Frequently Asked Questions
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SportsCAD Platinum Plus is $795
(currently on sale $295)
SportsCAD Platinum is $595
SportsCAD Home Plus is $149
SportsCAD Home is $99
SportsCAD is sold on a per seat license which means if you have three instructors that will
use the software on one computer, you will need one license. If you have three instructors that
will use the software on three computers, you will need three licenses.
SportsCAD is now delivered by Electronic delivery which means that there is nothing to ship. You
can get started right away once you purchase the software.
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What else do I need to get started?
THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT!
You will need a laptop or desktop computer with a firewire port. You will
also need a dv camcorder, a tripod and firewire cable.
ALTHOUGH THERE ARE MANY NEW CAMERAS ON THE MARKET, MOST OF YOU WILL NEED A DV CAMCORDER
(see below for more information)
If you are an athlete (or the parent of an athlete) and you want to work on your
own game and keep track of your own progress, you may be able to use your current camcorder (HD,
cdrom, hard disk, memory stick etc). If you can currently use your camcorder to download videos to
your computer, you will most likely be able to IMPORT these videos into SportsCAD. This process is
much slower than using a DV camcorder (so it wouldn't work well for business use), and this type of
camcorder is not designed for frame by frame analysis, so the picture quality may suffer a bit. For
personal use, the slower process and slight video quality loss won't be any problem.
If you are a coach or instructor and would plan to use the software on a regular
basis, you would need a DV camcorder. A DV camcorder provides great picture quality, and the
software can control the camera, which makes for quick and easy video capture from the camcorder to
the computer. The result is ALWAYS crisp, clear videos that are perfectly trimmed and display at 60
frames per second.
If you do not know if your computer has a firewire port, you can check your spec sheet or email
your computer model number to sportcad@sportscad.com
and we will let you know. Almost all computers have an available slot to put a firewire port if
your computer does not have one.
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SportsCad software runs on Windows XP, Vista or Windows 7 based computers.
Minimum Requirements
Pentium 4 1.4, 1GB ram, 100 gig hd, cdrom drive
Recommended System
Pentium Duo Core 2.0, 2GB ram
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What kind of camcorder do I need?
You need a DV (also known as IEEE or firewire) camcorder. Although you may be
tempted by the new hard drive, usb, memory stick or cd\dvd camcorders, these camcorders all capture
to a mpeg compressed format that looks nice when you take video on vacation, but do not look
as nice with high speed motion. There is a new feature in the program that will import from many of
these cameras, but it is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED that you not try to use this type of camera if you do
video analysis on a daily basis. The process to import video is much faster if you use a
dv camcorder, and the video quality is usually better.
You will know you have a DV camcorder if it has a firewire port and it records
to tape.
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Which camcorder should I buy?
Your camcorder should be a DV camcorder (see the previous question). It is hard
to keep up with specific models of camcorders. The Sony HandiCams always work well, as well as the
Panasonic and Canon camcorders. You can spend $150 - $2000 for a DV camcorder. Frankly the
difference in price does not match the difference in video quality (I'd buy a 42" plasma monitor to
display the program on instead).
Things to look for:
The camera should have a manual shutter speed of at least 1/2000 (or
a Sports Mode).
Most of the cheaper camcorders use a 1/6th CCD. If you want an upgrade. look for 1/4th ccd.
A big upgrade is to a 3ccd camcorder. There is a difference in video quality (better colors), but
it is marginal compared to the price.
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Once you have plugged your DV (firewire) camcorder into your computer, via the firewire port,
you simply go to the capture section of the software, push a couple of buttons, and your ready to
analyze.
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With the click of a button, you can pull up your video, split the screen and compare your video
to a professional or past performances. Draw lines, spine angle, circles, squares, and other
drawing tools to help isolate and highlight the trouble areas. There are many different ways to
analyze and compare videos. Have a look at the demo to quickly learn how the software can work for
you.
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