winders

Does Race Studio 3 support the Solo? If not, will it? If not, why not?

ProCoach

Scott, Race Studio 3 will be a comprehensive package for configuring, managing, downloading and analyzing the entire AiM product line, eventually. Right now, it's in beta solely to interface on a limited basis with the new hardware. It includes the latest versions of GPS Manager, SmartyManager 2 and Race Studio Analysis under Race Studio 2, all in one 100 MB package.

The reason why it was introduced with the new hardware (MXL2/MXG/MXS) is because the new equipment uses a different file structure with different requirements for congfiguring and downloading than the older legacy products including the EVO4, MXL and Solo line.

Race Studio 3 offers Race Studio 2 interface for the Solo and Solo DL. This is used to configure and download .drk and other files from that unit. Race Studio Analysis, for analyzing the information collected, is included and works with the Solo and Solo DL.

Eventually, Race Studio 3 will offer a new version of Race Studio Analysis that integrates GPS and video with the data in a way we can all benefit from, but for now, it is what it is and it's working well.

Misdirection

Any clue when this will happen? I feel like I "need" that and want to buy the Vbox lite as a result, but the video quality on that is so terrible it's hard to see details (Which car number was that? Was that a point-by?). I think I'm just hanging out with my Solo DL until Vbox improves the video quality (and not with the HD version that does post-processing) or AiM does video+data.

Sorry for the tangent.

mglobe

Valid question/tangent.

Matt Romanowski

The real answer? We don't know. It's being worked on, but in the queue with other things. RS3 was a major rewrite of the software and the background code, along with a totally new framework for the firmware and loggers. All that works makes many, many more things possible and there will certainly be some exciting new features and developments in the future.

You're best advice anyone can give you is buy the products that best fit your needs today. If something fits them better in the future, then it's worth upgrading.

ir_fuel

Check when the Smartycam HD was announced. Check when it actually hit the market. Should give you a clue of how long some things tend to take

ProCoach

No, that IS a worthwhile question. Because people want to know.

Absolutely! As a dealer for a variety of different systems, including both the ones named above (incidentally, my two best selling lines), I'll do my best to answer the questions.

I think it's quite likely that the RS3 release that allows simultaneous, synchronized data and video is going to happen late this year or early next.

Whether it will require the new file structure (.xrk) generated by the MXL2/MXG/MXS/forthcoming EVO5, as opposed to the pre-video legacy file structure (.drk) used by the MXL, EVO3, EVO4 and Solo/Solo DL to "match" the video with the data WITHIN the Race Studio 3 Analysis window is still a question.

There is NO question that AiM is VERY late to the party on this functionality, the LAST, as a matter of fact. I found Traqmate's system in 2005 to be the first practical application of this, then the MoTeC PDR-100 integration along with the first SD VCS, then the Race-Keeper SE and HE, then the Video VBOX in 2010.

The Race-Keeper and Video VBOX are the best in this regard, in my opinion, but offer limited data views, measures and manipulation of the data within their simplified analysis programs. Both Race-Keeper SE and HE, as well as the Video VBOX Pro and Lite, offered no better video quality than the ChaseCam PDR-100, but it was a good start. For those buffs that care, it was "DVD" quality, 640 x 480 pixels...

For my analysis work, and with the cameras mounted properly, the Video VBOX Lite 2-camera system is more than adequate. For those spoiled by the better quality HD (and I don't consider anything prior to the MOST current generation GoPro or Replay Prime-X to be "better quality"), the VBOX HD is quite spectacular, but the CMOS is absurdly expensive. $1000 JUST for the bullet camera (AiM's is $419). So the reason for a new VBOX HD is not only to improve functionality but also to achieve a better economic balance between cost of manufacture and sales price.

Part of the reason why people are crying for the AiM solution to come to market is because of the excellent image quality of the SC HD and particularly the Rev2 SC HD. Seems a shame we can't just pull it into the analysis window like the other four systems that I sell... It's terrific, the camera is rugged and it's a good solution at a reasonable cost. The data analysis package is robust and one of the few things close (in a Club setting) to i2, the reference standard.

I can say that Racelogic, the makers of the VBOX HD, have recognized the error of their ways (making the image quality SO good that there's not enough processing power in any current box to render on-screen data, real-time) and are coming out with something similar to the Race-Keeper HDX2, itself just now coming to market, albeit in a huge, bulky and ungainly package, in my opinion. The new VBOX HD will not only be able to write information to the video real-time, but also offer a return to the Video VBOX standard picture-in-picture. I hope to see it about Labor Day this year.

So as Matt says, you pay your money and you make your choice. This is a particularly exciting time for these offerings and it's clear that anything you choose will be current for awhile, anyway. Yes, it would be wonderful to press one button and have the video pop up in the analysis window with AiM products, but that is not an option, right now...

Misdirection

Thanks for the insight, fellas.