System Requirements

Computer/Laptop

A Pentium III 500 Mhz or faster processor (Pentium 4 is highly recommended for smooth video playback).
At least 64 MB RAM. 128 MB or more is strongly recommended.
A video card capable of displaying at least 800 x 600 pixels at 16-bit color depth.
A card capable of displaying at least 1024 x 768 at 16-bit or 32-bit color depth is strongly recommended.
At least 200 MB free disk space.
Approximately 8 MB is required to store a 2 second video in DV format. MotionExpert itself requires less than 3 MB. Microsoft DirectX 8.1 Runtime requires 25 MB.
Windows 98 Second Edition, Windows ME, Windows 2000 Professional or Windows XP (Home or Professional).
OHCI compliant firewire (built-in or add-on card). Firewire is also known as i.Link (by Sony) or as IEEE 1394.
A quality audio card.
Microsoft Windows Media Encoder 9 or higher. This is required if you want to email video in video format. It is not required for emailing still shots.
Microsoft Media Encoder 9 is available only for Windows 2000 Professional and Windows XP.

Connections

The best way to get video into your computer is the long established FireWire standard. FireWire is a digital data transfer standard. It is also known as IEEE 1394 and i.Link. Although some camcorders come with a USB cable, the video quality obtained using USB is poor or in the MPEG-2 video format (see below), and is therefore not suitable for video analysis without firstly converting to AVI video format. FireWire's higher transfer rate allows full quality digital video to be transferred from your miniDV camcorder to your computer.

Video Camera

There are many types of video cameras and camcorders available. If you are purchasing a new camcorder, we strongly recommend getting a miniDV model. Canon and Sony are the two most popular brands. miniDV camcorders from other manufacturers like JVC, Panasonic, Samsung and Sharp generally work well too. All miniDV camcorders have a FireWire port which is the best way to transfer video to your computer.

We do not recommend microMV format from Sony nor hard drive and DVD camcorders from any manufacturer because they do not provide good quality video for analysis and capture driver support in Windows isn't adequate. Because of the compression used in them you will see digital artifacts during fast motion sequences such as 'contact point'. If however, you already have a hard drive or DVD camcorder you can buy software that converts the format to AVI so that it can be used within motionexpert. We have used video2x conversion software with some success and its trial version is FREE (we strongly recomend trying any software before purchasing it). When downloading conversion software we also recommend downloading the latest DirectX drivers that may accompany it. For more information about converting video from non MiniDV camcorders click here.

Security, CCT, analog and Hi8 cameras can work with motionexpert but they don't provide the same video quality as miniDV and most don't have FireWire output. They work best with a DV FireWire bridge such as a Canopus ADVC 55 or 100.

The High Definition camcorders from Canon, Sony and others are not currently recommended unless they support SD (standard definition) video like the Canon HV10. We are investigating HD support but most formats are not supported by default in Windows at this time. Some models such as the Sony HC3 and SR1 HD cameras only support 1/500 second shutter speed and are not recommended for this reason.

We recommend Canon because all their miniDV camcorders have a manual setting for shutter speed. A shutter speed of at least 1/1000 of a second is important for getting a clear picture of a fast motion such as a golf swing or a baseball swing. Many cameras that don't have the manual shutter speed feature, including most Sony models, have a Sports mode. This mode automatically sets the shutter speed as high as it can be based on the available light. This works well in most lighting conditions, but where available light is sufficiently low you may experience some blurring of the clubhead at impact. One advantage that many of the Sony miniDV camcorders offer is a 3.5" view screen vs. the 2.5" on most Canons.

Disclaimer

We offer a free downloadable trial so that you can make sure the software works with your equipment before purchase and that you are entirely satisfied with motionexpert.  Every CD we ship is completely verified before it is shipped.  The CD media is guaranteed for 30 days after your purchase date and will be replaced if defective.  After 30 days or once the license key for your PC is emailed to you by motioexpert, whichever comes first, there are no refunds.  For more details on the terms of use of motionexpert read their license agreements at installation time.  If you choose not to activate your software after purchase, the cost of the CD(s), and any shipping charges we incur are non-refundable.  Your refund request must be received within 30 days of your purchase date. 

Contact us here for inquiries about this guarantee.