RaceRender 2 - Documentation - Input File Configuration

Input File Configuration

Change picture to: Video file Audio file Datalogger file Video file (Free Edition)

This screen can be reached by using the Configure button under Input Files on the Main screen, by right-clicking on the input file within the preview picture, or by using the Setup button in the Display Object Properties box.

Controls on the Input File Configuration Screen

Different groups of controls will be shown depending on the type of input file being configured. Many items under Picture Settings and Audio Settings will be grayed-out and disabled in the Free Edition.

File Information & Settings
- Label text box - Displays or edits the name of this input file to show in the list on the Main screen and all other input file lists.
- Track selection - This option only appears for certain files, and is rare. It allows you to select which input track to use from this file, in cases where the file has multiple sets of data. For example, certain datalogger formats may contain multiple sessions within a single file.
- Change File Selection - Allows you to change or update the file that this input will use.
- Trim - Opens the Trimming Tool to adjust the start & end times within this input file.

Audio Settings
- Volume - Adjusts the audio level from 0% to 200%. Clicking the Mute box is the same as setting it to 0%.
- Balance - Alters the left vs right audio volume level. Setting it towards the left side will increase the left volume relative to the right.
- Channels - Allows you to choose how the media source's left and right audio channels are handled. For example, if your input media source only has audio from it's left channel, you can select "Mono: Use Left Channel" to make that audio come through both speakers.

Picture Settings
- Brightness - Brightens or darkens the image, from 0% (dark) to 200% (bright).
- Contrast - Adjusts the image contrast from 0% to 200%. This can be used to strengthen or weaken definition in the image.
- Color - Boosts or diminishes the color intensity. 0% converts it to grayscale, while 200% greatly amplifies the colors.
- Hue - Changes the image colors by -180 to 180 degrees.
- Sharpness - Adjusts the image sharpness from 0% (blurry) to 200% (sharp).
- Chroma Key - Makes a selected color in the media source invisible. The eyedropper tool allows you to pick a color from any pixel currently displayed on your screen. The Choose button can also help you visually select a color and set the Red, Green, and Blue values for you. Color Range and Brightness Range determines the range of colors and brightness levels that will be treated as a match for the selected color. Note: This effect is applied before any other adjustment settings, so using the eyedropper tool on the preview image will have reduced effectiveness when picture adjustments are in use.
- Cropping Distances from Each Edge - Selects the portion of the input files's picture to use. These numbers represent the number of pixels to remove from each edge of the image. Click the Edit Cropping Area button to set the cropping or zoom-in area visually.
- Mirroring - Flips the picture horizontally, vertically, or both. Setting this to "Both" is the same as rotating the image by exactly 180 degrees, and can be useful when a camera was mounted upside-down.
- Rotation - Rotates the picture by -359 to +359 degrees. A positive number will rotate it counter-clockwise (CCW), and a negative number will rotate it clockwise (CW). A rotation setting of exactly 180 degrees is the same as setting the Mirroring option to "Both", and can be useful when a camera was mounted upside-down. This exact number will invoke the mirroring/flipping feature, which will render faster and with better quality than other rotation angles.

Data Settings

See Also:
How To Add a Datalogger Overlay
Set Datalogger Start / Finish Point

This allows you to override the automatic selections that apply to certain data visualization display objects. That can be useful for creating overlays that use alternate or custom data fields, and for improved compatibility for datalogger files that are not fully supported by the automatic selections.

^{Datalogger features depend on data provided by other products. As a
result, some features are not functional with all dataloggers, and this is subject
to change at any time and without notice.}
- Boost Sample Rate - Attempt to improve the smoothness of the data. This is especially useful for low-sample-rate dataloggers, such as smartphone apps, which could otherwise appear jumpy.
  - Detect GPS Updates - Detect if the GPS data (location and speed) was updated less frequently than other data, and attempt to boost it to improve smoothness.
- Data Column Assignments - Allows you to assign a specific data field (column name) from the datalogger file to each item. Set it to "(Automatic)" if you don't know, or if the item doesn't have any corresponding data in this file.
- Time Units Per Second - If you choose a specific column for "Session Time", this allows you to set the ratio of time units in the file to actual seconds. Set it to 1 if the file data represents seconds, or 1000 if it's in milliseconds.
- Conversion to Meters - If you choose a specific column for "GPS Sample Accuracy", this is used to enter a conversion factor from the measurement units in the data to meters. These options are meant for non-dedicated GPS dataloggers, which may have poor GPS reception or accuracy, such as datalogger apps for mobile phones or similar devices.
- Manually Set Start / Finish Point - Takes you to the Set Start / Finish Point screen, where you can select the start / finish point used to separate laps. This is useful for dataloggers that do not provide compatible lap number data.
- Ignore First Lap Triggers - Set the number of laps to ignore before counting the first lap. This can be used in cases where the warm-up or pace lap crosses the start/finish line, or when there are multiple laps before the session starts.
- Speed - This can also be set to "(Calculate)" to automatically calculate the vehicle speed based on changes in the X and Y vehicle position. This requires the Vehicle Position X and Y selections above to be set to fields that provide absolute GPS coordinates (in longitude and latitude degrees), rather than relative positions. This option may result in jumpy and less accurate speed information; it is generally only useful when the data file does not provide the vehicle speed.
- Speed Conversion - If you choose a specific column for "Vehicle Speed", this allows you to enter a conversion factor from the speed units in the data to what will be displayed on the screen. For example, if the datalogger file reports speeds in MPH, and you want to see km/hr, you would enter "1.60934" here. Here are some other common conversion values:
  
  MPH -> Km/Hr: 1.60934
  
  Km/Hr -> MPH: 0.62137
  
  M/S -> MPH: 2.23694
  
  M/S -> Km/Hr: 3.6
  
  Knots -> MPH: 1.15078
  
  Knots -> Km/Hr: 1.852
- Vehicle Heading - This can also be set to "(Calculate)" to automatically calculate the heading based on changes in the X and Y vehicle position. This can provide a higher sampling rate than the heading data provided by certain dataloggers, but may be less accurate.
- Heading Adjust - Number of degrees to rotate the heading reading in the data so that zero degrees indicates North. Use the Reverse checkbox if the data file rotates in the opposite direction.
- Calculated Field - This option allows you to create a custom data field which takes the value of an existing field and applies the selected arithmetic operation and number. For example, if your data has a metric field named "Meters" that you want to display in feet, you could use this to create a "Feet" column which multiplies "Meters" by the conversion factor of 3.2808.