Focus FAQ

Focus software frequently asked questions

Welcome to the Focus products frequently asked questions document. Click on a question in the list below to see an answer. If the information you are interested in is not here then please email support@elitesportsanalysis.com.

Environment

  1. How much disk space do I need?
  2. What is a DV Bridge?
  3. What is Firewire?
  4. What video sources does Focus work with?
  5. What are the PC requirements for Focus?
  6. What if I don't have a digital camera?
  7. Can I run Focus on an Apple Mac?
  8. What languages does Focus support?
  9. What video format does Focus work with?
  10. How do I import video from a DVD?

Getting Focus

  1. How does the trial software process work?
  2. What tech support will I receive?
  3. How do I check my license status?

Using Focus

  1. What if somebody sends me video on a VHS tape?
  2. Can I play out to a monitor, VCR or Data Projector?
  3. Can I add all of my games to the one database?
  4. How to print out the database or table of results?
  5. Can I go through the game again and put in additional information?
  6. Can I add to existing category definition sets?
  7. Can I record/capture a whole game in one go?
  8. Can I store video onto a VHS tape?
  9. Can I burn groups of clips onto a CD/DVD?
  10. Can different coaches all share the same program?
  11. How do I compress my video to save disk space?
  12. How do I download a trial version of Focus?

I have a problem with...

  1. Focus will not play video
  2. Cannot capture from my camera
  3. The quality of my video is poor
  4. Video playback is slow or jerky

 

How much disk space do I need?

You will need about 10 Mbytes of free disk space to install Focus X2; typically this would be on the main internal hard disk for your PC. You could also use this disk to store video but it will take up a large amount of space - 1Gbyte of disk space is required per 5 minutes of video. We recommend using an external Firewire or USB 2 hard disks to store video. Both these interfaces interface are fast enough to run the video from the external disk and Firewire also allows you to chain disks and cameras on the same PC port. The disks come in a range of sizes but 200 or 300 GBytes is about optimum at the moment (larger disks are much more expensive). Typical manufactures are Maxtor, LaCie, and Western Digital.

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What is a DV Bridge?

A DV bridge is a standalone box that converts analog (composite) video to and from Digital Video and will connect to your Firewire port. They come from companies such as Canopus (e.g. ADVC-100). Many camcorders can function as DV Bridges - removing the need to buy separate hardware. The camera must be able to take analog video in and send digital video out at the same time.

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What is Firewire?

Firewire is a fast data transfer connection typically between a PC and components such as cameras or external hard disks. Many new PCs now come with Firewire built-in; it may be called by names such as "i.Link Digital Input/Output” or IEEE 1394. If you do not have Firewire you can add a card - these are available in PCI format for desktop machines and CardBus for laptops. Example manufactures are Ratoc, Belkin, and OrangeMicro.

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What video sources does Focus work with?

The ideal video source is a Digital Video (DV) camera that has a Firewire connector. Depending on manufacturer, the Firewire may be called "i.Link Digital Input/Output” or IEEE 1394. Older cameras are analog rather than digital so you will need to convert to DV before it can be captured on the PC. Typically this is done using a separate box called a DV Bridge. If you have existing tapes, the video can be captured by playing from a VCR through a DV bridge and then into the Firewire port. Cameras that store video digitally on a hard disk, memory stick or DVD can also be used but check carefully that the video format is compatible - many use a format that only works with software that comes from the camera manufacturer. DVD format video needs to be converted before it can be used with Focus see "How do I import video from a DVD?"

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What are the PC requirements for Focus?

Hardware

Software

Laptops
Most new or relatively new makes and models will be more than capable of using Focus. However, there are some features that we would suggest you take into consideration when selecting:

External Disks
There are now 300-400 GByte external drives available at a reasonable cost. You should look for a Firewire drive that operates at 7200rpm.

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What if I don't have a digital camera?

Not having a digital camera does not prevent you from using the Focus software. There are two possible solutions:

Focus will work with any video that has been captured through hardware that uses Windows drivers. As long as the resulting video is Digital Video in either AVI or MPEG format.

A DV Bridge box can convert analogue video to digital video and vice-versa.

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Can I run Focus on an Apple Mac?

Focus is a Windows program and will not run directly on the Macintosh operating system. However, you have a couple of options. You can successfully run Focus on a Mac using an emulator - software that creates a Windows XP environment under Mac OS X. A good place to look is www.macwindows.com. With this approach you may need to pay for the emulator software and you may find that Focus does not "see" your Firewire port. You should be able to download and try this before spending any money however. Alternatively, if you have a newer Intel based Mac you can of course run Focus by dual booting the Mac into Windows XP. This uses the Apple Boot Camp software (www.apple.com). You will need a Windows XP install disk and license key but you probably have this from your old PC so this approach should be completely free.

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What languages does Focus support?

Focus works in all international language version of Windows that use single byte character sets. It will therefore not work under Arabic, Japanese, Korean or Chinese versions of Windows.

Focus is available in English only. User and support documentation can be made available in other languages however there may be a charge - please contact sales@elitesportsanalysis.com for more information.

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What video format does Focus work with?

The point of focus is to be able to tag information to a specific point in a video sequence (these are the events in a Focus project). Focus can then seek back to that exact point when required. Different video formats make it harder or easier to randomly seek to an arbitrary point in the video.

With a format such as Digital Video (DV), accessing individual frames is easy and fast. With a highly compressed format accessing individual frames is harder and slower. The result is that jumping about in the video is much smoother with some files types than others.

In general the more highly compressed the video, the less responsive Focus will appear when moving to random points in the video, although this will vary from format to format and depends on the compression parameters used when the video was encoded. Straight playback from start to finish of the video should appear as expected, regardless of the format.

Focus works with most varieties of AVI files, MPEG, ASF and DIVX files. As a rough guide, If Windows Media Player plays the files, so will Focus.

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How do I import video from a DVD?

Focus can use digital video in either AVI or MPEG format. Video on a DVD is typically stored in VOB files using MPEG 2 format. To use this video with Focus you will need to either convert the video clip or capture from a DVD player into the PC and Focus. The later approach is laborious - you will need to play the match out from a DVD Player and capture on your PC, possibly through a DV bridge and then into a Firewire port on your PC.

The best approach is to convert the video already on your DVD disk. There are many software products that do this - try searching on Goggle for the phrase "DVD ripper".

One product we have found works well is AVS Video Tools from AVS Media. This can be downloaded and tried for free - it leaves watermark text on top of the video. If you find it works for you then the purchase cost is around £15 - once licensed, the watermark is not placed on the new video clip.

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How does the trial software process work?

You can download trial versions of Focus X2 and Focus X3 from our web site. These versions are the full products but have limited functionality: so you cannot create new projects, categories or import new video clips. Simply by registering with Elite Sports Analysis you can enable Focus fully for 15 days to try with your own video and team data. You do not have to download any more software or pay any money: simply register and we will send you a license key that fully enables Focus for 15 days. Once you are happy with Focus, you can request a quote or invoice by emailing sales@elitesportsanalysis.com or by clicking here. After purchase, we will send you a license key that lifts all restrictions and fully enables Focus.

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What tech support will I receive?

Registered users are entitled to unlimited email technical support (support@elitesportsanalysis.com). A limited telephone support service is also available during UK office hours by calling +44 (0)1383 823937.

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How do I check my license status?

Focus is licensed to a specific PC using an 8-digit code called the Computer ID. This ID is calculated by Focus on installation. License activation based on your Computer ID can enable Focus for a fixed period of time or "fully" enable Focus without time restriction. To check your license status:

  1. Start Focus
  2. In the Focus menu click on 'help' then 'about'
  3. In the center of the About Focus window you will see information about who this copy of Focus is registered to and what the license status is.

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What if somebody sends me video on a VHS tape?

If you want to capture video from a VHS tape, there are two possible solutions:

Focus will work with any video that has been captured through hardware that uses Windows drivers. As long as the resulting video is in Digital Video in either AVI or MPEG format.

A DV Bridge box can convert analogue video to digital video and vice-versa.

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Can I play out to a monitor, VCR or Data Projector?

The Focus Print To Tape feature allows you to play a video clip out of your PC's Firewire port. This video out can be connected back to your camera or to a VCR (via an external DV Bridge or camcorder) and allows you to save video clips onto tape for distribution to your athletes or other storage. For example video clips covering a complete game can be captured and processed in a Focus project. Working from the data you have created you can use the Highlights Video or Compilation Project features to create new video clips showing just the video of interest - for example containing just the action of one player. This new video clip can be sent out of your PC using Print To Tape and stored on a VHS tape before being given to the player. The Print To Tape dialog allows you to select a video clip for play. You can then play the clip out of your PCs Firewire port. Before you are able to press the play button Focus will conform that the clip is a valid video and will check that some device is connected to your Firewire port.

You can also mirror the PC display to an external computer monitor (VGA). For example, most laptops have a VGA connector, to which a standard PC monitor can be connected. This will show the complete Focus interface on the external monitor and allow presentations to be made using the Focus data and video.

Commands (Focus X2):

  1. Click 'File'
  2. Click 'Print To Tape...'

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Can I add all of my games to the one database?

Yes, a Focus project is linked to a video play list that can contain all of your video clips of different games. The only limitation is the amount of disk space required to hold video.

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Can I print out the database or table of results?

The events list and results grid for the current project can be exported to the Windows clipboard. This allows the information to be used in other applications, such as Microsoft Excel, or be printed.

Commands (Focus X2):

  1. Click 'File'
  2. Click 'Export Data...'

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Can I go through the game again and put in additional information?

Yes, you can add events to a project at any time. Switch from Review Mode to Logging Mode by clicking 'Edit' - 'Log Events'. In logging mode the buttons will create events when clicked.

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Can I add to existing category definition sets?

There is a category set editor within Focus that allows you to manage your library of category sets.

Commands (Focus X2):

  1. Click 'Tools'
  2. Click 'Category Editor...'

Note that when a project is created you select a category set. This is then embedded inside the project. Changes made to that category set later will not effect the copies embedded into existing projects.

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Can I record/capture a whole game in one go?

Most users will be able to capture/record a whole game in one go as one file. However, differences in operating systems and capture drivers may mean that file limitations occur for some users. Focus X2 does not restrict the size of captured video. However, the Windows file system on the hard disk you are capturing to will impose a limit. Hard disks using FAT16 or FAT32 have a maximum size of 4GBytes. Hard disks using NTFS have a maximum practical size of 17,500 GBytes. Different capture drivers also support different limits and therefore you may have to capture the game in more than one file.

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Can I store video onto a VHS tape?

Focus does not support direct output to VHS tape however you can select a video clip form within Focus and play it out of the Firewire port on your PC. By connecting a DV Bridge (or Camcorder used as a DV Bridge) you will be able to convert the video stream to analogue format suitable for recording on VHS tape. An alternative is to use video editing software to create and save a movie based on your Focus video clips.

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Can I burn groups of clips onto a CD/DVD?

Yes, Focus X2 supports the creation of a new, “highlights” video clip based on a selection of events from a Focus project. This new clip can then be burned onto CD/DVD using the software that came with your CD/DVD burner.

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Can different coaches all share the same program?

Focus analysis is stored in projects, each with it's own category set and video, so different coaches can work with the same software - by opening different projects they will see different sports. A single Focus license can only be used on a single PC. If you require Focus on a second PC you will need to purchase a second license.

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How do I compress my video to save disk space?

Focus X2 v1.5 onwards has the ability to compress video clips to save disk space. When video is captured into Focus it is saved as Digital Video in .AVI format. The compression built into Focus allows you to convert these clips to MPEG format typically giving a 10:1 compression ratio.

Starting Compression
Video compression works on the video clips that are listed in a Focus project play list. To compress the video for the currently open Focus project click on:

'Project' -> 'Video Play list' -> 'Compress'

To compress video in a project not currently open you need to use the Project Manager, click:

'File' -> 'Manage Projects' -> select the project you are interest in then click 'Compress'

Compression Process:

  1. You will see a list of the video clips. Each clip has a check box to the left of it's name. Click in the check box to mark any clips you want to compress. Focus cannot recompress clips that are already in MPEG format.
  2. Click the 'Compress' button, the 'Compress Video Clips' dialog appears
  3. The number of clips you selected and their size will be shown. You can select a number of choices:
    "Add new clips to the play list" adds the new clips back into the project play list
    "Make new clip current clip" will change the video that the Focus Project was showing to be the new, compressed, version rather than the original
    "Use original clip folder" stores the new, compressed video clips in the same folder as other project video. If you do not want this then you can select a new folder by clicking on the "..." folder select button
  4. Click 'start' to begin compressing. You will see the progress bars move as the clip(s) are worked through. For a large amount of video, compression may take some time.

Compression Options
These can be accessed from the 'Compress Video Clips' dialog 'options' button or by clicking 'Tools' -> 'Options' then the Compression tab.

The compression options set the parameters for Focus X2's built in MPEG compression. The bit rate sets the size and quality of the compressed video. You should experiment to find the best setting for your video but the default should provide a good compromise between small sizes while retaining reasonable video quality. Half size makes the new video smaller by reducing the number of pixels required for each frame. The format settings can be used to force a new video that is in either PAL (European) or NTSC (US) format. The default automatic setting will make the new compressed video the same format as the original it was created from.

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How do I download a trial version of Focus?

Focus X2 and X3 are available for free download and you can register for a trial license. This allows you to try Focus in your environment. If you then decide to buy Focus, you do not need to reinstall - a new, full, license activation key is issued after purchase so you maintain any data you have created during your trial period.

To get the software click here and follow the instructions to download and install either Focus X2 or Focus X3.

Focus is protected by a license key system that links the software to the computer on which it is installed. When Focus is installed onto a computer, Focus will create a Computer ID that uniquely identifies the machine on which it is installed. Each installation requires a unique license key issued by Elite Sport Analysis.

To activate each license:

  1. Start Focus then click 'Help', 'Registration' to bring up the Manage Registration window.
  2. Click on the button marked Request a License Activation Code, this will start the License Activation wizard.
  3. In the first screen you are asked to choose what type of license you would like an activation code for. Select a Trial License.
  4. Once you have selected the license type, click next to continue.
  5. In the second screen, you are asked for the information required for license issue. Please enter the user name, organisation, and e-mail contact address for the person who will use Focus.
  6. Once you have entered the details required, click next to continue.
  7. The final step to get the information to Elite Sports Analysis, there are three options here:
    • Request online. Your web browser will be started up and directed to an Elite Sports Analysis web site where you will be guided through the request process.
    • Request by e-mail. The default e-mail client on your computer will be started and e-mail will be created already addressed to support@elitesportsanalysis.com with all the correct information added.
    • If the computer does not have Internet access, e-mail or a browser, please use the Copy Details to Clipboard option. This will put the information into the Window's clipboard. You can then start another application such as a specific email client or Notepad and paste the information into a document. The information should be emailed to support@elitesportsanalysis.com.

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Focus will not play video

If Focus says it cannot play the video then either: the video is not where Focus thinks it is - ie it cannot find the video file,
or the video is found but cannot be played by Focus.

To be sure that Focus can find the video click on 'Project' then 'Video Play list'. You will see the video files attached to the project including their location on your PC. The icon to the left of the video file information will show you whether the video file is present or missing. If the demo project file is missing you should reinstall Focus (your license will not be affected).

If the video file is present then you need to check whether Windows can play the file. Focus uses components from Windows to play and manage video so if you can play the video from Windows then Focus should also be able to play it. Note the location of the video file from the information in the video play list you looked at above. Using My Computer, navigate to the correct folder and double click on the video file. The Windows Media Player should start and the video will play.

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Cannot capture from my camera

Focus uses mainly standard Windows components for its video control. This means that, if Windows can 'see' your camera, then so should Focus. One restriction is that the video we can take can only come via a Firewire onto your PC.

When you go into capture mode within Focus you should see a preview of the video coming from your video source. When you click the orange capture button this video is captured to a video file as part of your current project.

If you cannot see the video coming from your video source then you should work back from your PC to the video source and confirm that the video is present.

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The quality of my video is poor

Before investigating any video problems we suggest carrying out the following:

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Video playback is slow or jerky

Video playback requires a lot from your system. The first step is to ensure that unnecessary programs are not running in the background and taking resources away. An example is the Windows XP hard drive indexing service:

Click Control Panel -> Administrative Tools -> Computer Management, then expand the tree to Services and Applications -> Indexing Services. If the index is running then you will see details listed. Click the Stop button.

Another option is that your problem is due to video driver issues:

Click Control Panel -> Display -> Settings -> Advanced, choose the Troubleshooting tab. Make sure that Hardware Acceleration is set to full and write combining is enabled.

Check your DirectX settings:

Click Start -> Run and type "dxdiag" then click OK. This starts an application that will examine your DirectX environment. Click on each tab and check the Notes field. Problems will be listed in the Notes field and you are also able to run troubleshooters and test on aspects of DirectX. Pay particular attention to the Display tab as this will list DirectX accelerators - turn these on if they are not already enabled.

Try a different video player. You can check any video that Focus can play in the Windows Media Player to see if the same performance problems occur. A useful test is to use the old media player that is still shipped with Windows. This has a simple interface and uses far less system resources that the latest Windows Media Player:

Click Start -> Run and type "mplay32" then click OK.

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