MarcD147

with the latest fixes the vbo export works now and produces more consistent data

how do I go about getting the video and the data in a single view in circuit tools?

how do I link the vbo file to the video file
how do I load the video file?


there is always a next problem :-)

ProCoach

No video possible in circuit tools unless generated by VBOX hardware.

You can import data only into circuit tools.

MarcD147

do we know why? do they use a propriety format? or way to link it to data?

ProCoach

Marc, FergusH may be able to explain better, but the ability to import Porsche Track Precision .vbo data files into Circuit Tools was a courtesy extended by Racelogic, makers of VBOX and developers of the Circuit Tools software. What Porsche got out of the deal was the ability to link to Racelogic's valuable VBOX Sport 20 Hz GPS engine, far in excess of any current phone in sampling rate and accuracy.

Technically, the Porsche Track Precision app is a standalone "system" that allows for the recording of data and video on the customers phone or device, then analyzed on that phone or device.

The VBOX Sport device is a portable, .vbo (VBOX's file suffix) file data only logger. Is very inexpensive for what it is but the reason why is because it's data only.

The linkage of the video and data from two different systems or a third party camera is not possible due to the file information and structure of the matching .vbo and .avi (older Video VBOX Pro or Lite) or .mov (newer VBOX HD2 video format) files.

For you to fully utilize all the great features Circuit Tools can offer, you must buy their (Racelogic) hardware. This allows use of Circuit Tools in iOS, a native version in OS X and, of course, Windows.

All systems are like this. They companies offer their analysis software for free (except for CDS and some "pro" versions of Pi and Magnetti Marelli) and lock it to their hardware. Race-Keeper, AiM Sportline, Racelogic's Video VBOX, Race-Technology and MoTeC do this.

Not sure it is reasonable to register concern that the Circuit Tools option for reading and comparing Porsche Track Precision generated .vbo files is crippled or faulty because there is not a way to compare PTP app generated video files.

The use of the data comparison power of CT is a bonus for PTP app users, that is all.

IMO, I have no use for PTP. It's buggy, unreliable and does not offer many of the features I use every track engagement in CT to find time and to teach others to coach themselves. For this reason, I have been a leading VBOX dealer for nearly seven years and sold hundreds of these systems. I use one in every car I coach, no matter what system folks may have in the car.

However, for those with PTP, it's better than nothing and the ability to use CT to analyze is a step up from the native app.

FergusH?

Matt Romanowski

Just to clear this up, MoTeC i2 has a free version that is not fully optioned and a full, paid professional version. Cosworth has a paid version as well.

AiM software is fully functional and free. Same for the others Peter listed.

ProCoach

Matt, that is not correct.

MoTeC offers both versions of i2, Standard and Pro, as a free download. The additional features, power and video sync features not available in Standard are available in Pro.

How MoTeC works is through PAID, "Enable Option" codes on the hardware, which is serial number specific.

Want to enable Pro logging and analysis capability on any MoTeC display/logger? Send your preferred dealer the serial number of your hardware and quite a few drachmas ($852 for the C-series display/loggers) and get a code back to enter into the device configuration ONE time to be set forever more!

Want to build a custom display in any of the color dashes? Download the free software "Display Creator" and pay $600 to allow your new custom display config to be loaded onto your color dash.

An "Enable Logging" code is even required on display loggers (CDL3/ADL3/C-series) to RECORD data. This turns a MoTeC "Strada" into a MoTeC "Pista."

For R2, Bosch, Cosworth (nee Pi), Magnetti Marelli, DTA and others, you pay for an optional "pro" version of the analysis software but no hardware changes are required.

Matt Romanowski

Sorry I did not describe MoTeC correctly, but not completely free in all versions like AiM, RK, RT, Vbox, etc. Whether you pay for it on the hardware or the software, it's still paying for it! For the end user, software is really better to buy because it works across many hardware units, not just one.

Thanks for clearing up how it works.

MarcD147

thanks for the insight !

too bad I didn't know this when I spec'd out my GT4 with this $1800 option last year :-(
now I am trying to make it work as well as I don't like a 1800 clock. If I fail I might jump ship to the HD2....

sofar Porsche has been fixing the issues I have raised to them, its still not perfect but there is progress. Based on your statement the aspect I raised in this thread might not be fixable unless they fix the commercial deal they have with racelogic.

ProCoach

MoTeC has repeatedly said that this is one of the ways they earn enough to pay for software development. It's fair in their eyes because only the people that use the features pay for them. Technically, all of these software programs, from every manufacturer, include in the EULA that you will use the software ONLY with data generated by their hardware. I don't blame them.

Race Technology did require a video license to be purchased to enable video with data in the analysis window. Don't know If that is still the deal.

FergusH

Funny you should ask: I was wondering about the same thing this morning and did some experimentation.

I put a .vbo file and its matching .mp4 file - both recorded with the HD2 - into a folder, then added another .mp4 file, also from the HD2. The second file was completely unrelated to the first: it was recorded at a different time and different place.

I then opened the .vbo file and looked for the [AVI] section. The file name listed under [AVI] references the matching .mp4 file. I changed this reference to the file name of the 2nd, unrelated .mp4 file, then saved and closed the file.

I was able to successfully open this file in Circuit Tools and play it. It was weird of course - nothing matched - but it did work.

What I haven't been able to do yet is take a Track Precision .vbo file and do the same thing. The format of the .vbo file is a bit different - it doesn't have a [AVI] section, for example, and I think that's where the problem lies. However, I only spend a few minutes on that.

My interest is mostly curiosity - just seeing if it can be done - but if I was driving with a GoPro, along with the HD2, it might be fun to be able to take the GoPro video and view it in Circuit Tools, with the data correctly matching the video. You can't do an overlay - that's done in the HD2 hardware in realtime - but it would be kind of cool to be able to see GoPro video in Circuit Tools. I could imagine wanting to do this I wanted to get video from somewhere I wouldn't or couldn't put a Racelogic camera.

I think the challenge with this would be getting the time stamp correct. You'd need to make sure that the start of the GoPro video matched exactly the time that the data started. Lastly, even though Vbox-recorded video can be viewed in lots of different apps, the reverse might not be true: there might be something in a Vbox video file that Circuit Tools looks for and if it's not there, won't play the video. My testing has just been switching one Vbox video for another. I haven't tried video from a GoPro yet. Perhaps I'll do that next.

ProCoach

I agree. Because of yours and FergusH's (among others, I am sure) constant feedback and attention, I think PTP is getting close to all it CAN be...

Further CORRECT and USEFUL integration with Circuit Tools is not technically possible without much closer linking, embedding and "clocking" of the video with the data, real-time. This embedding of GPS time and position is exactly why AiM Sportline has completely rewritten and restructured the code for the way their loggers record data and the cameras record video, JUST so THEY will someday be able to do what most other auto-synced video/data systems like the VBOX and Race-Keeper have done for seven-plus years.

Not sure it's in Racelogic's interest, anyway, due to the fact that hardware development, along with the release of the associated multi-platform software (the ONLY DAQ company to offer this) takes all their time and effort!

Sure, you can pull up a video file like FergusH and tentenths have done, but it doesn't work the way the software is most valuable. You need GPS position embedded as well, as it is not only time and distance information that is needed in Circuit Tools.

As for the PTP, as FergusH pointed out, the "complimentary" import feature Racelogic offers again does not allow all the information MOST valuable to the expedient use of Circuit Tools to be accessed or used.

The best OEM app is the GM PDR, using a stripped down version of Pi (now Cosworth Electronics) Toolbox. This app allows side by side instrumented video, a la Video VBOX. Really nice, even if it is in standard definition.

But that's another story!

FergusH

Well, that was quick: I did just test GoPro video and it works fine! I did the simplest test: I took an original pair of .vbo and .mp4 files from the HD2 and replaced the .mp4 file with a random GoPro video. I changed the name of the GoPro file, so that it used the same name as the original HD2 .mp4 file.

I was able to open the .vbo file in Circuit Tools and the GoPro video was there and was playable. The resolution of the GoPro was the same as the HD2 - 1920 x 1080 - but the frame rate was 60 fps and not the HD2's 30 fps. That didn't matter, perhaps because there are other Vbox products that generate 60 fps video (I think) and Circuit Tools is designed to handle that.

It was actually kind of cool and has me thinking about whether there's a practical application for this and how hard it would be to make it work. A product like the upcoming SyncBack (http://syncbac.com) might help but the other option would be to turn off the HD2's automatic recording and switch it to record manually. You'd hit record on the HD2 at the same time as record on the GoPro. If you started the GoPro recording at exactly the same time, the video and data would probably match well enough to be useful.

This is all in the context of having an HD2 already. I'll be happy to never have to screw around with video and data at the track again and that's definitely worth the $4000-ish that an installed HD2 setup costs. But adding another video source would be a fun option.

ProCoach

Hahahaha! You are SUCH an anorak!

tentenths has you beat on that test by a few months.

But again, what can you DO with it? When you move the cursor to compare two videos, the GPS position won't match, nor will distance, over the lap. Just time. Because that is the only reference between the files... So no, it would not be useful to me.

Your final stanza is why this whole thing works. Less than 2% of the thousands of equipment customers I have (since 2001 with RT) would be willing or able to test this, let alone try to work out some solution. This AFTER you have both the software and the hardware at hand to do it easily! I know, you'll say "but that's my JOB!" Hahahaha!

Seriously, while I think this is a fun technical exercise, it's a bit like reinventing the wheel, at least as far as the most value I (and many others) get out of this technology.

Time is short, especially at the track. These tools are not breaking new ground, although quality and reliability is much higher. The principal benefit is ease-of-use. Which is what we all need.