Motion Analysis Software
There are a couple of tools out there to do motion analysis with and depending on your budget and what you want out of your video study, a few options. The two leaders right now seem to be Right View Pro and Dartfish. For different reasons, they are both good alternatives. While RightViewPro (www.rightviewpro.com) focuses on Baseball and Softball, they can also be used for other sports. Their software takes two or more videos and allows you to compare them using distance calculations, timing, ect. so that you can find for example the difference between a swing in baseball. They also have a unique partnership with Major League Baseball in that you can compare your swing or pitch to a major leaguer. It is a powerful product, but takes a bit of time to learn all the nuances and features . You can create lesson plans that allow you to use a microphone and talk over the video comparisons to create an instructional DVD for camps and tutorials. The software starts at $750 for the coaches addition and goes to $2500 for a full-featured product.
Dartfish (www.dartfish.com), the other big player in the market, has been around since 1998 and is most well known for the video comparison technology used by broadcasters of skiing, etc. in the olympics. They compare two or more videos and allow you to use telestration and overlays. Similar to a video editing application, they also give you limited ability to tag games with custom criteria (ex: all run plays in football). Their software is a bit more complex to use and more pricey, but is more adaptable to different sports such as hockey, rugby, soccer, ect. Pricing for the Dartfish software runs from $980 for the analysis and drawing features without the video editing to $4500 for a full version product.
A smaller player, but one gaining some great credibility is Sports Motion (www.sports-motion.com). Used by the World Champion Chicago White Sox, Atlanta Braves, the Mayo Clinic, and a host of others, they only do video analysis software, but it allows you to capture and compare up to 8 camera angles and draw, plot curves, take angles and distances, etc. It is an extremely easy to use application that will allow you to quickly make comparisons of video in seconds without much training. You don't have to use their software to capture your video clips either. Just import them from anywhere on your hard drive and start your lessons. Can be used with most video editing systems since it looks for AVI files, MPEG files, etc.. By far the best value for video analysis software out there starting at only $169. You can buy their software and a video camera from the website for only $800 and it will do just about everything the Dartfish software does (without the video editing) for much less.
posted by Video Guru @ 9:11 AM
8 Comments:
Thanks for the mention of Dartfish.
Just wanted to add that if Sportsmotion was doing what Dartfish can do, Dartfish would not have more than 90% of the Olympic teams as clients and more than 20,000 users Worldwide.
Actually Sportsmotion offers dartfish to coaches who want to take it to the next level.
I think it comes down to what you want to accomplish and how long you have to get it done. I found many of the features of DF were something I was never going to use. When I need to compare one swing to another, quickly SM is just a lot easier, faster. So when I left my last coaching gig I chose to go with SM for analysis because it's just so simple.
Also, SM is much less expensive and therefore more realisticly priced for Club teams. At least for ours. My 14U kids really enjoy it.
Oh, I think people should post their identity or at least a profile so this does not become just a big commercial.
Brian,
Club 14U coach.
Volleyball: So for my volleyball team I need one applicaiton for for stats, say a palm type software, and one for video of the matches? What can you recommend? I want to get video of rotations, sets, as well as individual player skills called out during the match. Ideally I could get the stat categories together with the video but I suppose that is asking too much.
Wendy Boyler
Head girls coach
Volleyball: So for my volleyball team I need one application for stats, say a palm type software, and one for video of the matches? What can you recommend? I want to get video of rotations, sets, as well as individual player skills called out during the match. Ideally I could get the stat categories together with the video but I suppose that is asking too much.
Wendy Boyler
Head girls coach
Wendy,
You can get both video and stats from an editing program for volleyball. It will depend on a couple of things. First, you'll want to know how much budget you have to spend and if you already have the necessary computer, palm, ect. If you just want to record video cheaply, you can use a program such as iMovie or Pinnacle video studio. If you want something more complex, try the ARK Digital Systems "Pro Version". It gives a ton of stats and the video indexed so you can see serves, rotations,ect. It runs about $1000. You can also check out DataVolley and there's runs a bit more, close to $2500.
Alright. I've checked into this a bit more. I'm certain I want something that is made for volleyball, anything else just requres too much work on my part. Sort of defeats the purpose. I need something that is a coaching tool not just create a video for mommy and daddy.
So you mentioned two products, ark volleyball and Datavolley. It's kind of hard to decipher what's best. Datavolley's sight does not really tell me much about what it does, or how it does it. Ark Volleyball looks to be pretty easy and the price is a bit more attractive to me. If there are any users of either application out there I would appreciate hearing from you.
Thank you,
Wendy
Many people miss the point when it comes to comparing technology products such as those used for motion analysis. Comparing different motion analysis products is like comparing different size dump trucks. If you're a big contractor and need to haul large amounts of material, you go out and buy a big dump truck. On the other hand, if you're a small local contractor and only need to haul small loads, you buy a small dump truck. The quality of each truck may be equally as good for its intended use therefore you wouldn't say "the big truck is better". It's just bigger! So, if you need "industrial strength" motion analysis software, then Dartfish or RightView may be your best bet (if you can afford them) but if you're a high school coach, a local ball team or an organization on a tight budget, then Sports Motion will easily meet your needs. Oh yes, besides the cost, one more thing to remember is that a big dump truck is always a lot harder to operate than a small dump truck!
My husband is an execellent videographer and has a very high end professional video camera. Our daughter is a figuire skater and he often films her lessons, then edits the footage, putting things in slo-mo or up close for analysis. He was recently laid off from his job, so is thinking of expanding the figure skater motion analysis business. Makes sense, since he is at the rink so much, and we know there are several coaches and parents that would like to use this service. Her coach has been talking about dartfish, which is really an expensive investment. Wondering if sportsmotion allows you to overlay a "famous" athlete, in this case figure skating so that the skater can see the proper way to execute the jump?
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