120 APRIL2020|COMPUTER SHOPPER|ISSUE386
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Ifrequentlyruntrainingcoursesforsports
coaches,duringwhichwehavetoanalyse
anathlete’smovement.Thecoursesare
indoorsandtheactioninvariablytakes
place on sprung floors or matting, so
there’s no firmflooring on which to place
sensitive electronic kit.
We usuallyhaveanumber of athletes
whocan demonstrateaskill, after whichI
invitethe coaches to identify any errors in
the execution. The action is usually quite
quick –askill typically taking three to four
seconds –and we are trying to identify the
details, which involves observing different
parts of the body.
New coaches can struggle with this,
especially as there maybeseveral small
errors happening quickly one after the
other.The normal solution is to ask forthe
demonstration to be repeated or to get
several demonstrators to take turns, but
we seldomsee the exact same problemthe
second time round.
What I’d like to do is to video each
performed skill, then project the video clip
on to awall or similar so that the whole
group can see it. In this waywecould stop
and start the clip,and analyse and discuss
what has happened.
With this in mind, IhaveanAndroid
phone and tablet with the Coach’s Eye
app installed. This lets me record and
manipulatethe playback of askill, but I
can’tworkout the best waytoget the
video clip to the projector.Ineed to move
the devices around as Ifilm, so awired
solution is not really feasible.Atech-savvy
friend suggested Iuse awebcamconnected
to alaptop,which is then connected to
the projector.I’mnot convinced, as I
would lose the benefit of using Coach’s
Eye.Can you help?
Andy Piekarski
Provided that you have access to areliable
wireless network, the most elegant solution is
likely to be streaming videos directly to the
projector via aplayback dongle such as
Google’s Chromecast; the third generation is
currently available for£20. Coach’s Eye
doesn’t directly support casting, but you can
mirror the screen of your Android tablet or
phone,which will show the videos and any
analysis as you add it.
To get started, you’ll need to plug the
Chromecast’s HDMI lead intoone of the
Quickerthanthe eye
inputs on the projector,and
connect it to apower supply.
Install and run the Google
Home app on the phone or
tablet and either tap the Set
up 1device message if you
see it, or tap the +symbol in
the topleft-hand corner,tap
Set up device and tap New
devices. Youmay need to set
up anew home,afterwhich
Google Home will look for
new devices. When it finds
theChromecast, add it to
the home you created, and
completethe setup.
Next you’ll be prompted
to link the Chromecast to a
Google account; you can
skip this and wait forthe
firmware updates to finish.
Now simply quit Home,then
long-press the Home icon to
see and select the Cast
screen option. Youshould
now find that your phone
or tablet’s screen is
mirrored to the projector.
To disconnect, long-press
the Home icon again and
choose Disconnect.
Once this system is set
up,itshould work seamlessly
again provided you’re using
the same Wi-Fi. If you train
in multiple locations you’ll need to repeat the
initial setup to connect the Chromecast to the
relevant network. Once the Chromecast is
established on the network, any other device
on that network should be able to access and
cast to it, which might open up possibilities for
the coaches you train to film and talk you
through the action themselves.
⬅Coach’sEyeletsyouanalyse
theaction,butifyou’resharing
youranalysisyou’llneeda
biggerdisplay
