1. Make sure the SD card is inserted

2. Connect the cameras to the network and power using a PoE switch or injector with sufficient power            output for the connected devices
3. Connect the microphone to the camera using the 3.5mm cable
4. Before mounting the camera, connect it to the cloud (if not done already) and verify that everything is         functioning correctly
5. Mount the cameras in their locations and level the horizon appropriately

 

Camera Placement for Automatic Pitch Detection
Three fundamental visual elements to encompass correct pitch detection

1. Full View of Pitcher: The camera should provide an unobstructed view of the pitcher's front.
2. Visibility: Ensure the pitcher is unobstructed and clearly visible.
3. High Resolution: The pitcher should be displayed in high enough resolution for clarity (if the resolution        is sufficient, you can later check directly in the SportTracker App)

 

Position of the detection/tracking camera

• Across from the pitcher's mound at a reasonable distance
• Several feet/meters high to avoid obstructions and ensure a clear view of the pitcher

Negative influences that can affect correct pitch detection

• Training apparatus – Pitcher/Catcher protection nets
• Batter/Catcher/Umpire protruding into the detection area

Note, we highly recommend a direct line of view for detection as per the sample images below

                                                                         Optimal camera placement for the tracking camera

Acceptable camera placement when mounting does not allow achieving the direct line of view detection

Note the max permissible angle offset from the green line to the red line

 

Front/Tracking Camera placement scenarios to avoid

                                                                                            Here the camera is mounted too low

 

The batter's camera only needs to be compatible with the CamSwitcher app. The analytics are done on the pitcher's camera, so there are no other special requirements for installation

Rear Camera placement examples

                                                             Actual cam position                                                        Zoomed view area for events

 

Software Settings in the Cloud

1. Open the camera on the Netrex platform and go to Camera settings > basic configuration in that section use Setup wizard to assign the license (NetRex Softball primary/secondary, with or without SportTracker), format the SD card, install apps and configure the camera.
2. Check if the SD card is formatted correctly. Go to Camera settings > SD card and check if the storage is OK.
3. Check if all applications are installed correctly in Camera settings > ACAP applications. If not, install with the button in the top right corner.
4. Go to Camera settings > Image settings and set overlay text to None. This will turn off all                  unwanted camera overlays.

       5. To add new view areas, use our cloud-based system to create them. (Refer to the images                            provided.) Once created, these new view areas can be modified within the camera's interface.

 

 

Camera interface

Go to Camera settings > basic configuration > camera interface and set the following settings: 

• Disable WDR to set the framerate to >50fps where possible (P-frames should be twice the number of i-frames)
• Adjust the view area to capture the desired part of the image. If there is more than one view area, adjust them according to the client's request

Field setup

Go to the sport solution menu and create a new field. 

• For automatic pitcher tracking, select Tracking type: Auto. 
• Select the cameras and/or channels you want to use on the current field in the grid at the bottom of the form. This will import the selected channels and cameras to the CamSwitcher App. 

 

SportTracker Settings

After completing the camera setup, CamSwitcher and CamStreamer installation, and SportTracker installation and licensing, you can open the SportTracker frontend to begin. The first time you open it, a modal window will appear with instructions for proper camera placement. After closing this window, you will see the frontend.

The left side displays a live camera feed from the device where the SportTracker app is installed. The current region of interest is superimposed on this stream. The right side features adjustable settings, grouped into three main categories that require configuration.

 

CamSwitcher App camera settings

To start, enter the hostname (either an IP address or a URL), username, and password for the camera using the CamSwitcher App. This is the camera that will be used to carry out the camera switches. Click "Save settings" at the bottom of the settings page to apply these changes. Remember to also save the settings for any later configuration.

Next, choose one of the three available sports and the age group (kids/youth or adults) that will play on the field. To select a sport and age category, click their respective tabs, then click the "Active" toggle once, unless it's already blue. The toggle will turn blue, indicating that the selected sport is now active. Only one sport can be active at a time; activating a new sport will automatically deactivate the previous one. You can also manually deactivate the current sport by clicking the blue toggle to turn it gray.

The active sport does not need to be changed in order to adjust the sport-specific settings (see next section). These settings can be prepared for future use for other sports.

It is important to choose between sports and age categories because pitchers use different techniques in each of the three sports. This difference can also be seen between children/youth and adult pitchers.

Sport-specific settings

Each sport and age group may require slightly different settings to achieve optimal performance. Therefore, the following settings must be configured for each sport and age category. There are three sport-specific settings:

                                                     Region of interest

The SportTracker app requires a square-shaped region of interest to be defined. This region shows the app where to track the pitch within the camera view.

 

For baseball, the region should typically be positioned tightly around the pitcher.

 

The softball variations should be relaxed to a degree

 

To modify the region of interest's size, click and drag its corners. To move the region, click anywhere inside of it, hold the left mouse button, and drag it to the desired location. The region will be red to indicate that the resolution is insufficient. When it encompasses an area of the stream with at least 160 x 160 px resolution, it will turn orange to indicate that the resolution should be sufficient. Ideally, it should be at least 256 x 256, at which point it turns green.

Whenever possible, you should position the camera so that the resolution is at least 256 x 256 px, because a smaller resolution might impair performance. If this isn't feasible, you should set the region to have a smaller resolution rather than encompass a larger part of the playing field. Anything higher than 160 x 160 px has the potential to provide good performance, but anything below it will most likely require moving the camera.

If the pitcher steps outside of the region of interest and pitches aren't detected, slightly increase the size of the region so that the pitcher remains inside it while pitching.

 

Pitch detection settings

The pitch-detecting algorithm in SportTracker utilizes machine learning to identify pitches and trigger camera switches. It analyzes individual video frames to determine the likelihood of a pitch, and once enough frames suggest a pitch is occurring, it initiates the switch.

Two settings can be adjusted to fine-tune this process. While default settings are generally effective, customization may be necessary for optimal accuracy.

The "Sensitivity" setting determines how confident SportTracker's machine learning must be that a pitch is occurring before considering a frame as depicting a pitch. A higher sensitivity results in more camera switches, while a lower sensitivity results in fewer switches.

Increase the sensitivity if SportTracker misses camera switches for a significant number of pitches. Decrease it if switches occur when no pitch is in progress.

"Duration of throw pose" determines the number of frames the algorithm needs to identify a pitch. It has the opposite effect of sensitivity: increasing it results in fewer camera switches, while decreasing it results in more. This setting also affects the timing of the switches, making them happen later (by increasing it) or sooner (by decreasing it). The value should generally stay between 200 and 600 to avoid significant issues. If adjusting the duration to change switch timing causes the switches to happen too frequently or infrequently, adjust the "Sensitivity" setting to counteract this.

 

 

Camera switch settings

The last section details which camera is focused on the pitcher and batter (Pitcher camera) and which camera overlooks the entire field (Overview camera). This is to specify which camera view is used when switching between cameras and how long the Pitcher camera view is displayed after a switch occurs.

The camera options for the two camera selection fields are populated from CamSwitcher, which is specified in the “CamSwitcher App camera settings” section of the settings. If no options are available, ensure that this section is filled out correctly. Note that pitch detection will always be performed on the camera running SportTracker; however, the overview camera can be any camera, even one that is not running SportTracker. This is helpful if one camera is better positioned for SportTracker, while another camera that overlooks the entire field provides a better view for the audience.

The "Min duration of stay on pitcher camera" setting determines the shortest amount of time CamSwitcher will remain on the "Pitcher camera" before returning to the Overview camera. If you find that the switches back to Overview are too quick (e.g., the switch occurs before the ball reaches the batter), increase this duration. Conversely, decrease it if the switches are too slow. Note that this is a minimum duration; the actual time spent on the Pitcher camera may be longer, particularly if the pitching process is lengthy, such as when the pitcher uses "fake" pitches before the actual pitch.

Click the "Camera switch test" button in the lower right corner to manually initiate a camera switch and test that the setup in these settings and CamSwitcher is correct. The detection box will turn white when the switching test is successful.