the Swing Manager page and the software returns to the Analysis screen.

2 – The second method allows selecting an existing Coach and/or Student while in the Analysis screen.  To do this, right click either the coach or student name in the lower left corner of the analysis screen and a popup window is displayed.  Here is an image of the Coach list popup screen:

To select or change the coach click the desired name on the list and then click the “OK” button in the lower right corner of the popup window.  Once a coach has been selected the student may be chosen in the same way:

To start a lesson, select a player name on the list (left click the name) and then click OK.  In this case “Bret Landon” was selected as the student and the names displayed in the lower left of the Analysis screen are changed:

Capturing/recording video clips

After creating or selecting a coach and student the general sequence of events in a baseball lesson is to then record some video clips for immediate review.  To do this click the “Capture” tab and the following buttons and options are displayed:

There are several choices for capturing a clip or clips, please keep in mind that the software captures either one camera view, or two views simultaneously if two camcorders are connected.  The basic process for capturing is to first click the button labeled “Record”; this will begin saving live video to the hard drive (the “wait” icon (hourglass figure) appears on screen when the software is in the “Record” mode).  Next, wait at least three seconds (the computer needs three seconds to store to the video buffer file) and then after the player has completed their motion click either “Stop Record” to capture the swing (the previous three seconds of video) or “Save/Stop Record” to capture the swing and automatically save the clip (or clips if dual-captured) under the student's name.  (Swings are saved in either the “Front” or “Target” tabs if one camera was used and named in a numerical sequence, such as Bret 0001, Bret 0002, etc.  If the same swing is captured with two cameras both clips will be saved simultaneously under the “Front” and “Target” tabs with the same name given to the clips.)  The default playback option in the IS300 software is that the recorded swing is displayed immediately on screen.  There are other options that are controlled by the check boxes located to the left of the large buttons; the following table describes these options:

Note: when using the sound trigger option please be aware that the “sensitivity” settings of the microphone (trigger) are controlled by the audio settings on your computer.  These can be accessed a few ways, we recommend opening the Control Panel>Sounds, Speech, and Audio Devices>Sounds and Audio Devices>Audio>Sound Recording settings to view and change the microphone settings if necessary.

To summarize the steps for capturing video in the IS300 software, first decide whether you:

1.      Want to save automatically or not, and

2.      Whether you would like to view the captured clip immediately or return to the live camera(s) view rather than the view of the captured clip. 

Also, if using an audio trigger be sure that the desired option boxes are checked.  Once those choices have been made or configured follow these steps to record a clip or clips:

Recording manually (no audio trigger):

1.      Be sure that a coach and student are selected.

2.      Select the “capture” tab and click the “record” button (“wait” icon is displayed).  Wait three seconds.

3.      Click either “stop record” (basic capture without saving) or “save/stop capture” if you want the swing saved automatically.

Recording with audio trigger:

1.      Be sure that the microphone is connected to your computer and that a coach and student are selected.

2.      Select the “capture” tab and select one of the two sound trigger options.

3.      Click the “record” button (“wait” icon is displayed).  Wait three seconds.

4.      Have your student hit a ball and the swing will be recorded automatically.

To return to live video (that is if the Auto Capture box has not been checked) click the “Return Camera(s)” button and live video will be displayed.

Note: Dual captured clips are accurate in synchronization to an average tolerance of 2%.  If there is a problem in synchronization of dual clips, check the System Options>Recording tab on the main page.  If the Display Refresh Interval setting is at 132 or lower raise the setting to 221, then click the Apply button and exit.  The effect of this change will be to delay the appearance of real time video on screen; however, a higher Display Refresh Interval setting has been shown to help in the synchronization process when the clips are being saved.

Reviewing and analyzing recorded clips

There are many methods in giving baseball instruction, and how an individual lesson proceeds will depend on the choices of the instructor.  However, for purposes of this user guide generic features in teaching will be discussed such as opening clips, setting positions, using drawing tools, displaying comparative models, and taking advantage of statistical data.

Viewing swing clips

Stored swing clips are listed under the “Front” and “Target” tabs at the bottom of the main screen, and when a student is selected either in the Swing Manager page or with the popup option the listed clips change to reflect the current student.  Also, the “Pro Frt” and “Pro Trg” tabs list model swings that have been installed with the IS300 software along with any model clips an instructor chooses to add.  The procedure for viewing any of these clips is to “drag and drop” the file name into the section of the video screen where the swing is to be displayed.  Follow these steps to load and view a swing clip:

1.      Click on the “front,” “target,” “pro front,” or “pro target” tab to display the contents of the tab as a menu. 

2.      Select the clip you want to view by clicking and holding the file name with the left mouse button.

3.      While continuing to hold the left mouse button, “drag” the file name into one of the two viewing windows, and release or “drop” the left mouse button to display the clip. 

In the example above I've opened the “Pro Front” tab, selected the clip named “Edgar Martinez” and dragged the clip into the left viewing window to display it.  (drag & drop)

To view a single clip in the full video window, drag the yellow splitter button located below the drawing toolbar to the right or left and the clip will occupy the total viewing area:

You can also view two clips side by side, or in the “split screen” mode.  To do this, slide the yellow splitter button back to the center position, load one clip into the left portion of the screen, select another clip and then drag and load it into the right side of the screen.  In this photo I've loaded both the target and front “Edgar Martinez” clips into the two viewing windows:

With one or two clips loaded into the viewing windows there are a few options for controlling playback.  To start, here is an image of the controls located to the sides of the video windows, followed by an explanation of the functions:

Detail	When clicked a list of individual drawings on the video window is displayed
Left/right arrows	Steps clip forward or back
Single arrow	Plays clip
Curved arrow	Deletes last drawing
X shaped icon	Deletes all drawings
Hide	Hides grid
Grid icon	Displays a grid over the clip
Magnifying tool	Zooms in or out
Flip	Reverses clip (rh to lh)
Numbers at bottom	Upper number displays current frame/total frames, lower number may be reset to 0 with double click
Vertical cursor	Moves clip back or forth
Slide button	Can be used to center a clip in split screen mode, or a zoomed clip in single or split screen mode.
12 red/green buttons	If buttons are green left click once to jump to the selected position in the adjacent window, or double click to move both clips in split screen.  Also, when a button is right-clicked that position will either be programmed if the button was red, or reprogrammed if the button was green.
“A” button	This button is for auto programming.  To use, move the clip to either release or contact and click this button.
“T” button	Clicking this trim button will trim anything before the first key edit position as well as anything after the last key edit position.

Also, playback of swings can be controlled with keyboard commands.  For the left video window the “Q” and “W” keys control forward and reverse playback, while for the right video window the “O” and “P” keys do the same.  In both cases if the right key of the pair is held down the adjacent window will play continuously, if it is struck in succession the clip will advance one frame at a time.  If the left key is held down the clip will play in reverse continuously or if struck in succession the clip will move in reverse a frame at a time.

Setting Key Positions

After first capturing a clip or after loading a clip to view you will notice that there are twelve red buttons in a vertical column located in the lower section of the playback control toolbars (buttons on the left):

These buttons enable setting twelve “key positions” that could be helpful in the analysis of a swing clip or clips, and if they appear in red they have not been set or programmed.  The display color of the buttons changes from red to green once the key positions have been set.  To set the position buttons:

1.      scroll the swing clip in the window as close to the impact frame as possible,

2.      select the “Play” tab

3.      click either the “Left Side Auto” button for a swing loaded in the left window, or “Right Side Auto” for a swing loaded in the right window 

The positions in the above image were not set in the first example, however the swing was scrolled to the contact frame in this example and the “Left Side Auto” button was clicked.  The contact frame is used for the auto programming of swing clips while the release frame is used for the auto programming of pitching clips.  The buttons on the left of the screen were then changed as a group from red to green.

Another way to auto program a clip is to use the “A” button at the bottom of the control panel.  To do this, move the clip to either contact for hitting or release for pitching and click the “A” button.

The resulting preset positions are close approximations of the key positions in a baseball swing. The software approximates these positions based on the average differences seen in our major league models. Because of differences in swing length and speed there may be variations in positioning from player to player. All twelve key edit positions can then be fine tuned or reset if desired.  In the example below the Toe Touch position (TT) is one frame short of the true position and can be reset if desired:

To make the change move the clip to the desired frame (in this case to frame 120/180) and then right click the corresponding position button (TT) on the side that controls the clip:

Synchronized Playback Options

When the key positions for one or two clips have been set, the “Play” tab gives several options for moving the clips in sync:

In the screen shot above two clips have been loaded, and are ready for review.  When the “Play” tab is selected playback controls are displayed on the lower left-center section of the screen, while a set of position jump buttons are displayed on the lower right.  The upper set of playback controls on the left

will manually control simultaneous synchronized playback in two clips after the Contact position button (CT) is selected and the “Both” box is checked.  The other functions are activated once the “Both” box is checked, here is a table detailing the functions of the other controls:

Play	Click to play both clips simultaneously and in sync.  When “Play” has been selected this button turns into a “stop” button.
Right and Left Arrows	Move both clips back or forward frame by frame (clicking) or in motion (holding)
Sliding bar	Moves both clips together by holding and sliding left or right.
Back	Click to move both clips back one frame at a time, or hold to move both clips back in motion
Forward	Click to move both clips forward one frame at a time, or hold to move both clips forward in motion

This set of controls works well for dual captured clips and also for synchronizing clips that are not dual captured:

Also, the bottom set of playback controls

can be used to synchronize two clips that have key positions set: 

Pos	When checked, two clips will work in sync provided the key position buttons have been set in both.
Play	Click to play both clips simultaneously.  When in play mode this button turns into a “stop” button.
Arrows	Moves both clips back or forward frame by frame (clicking) or in motion (holding)
Sliding bar	Moves both clips together by holding and sliding.
Speed control	Controls speed of playback for all playback controls.

Finally, the position buttons

move both clips in sync to the set positions by clicking on the desired button.  For example, if two clips are displayed at Stance (S):

clicking on position CT (Contact) will jump both clips to that position:

Four View

Under the select tab there is also a four-view playback option.  Click the “Four View” button and pull up four swings to view them all at once.

The Four-View Screen

The screen image shown above depicts how the Four-View screen appears when first opened.  The large dark area is the viewing window, which is divided into four, equal-sized viewing windows. Each of the windows remains dark until a swing clip is opened. 

Viewing Swing Clips:

1.      Click on the either the “Front,” “Target,” “Pro Frt,” or “Pro Trg” tab to display the contents of the selected tab.

2.      Select the clip you want to view by clicking and holding the file name with the left mouse button.

3.      Drag the file name into one of the four viewing windows, and release the left mouse button to open the clip. (drag and drop) 

In the example below, the “Pro Front” tab has been selected, and the clip named “Sammy Sosa” has been dragged and dropped into the upper left viewing window:

To open a clip from another tab, first select the tab and then follow the instructions just given.  In the following screen, clips of Edgar Martinez have been dragged and dropped into the top two viewing windows for comparison:

To view four clips at once, drag and drop one clip into each of the four sections of the screen.  In the following screen, both the Target and Front clips of Edgar Martinez and Sammy Sosa have been dragged and dropped into the viewing windows:

Now you're ready to play your clip or clips and analyze your swings. 

Using the Video Screen

Playback Controls

The controls located next to each video window provide several tools for controlling playback and other functions.  A pop-up menu in the upper left corner of the screen displays the function of any particular tool when the cursor passes over it.  Here is a more detailed description of how the playback controls work:

Left/right arrows	Step the clip forward or back one frame at a time
Single arrow	Plays or stops clip when clicked
Curved arrow	Deletes last drawing
X shaped icon	Deletes all drawings
Hide	Hides all drawing
Grid icon	Displays grid over clip; Click again to remove grid
Magnifying tool	Zooms in or out
Flip	Reverses clip (rh to lh or vice versa)
12 red/green buttons	When right-clicked will set a “key position” in clip
Numbers at bottom	Display total frames and current frames
Vertical cursor	Sliding up or down moves clip back or forth

Setting Key Positions

The Four View screen does not contain Auto-Programming so any programming inside Four View must be done manually.  To set a “Key Position” simply move the clip to the desired point (use the pop up menu to see the name of the key edit position) and right click the corresponding button.  After setting a button, the button color is changed from red to green.

Once a key position has been set the button will remain green but may be reset by right clicking the button again.

When first loading a clip, you will notice there are twelve red buttons in a vertical column located within the playback control toolbar.  By clicking these buttons, you can move the clip to one of twelve “Key Positions” that are helpful in analyzing your swing.

 The “Step Forward” and “Step Back” buttons at the bottom of the screen control all four screens simultaneously.  A single click will move the screens forward one frame at a time, while clicking and holding the “Step Forward” and “Step Back” will move the screens continuously.

Analysis Tools

Drawing lines and reference points on screen allow you to visually analyze your swings.  You can access these drawing tools on the drawing toolbar, located above the video window.

In the next screen, swings of a Pro model and student have been dragged and dropped into the Four-View screen.  As an example of some of the analysis possibilities, the analysis toolbar has been used to draw reference lines at the beginning of each clip, and the key position buttons have been used to move both clips to different points in the swing for comparison:

For the full range of drawing toolbar options, please see the table of drawing tools on pages 15 -16. 

Math

Along with drawing tools and key position features, the Home Viewer software compiles various mathematical statistics relating to your onscreen drawings.  To access these statistics, click the “Math” tab at the lower left corner of the screen.

The math features provide tools to measure angles, as well as relative distances (or length) of the lines.  The lengths or distances are measured in pixels:

This feature functions by measuring and comparing both the length and angle of two lines of different colors on screen.  To use the Math feature, decide what sort of line you would like to telestrate and compare at different points in the swing. The first line drawn must be red, and the second line must be any color other than red.

When the “Math” tab is selected, measurements are displayed at the bottom of the screen.  The top row of numbers compares the length of the two lines, the difference in length between the two lines and the ratio of the differences.  The second row of numbers displays the angle of the lines, as well as the difference and ratio betwe