Motion Analysis, Slow Motion Cameras and Video Analysis Software

motion analysis, slow motion cameras, biomechanics motion capture

sports motion analysis, slow motion capture, biomechanics motion analysis

Equipment Requirements

The following minimum equipment is recommended for best performance:

*     PC - Pentium IV processor or equivalent (faster is better).
       1 Gig minimum memory, 2 Gig recommended.
       80 gigabyte hard drive with at least 10 gigabytes free (more is better).
       1394 Firewire port (or 1 Open PCI or PCMCIA slot for add-on Firewire card).
       Video display card and monitor capable of 800x600 and 32 bit hi-color settings.
       128 meg dedicated video RAM recommended.
       CD-ROM or CD-RW drive.
       Windows XP (SP2), 2000 or Vista (SP1).

*     Camera - Mini-DV camcorder or Casio EX camera (warning: DVD/DVR camcorders are not acceptable)**
      Firewire (IEEE-1394) video output.
      Adjustable shutter speed or "sports" setting (with minimum shutter speed 1/500).

* Tripod - Sturdy camera tripod with panning or grip-type head.

* Cable - High quality Firewire cable (must match PC and camcorder jacks).

*     No 3rd Party Software - PC cannot have any 3rd party video software installed such as video
      games or other video capture software. Anti-virus software may also cause processing problems.

**An important word about camcorders: With recent camcorder innovations such as DVD and DVR units there has been a lot of confusion and misconceptions with respect to using them for motion analysis. People mistakenly think that because these are the latest units to hit the market that they must be the best. That's simply not true when it comes to motion analysis. These new units are fine for shooting video of junior's birthday party but they don't work for high-speed motion analysis where you want to capture a full 60 to 1200 frames-per-second (fps) and do accurate slow motion/freeze frame analysis.

Here are the camcorder facts you will need if you are going to do serious motion analysis: The only type of camcorder that is suitable for this purpose is a mini-DV unit. The advantage of these units for motion analysis is that they are the only ones that produce low compression digital video (AVI format) transmitted over a Firewire connection. This is essential for good motion analysis. New style DVD and DVR camcorders do not have Firewire connections and they compress the video (called MPEG format) to a point where you lose frame rate and picture quality at the frame level. Mini-DV units produce a full 60 fps and provide the best video thereby retaining full picture quality right down to the individual frame level.

All of our full hardware systems and our Quick-Start kits come with the correct mini-DV style camcorders designed specifically for motion analysis. If you are just looking for software then we recommend that you consider one of our Quick-Start Kits. These kits come with everything you need: software, the correct type of camcorder, cables, accessories and instructions.

Toll-free (US only): 888-265-6226
International: 001-760-942-0116
Fax: 760-942-6285
email: salesinfo@sports-motion.com
Sales/support hours: 8AM-4PM PST

Sports Motion, Inc.
Offices located in California