File export format question

[Cloud9...68]

Now that I finally have my issues with using my GoPro camera to record video with HLT, I'm on to the next step: syncing the data from HLT with the video. I understand I need a third party software to do this, so I downloaded Dashware, and have of course run into a problem. I'll call Dashware when their customer service is open, but I was hoping somebody here has some experience with this, as it might be a simple problem. The problem is that Dashware is not recognizing my data file from the track session I ran today. Dashware did successfully upload the small file I created earlier today from my test run around the track I created in my neighborhood. I exported both files from HLT via email in the .gpx format, since that was the one selected by default in HLT. But I noticed that my small file from my single lap around my neighborhood track has extension .gpx, while the much larger one from my 25-minute track session has extension .gpx.gz. I believe this means it is a zipped file. Any ideas as to what I have to do to get Dashware to recognize this file? Thanks.

[Harry]

Hi,

The best way to create overlaid videos is using LapTimer itself. It creates richer results and will do it faster (depends on smartphone and PC). You transfer the video from GoPro and the smartphone and link laps and video. Afterwards, you can watch the overlaid video directly or export and overlaid version. Please read about the steps in Video Documentation available from www.gps-laptimer.de/documentation.

To use Dashware, data needs to be exported to CSV, not GPX. In case exports get bigger, LapTimer compresses the file using gzip. Almost all uncompressing applications can handle this format. It needs to be unpacked before importing it into Dashware.

Harry

[Cloud9...68]

I'm not sure the best way to say this, because I'm sure you put a lot of work into the documentation. I'm sure it's my complete lack of experience and knowledge of the field of video recording and editing, but I am having a lot of difficulty following the document you linked. I'm not even clear on which section applies to my case. At the risk of sounding like a complete dummy, I'm going to need some "hand holding" to understand how to do this, one step at a time. I'm sure it's not all that complicated, and I am trainable, I've just never done anything like this before. Here's my situation, which I'm sure isn't unique:

I have a total of 24 laps recorded from my session yesterday, which started at 12:22, and concluded at 12:47. These laps are recorded in HLT on my ipad mini, on which I'm running Grand Prix edition. The ipad uses iOS version 9.3.2, and it has 6.8 GB of available capacity. I have not deleted any of my laps.

I have a video recording of my entire session on my GoPro Hero4. I selected the external cam only mode when recording the video, so there was no video of the session recorded with the ipad's internal camera. The video recording worked flawlessly - the recording started when I crossed the start/finish line, and was captured in a single file which is 3.72 GB in size. I recorded it at 30 frames per second, at a resolution of 720. I'm not sure what this means, or even what units it's expressed in (please educate me - a google search just left me more confused), but I had to reduce it from 1080 to 720 to get the entire session to fit into one file. The quality of the video is excellent - no more choppiness once I reduced the frame speed from 60 to 30 (every step of this has been a learning experience).

I want to combine the entire session's data and video, if possible, into the type of video I've seen people post on youtube showing the relevant data (location of the car on the track, speed, and g force) in a corner of the video. I don't believe this is possible to do on the ipad mini itself, if for no other reason than that it doesn't have enough free capacity, so I believe I have to export the data to my PC, and somehow combine and sync up the video and the data. I thought a third party software was needed to do this, but in your response, you say it's better to do this within HLT itself. I'm all for doing whatever is easiest and best, but I'm confused because the only place HLT resides is on my ipad, and as I said two sentences ago, I didn't think it was possible to do the data/video syncing directly on the ipad (although it would be great if I could, and this would give me immediate feedback of all aspects of my driving). And then, I would like to upload the entire session to youtube, or some other format which would allow me to share it with other people.

So, understanding that a few months ago I didn't even know how to turn on a Gopro camera, and that what I've described respresents the sum total of everything I know about the subject of video/data recording, please walk me through the steps I need to go through to get the end result I've described above. Thanks very much.

[Harry]

The section to read in Video Documentation is "Using External Action Cams as MultiCams". Skip everything up to "Transfer Footage from Action Cam to Smartphone" because you have done the recording step already. Start reading at "In case your cam does not support automatic transfer, you need to copy videos manually:" and check the iOS parts. Read "Associate Video Transferred with Laps" next.

Once this has been done, you are in the same state like when recording with the internal cam - but with better quality footage.

To watch the overlaid video, select any lap with video associated and press the "Play" button. That's it.
In case you want to distribute the overlaid video, press "Export" instead (directly besides "Play"), select the lap range you want to see (it is no good idea to select all, there are usually 1 or 2 laps showing what you want to see) and hit "Overlay". After some minutes, you will find the video including overlays in your Photo app. Distribute it to youtube from here.

- Harry

P.S. Video operation has changed slightly since v19 shown in Video Documentation. So keep in mind things might be a bit different for your v20.

[Cloud9...68]

Harry,

Thanks for the response, but I'm still not getting it. And I brought reinforcements this time - my tech-savvy 19-year-old daughter - and she couldn't figure it out, either. This is the paragraph you referred me to:

For iOS , start iTunes and connect your iPhone. Select the phone from the top and select Apps from the left list.
Scroll down and find File Sharing / Apps and select LapTimer. Now, you will see all files stored in LapTimer Recordings
on the right–just drop the video you want to overlay into this folder.

We opened iTunes on the ipad mini, but couldn't see anything that resembles a phone on the top of the screen, so we really couln't get any farther with the instructions, as it appears that the rest of the steps originate from a list that becomes available after the phone icon is selected. We went into Settings, where we opened the HLT app in hopes that the stored LapTimer Recordings would be located there, but no luck. I also don't understand the last sentence in the paragraph that says to drop in the video I want to overlay, since the video is only located on my desktop computer. Is it possible that so much has changed in the layout of files on the ipad in its current version of iOS relative to when the document was written that things are now in different locations than what the document is referring to?

I'm sure this isn't nearly as complicated as I'm making it out to be, but again, my lack of background with this type of work is really inhibiting me. An overview of how the pieces are supposed to fit together would be really helpful. All I know is that I have a video file located on my Windows computer, the HLT ap on my ipad mini, and individual files for each of 24 laps on the same ipad mini. Am I supposed to combine them on the computer, or on the ipad? If the latter, it appears that I should do it one file at a time (I agree that I con't need the data and video synced for each of the 24 laps - just a few of them would suffice). If I need to do the syncing on the ipad, how do I get the video files from the computer to the ipad, and how do I get the segment of the video that goes with the laps(s) of interest? Am I the only one this confused (I'm probably not the only one over 50 who is! )? Thanks.

[Harry]

iTunes on the desktop, not the iPad.

- Harry

[Cloud9...68]

Ah, that REALLY exposes my ineptness with this stuff - I automatically associated iTunes with Apple products! OK, that makes a lot more sense. I'll give it a go. Thanks.

[Cloud9...68]

OK, I downloaded iTunes to my desktop, and found the HLT ap after I connected the ipad to the computer and then selected the ipad icon from within itunes. I see a bunch of files on the right side of the screen, but they're not in the format I expected. The files are from several different days, including yesterday, and they all in pairs. Within each pair of files, the first one ends in .pdb, and the second one ends in .pdb.save. All the files from yesterday ending in .pdb show a time (start time?) of 11:55, and the files ending in .pdb.save show a time of 11:57. I count 25 total files (which is close to, but not exactly the same as, the 24 laps I ran yesterday). Each pair of files has a number just before the .pdb in the file name, and each pair of files has the same number. There is one exception to this: the file which ends in 14.pdb.save doesn't have a corresponding file named 14.pdb. I'm guessing that's the file for my cool-down lap - I pressed "cancel" on that lap. And the numbers don't match my lap numbers, as there doesn't appear to be any ryhme or reason to the numbering scheme in the list of files on iTunes.

How do I make sense of these file names? In other words, how do I know which file name goes with which lap, since the numbers in the file names don't match my lap numbers, and neither do the times in the file names? Also, the document says to drop the video I want associated with "this file" into the file. But the video is of the entire 26+ minute session, while the files (I believe) are all associated with single laps. What does "this file" mean?

The instructions for how to associate the video transferred with the laps has what looks like an important sentence that's been cut off:

Associate Video Transferred with Laps
Once the video has arrived in one of the video h

The truncated sentence seems to imply that it doesn't matter which file I drop the video file into, but it isn't clear (at least to me). And it looks like the instructions in the Associate Video Transferred with Laps section of the document are done on the ipad. So once I get the video and data synced up and overlaid, how do I get them back on the desktop? Via email?

Oh, and as far as my motivation for getting at least a few of my recent laps synced with the video in a format I can share with others, my brake pads are near the end of their life, and I'd like to step up to a more track-oriented compound, so I thought it would be a good idea to send a copy of a video containing the data collected by HLT (speed, g-forces, and hopefully elevation) to a few of the brake pad manufacturers as a means of demonstrating the type of track I do most of my driving on. This, combined with the specs on my car, should help us select the optimal brake pad compound. So it's not just to post some cool videos on youtube, althought that would be nice, too.

[Harry]

Please have a look into the Video Documentation and the section I described in my post above. You are not interested in .pdb file (in fact: don't touch them) or supposed to understand the file structures in the folder revealed in iTunes. Just drag you GoPro video (.mp4 / .mov) into this folder and you can continue with Re-Linking from within the app.

- Harry

[Cloud9...68]

So by "this folder" you mean the large folder called "Lap TImer Documents" in iTunes? Just drag and drop the GoPro video (yes, it's in MP4 format) anywhere in this folder where all the files ending in .pdb and .pdb.save (which, trust me, I haven't touched!) are located?