BS4TV - FAQs

This page should help answer your questions about what BS4TV can do, how it works, and how to solve any problems you may be having.

• Features and How Do I's...
• Installation
• Importing G-Tech PASS Data
• Loading BS4TV Data
• Working with Project Files
• Analysis of the Data and Estimates of Speed
• Capturing the Replay
• Producing the Final Video
• Exporting BS4TV Data Files

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Features and How Do I's...

• Coming soon.

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Installation

• Why doesn't BS4TV include an installation utility?

  Someday it will. But for now, installation is very easy. Just copy the files to the folder/directory where you want to run it from then double-click the program's icon to start it up. To uninstall the program simply delete the whole folder.

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Importing the G-Tech PASS Data

• Can BS4TV figure out whether it is importing a road race or drag race file?

  Not at this time, but here is a tip that might help.  To avoid confusing my road race and drag race data files I always include "RR" or "DR" in the file names for the exported PASS files.
  

• I'm having problems importing the data I had just viewed using Excel.

  After viewing the file did you save it again as a *.CSV file?  If so, the spreadsheet program probably changed the file format. For some reason Excel will add extra commas to each line in the file so that each line will have the same number of data, and that number is defined by the line that has the largest number of data.  Or in spreadsheet terms, so that each row will have the same number of columns, and the number of columns is determined by the row that occupies the greatest number of columns. If you need to open and edit your *CSV file before importing it then use a test editor such as Notepad instead of a spreadsheet. (Right-click, Open As..., Notepad.exe)

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Loading the BS4TV Data

• Why does BS4TV offer to append its name to the front of my data files?

  It does this simply to make it easier to distinguish BS4TV-formatted comma-separated values files (*.CSV) from other CSV files.  This will allow you to use the same root name for your BS4TV file as you used for your exported PASS CSV file while also keeping the standard CSV file extension that Windows associates with other programs.
  

• Can BS4TV figure out whether it is loading a road race or drag race file?

  Yes.  BS4TV will take a quick peak at your BS4TV data file to determine if it is a road race or drag race file, then it will reconfigure BS4TV for that track mode before loading the file.
  

• I'm having problems opening a BS4TV data file.

  Did you view your file using Excel, or another spreadsheet program, then save it again as a *.CSV file? If so, the spreadsheet program probably changed the file format. I know that Excel, for some reason, will add extra commas to each line in the file so that each line will have the same number of data, and that number is defined by the line that has the largest number of data. Or in spreadsheet terms, so that each row will have the same number of columns, and the number of columns is determined by the row that occupies the greatest number of columns. If you need to open and edit your *CSV file before opening it in BS4TV then use a test editor such as Notepad instead of a spreadsheet. (Right-click, Open As..., Notepad.exe)

  Have you changed the file in any way other than perhaps changing the value of a datum?  If you inserted or removed a line, changed the name of a section heading, or anything that basically changes the format of the file, BS4TV will have trouble with it. Read the error messages BS4TV displays. They should help you track down the problem.

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Working with Project Files

• What are the project files for and how do I use them?

  The project files (*.BSP) contain all of the settings that determine the appearance of the blue screen, capture options, and other features of BS4TV. Basically, they contain all of the settings that are not actually data and they make it easy to use the same look and other features for more than one data file.
  

• Can I edit a project file directly, using Notepad, for instance?

  Yes, although you shouldn't have to.  The project files are actually text files so you can edit them using any text editor. They are formatted like the INI and INF files that Windows uses, so section headers and the names of each parameter are also listed in the file and this should make finding what you are looking for easy.  Be careful, however, because the values used for many of the settings are not obvious.

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Analyses of the Data and Estimates of Speed

• Why is estimating the speed of the car so difficult?

  In principle, it isn't.  The math is very simple.  But real life isn't.

  The difficulty of estimating the speed using the accelerometer data has two parts.  The first is that the longitudinal G's data that are the basis of the calculations of speed may also include the pitch of the car during acceleration and braking as well as the effects of climbing and descending hills.  The second part is that small errors in the data and in the calculations, due to the limited precision of numbers stored on a computer, accumulate during the run. (That whole butterfly flapping its wings and causing a tornado thing.)  In the case of the data from long road race runs, which may have over 30,000 data points, that accumulated error can be significant. That is why I recommend using the RPM-based method to estimate speed for road race runs.

  Using the rpm-based method has a few glitches as well.  One is that if you have wheel-spin during a launch or coming out of a turn, the car is not going the same speed as the wheels are turning. Another is that when you shift gears, engine rpm will change quickly, such as when you lift or blip, while the speed of the car will remain fairly constant. This method does have the advantage that errors do not accumulate, but it does assume that your wheel diameter is constant throughout the run.

  The G's-based method work very well for drag race runs, which are of short duration and are run on level tracks.  You can specify roll and pitch factors for your car to remove that source of error.

  For road racing the recommended method for estimating the speed is a combination of both.  During wheel-spin and gear changes, use the G's-based method.  Otherwise, use the rpm-based method.  To do this, tell BS4TV that you are using the RPM-based method, then scroll down the data table and enter the gear you are in.  To tell BS4TV when to switch to using the G's-based method, simply enter 0 for the gear.
  

• The analysis BS4TV does produces crazy results for distance, power, and torque. Why?

  The calculation of distance run is based on the estimated speed, and this will be the source of the problem. Likewise for power and torque. See the FAQ above for a discussion of how speed is estimated and how you can improve these results.
  

• The results of BS4TV's analysis of drag race data is slightly different than the analysis G-Tech's PASS software performs.  Why?

  The differences should be minimal.  I decided to not import the speed and other data that PASS saves in the file it exports because, 1. the calculations are not difficult, and 2. BS4TV includes a few extra options, such as pitch factor, that you can use to improve the results.
  

• What do you mean by "That whole butterfly flapping its wings and causing a tornado thing"?

  That phrase is often used as a way of saying that the smallest of events can, farther down the line, have serious consequences.  This is a little turned around from how it was originally used, and that was that some small error due to the precision of a measurement or the numbers used to represent them, can, after a long series of calculations, lead to major errors.  This statement was made in the context of the difficulty of accurately predicting the weather more than a few days in advance.

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Capturing the Replay

• BS4TV hangs up when I start the capture.
  
• How much free disk space should I have before starting the capture?
  
• What does "dropped frames" mean, and should I care?
  
• How can I minimize the number of dropped frames I get during capture?
  
• I noticed no matter which CODEC I specify for the captured video that BS4TV always reverts to using the MS-CRAM CODEC.  Why?
  
• Can I use third-party software to capture the replay?

  Most definitely! I have used 1st Recorder and it worked very well.  Obviously there are a number of other programs that do this, too.  Fraps is another well-known product. One drawback of using such programs is the difficulty of positioning the capture area directly over blue screen without it being off by a pixel or two.

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Producing the Final Video

• What programs can I use to produce the final video?

  You'll need a program that can do chroma-key editing (blue or green screen). Below is a list of programs that can do this. (I plan on reviewing them myself soon.)
  
  Adobe Premiere Pro
  Roxio Easy Media Creator
  Pinnacle Studio Plus
  ShowBiz DVD
  ULead Video Studio 10
  Sony's Vegas Movie Studio DVD
  

• Which of the above programs do you recommend?

  I can recommend Adobe Premiere 6.0 because that what I have used for these projects in the past and the results were excellent. That is not to say that other programs won't do an excellent job for you, and they most likely will cost a lot less. I'm evaluating several other programs now.
  

• Do you have anything I can use to merge my track video with the blue screen video?

  I am actually working on that.

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Exporting BS4TV Data Files

• My BS4TV data file does not include the calculated data for speed, power, etc.  Where did it all go?

  When you save your data BS4TV will not automatically save the speed and other data with it. If you want to include this data, export it.
  

• How do I open a BS4TV data file in a spreadsheet?

  Normally all you have to do is double-click the file's icon.  If the file's icon is anything other than one that you'd associate with your spreadsheet program, then there are two things you should try.  The first is to make sure the three-letter extension for the file is CSV (not case-sensitive).  If not, change it and that should take care of the problem.  If the file already has a CSV extension, then you'll need to right-click it, select "Open With..." then select your spreadsheet program from the list.
  

• BS4TV data files can be huge!  How do I find the information I need in them?

  The design of the format of the BS4TV data files took this concern into account. Each category of data, such as the session or vehicle data, has a section header such as [Session] and [Vehicle] which will help you find what you want. (BS4TV looks for these headers when loading the file.) In addition, each datum in each section is preceded by a label and followed by the units of measure. For the data that is organized as a table (time, RPM, G's), the column headings include the label and units.

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