I just bought MaxTRAQ/MaxMATE. How do I register it to get my unlock code ?

You can register directly from the MaxTRAQ 2D application. Simply click on the “Register” button in the licensing dialog. This will email a registration form to us. If you do not have email activated on the computer, the registration form can be saved to a file and then emailed from another computer. You can also register from our website. Go to: www.innovision-systems.com/Support-RegistrationForm.aspx.
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Where do I find the serial number of my product ?

You can find the serial number in the license dialog box.  This dialog box is displayed automatically during the evaluation period.  After you have unlocked your product, this dialog box can be displayed by selecting License Information from the Help Menu.
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Do I have to register MaxTRAQ 3D ?

No, MaxTRAQ 2D will have all the license information necessary to run MaxTRAQ 3D.
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I purchased a new computer and now my unlock key doesn't work ?

Each unlock key is unique to the computer it was registered for.  If you reformat your hard drive or want to install it on a new computer, please contact Innovision Systems to get a new unlock key.  We also offer hardware dongles as an alternative to software keys.  Hardware dongles can freely be moved between computers.
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I have a desktop and a laptop and want to transfer the license between the computers.

If you want to switch between 2 computers, the best solution is to use a hardware dongle instead of a software key.  This will allow you to install the software on as many computers as you want but you can only run the software on the computer with the dongle inserted.
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I downloaded and installed an upgrade. Will my unlock key still work ?

Yes. Innovision Systems does not charge for software upgrades so your unlock key will work for upgrades.
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How do I download and install MaxTRAQ/MaxMATE on a computer without internet access ?

Download the installer to a computer with internet access.  Then burn the installer to a CD or use a USB thumbdrive.  You can now run the installer on the computer without internet access.
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How do I register my product from a computer that doesn’t have internet access ?

When you open up MaxTRAQ, there will be a registration window that shows your MaxTRAQ serial number - you hit the "register" button when you open MaxTRAQ on the computer you want to keep it on, fill out that form & don't forget to put in your serial number, then you have to save that form to disk or CD, walk it back over to a computer with internet/email access and either email the filled out form with serial number to license@innovision-systems.com or go back to our website at www.innovision-systems.com and go to "Support" to "Register Product" & fill out the form with your product info & send it from there. You'll get your unlock key via email & you’re ready to go.
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I have a network license but the client computers can't find the license server.

In most cases this is because the client is on a different subnet than the license server.  In order for the client to find the license server, you will need to create a small text file called MaxTRAQ.INI or MaxMATE_LS.INI.  The format and contents of this file will look like this:

[LICENSE]
Server=192.168.0.1
Timeout=3

Substitute the server address to IP address were the license server has been installed.
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Would re-sizing the video window change the accuracy of an angle ?

No.  The angle does not change if you change the size of the video window. If you use the zoom window feature, you can get the manual digitizing quite accurate.
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What method is used to achieve the sub-pixel resolution for the tracking in MaxTRAQ ?

In manual mode, the zooming feature achieves the sub-pixeling. In auto tracking, we use a simple averaging method.  We're working on enhancing this in an upocoming release of MaxTRAQ.
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How do I use the angle and distance tools ?

The distance and angle tool work on digitized points so in order to be able to use these tools you will need to digitize one or more points before you can activate them.  Once you have anough points digitized in the current frame, select the tool and it's options and then click on the points that you want to use to calculate the distance or angle.  If you have sound on, you will hear a beep when you have selected a point.  The status bar will also display a cue when you have selected a point.
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Is there any way to change the location of the Point Labels, since some are right over other lines or the angle measure ?

Currently, we do not have the capability to move the labels. You can change the color of the labels and add or remove a background to make it easier to see the labels. To change the appearance of the label, select “Tools-Options” and then select the “Points” tab.
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What video file formats does MaxTRAQ support ?

MaxTRAQ can read AVI and MPEG-1 files.  If you have a MPEG-2 decoder, then you can also use MPEG-2 files.  However, we do not recommend using MPEG-2 since most of the decoders do not perform seek operations well enough for motion analysis.  MaxTARQ also supports a series of BMP or JPEG files.
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I'm getting this No Codec error message. What's a Codec ?

One of the great problems when using video files in a digital format is the large amount of storage space these files require. This is what a codec is used for. The name is an acronym for compressor/decompressor, and that is exactly what this little piece of software does: compresses the information when the file is created, and then decompresses it to be displayed.

Unfortunately, there are many compressing algorithms available, and so, many codecs were created, each with it's advantages and disadvantages. You have to install the right one to view a particular video.   MaxTRAQ will try to display what codec it needs in order to play your video.  There are several good sites such as www.moviecodec.com and www.codecs.com to download codecs from.  A utility called GSpot can also be used to find out more information about what codec is needed and what codecs you have installed on your system  This fee utility can be downloaded from gspot.headbands.com.
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Deinterlacing, what's that ?

When you make a movie with your digital camcorder, it does the following: records 50/60 pictures per second, intermixing every 2 consecutive pictures (with half the height) into 1 frame. 2 pictures (fields) are mixed into 1 frame. This mixing is called interlacing.  Interlacing is not a bug. This is the way digital camcorders and digital VCRs record and digital broadcasting is done. One second of a movie consists of 25/30 frames = 50/60 interlaced pictures (fields). Interlacing is in fact a clever way to compress a movie when one cannot use digital compression methods.

So, deinterlacing is the process of transformation of interlaced (mixed) video frames into normal video frames (with good quality, without interlaced horizontal lines).  For more information about deinterlacing, see Wikipedia or www.100fps.com.
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My video looks really distorted with what looks like lines every other row of pixels ?

  If it looks like this, then you have an interlaced movie clip and will need to deinterlace it for best results.  MaxTRAQ supports 2 different deinterlacers as well as a simple BOB deinterlacer.  You can download the DSpace deinterlacer from our website.  A better one is avalable from Alparysoft.  Both of these will remove the artifacts and maintain the framerate.  The built-in BOB deinterlacer will double your framerate by extracting the even and odd lines in every other frame and then interpolate the missing lines.  For more information about deinterlacing, see above.
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What cameras are supported ?

Any camera that has software that can produce AVI files can be used with MaxTRAQ.  The latest version has a built-in video recorder.  This recorder supports DirectShow compatible cameras.  For other cameras, we supply a software package called StreamPix.
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How do I enable the macros so I can get my MaxMATE to work ?

Before you install MaxMATE, go to Excel and follow the steps to enable macros:

1. Go to Tools --> Macro --> Security --> Security Level --> select "Low" or "Medium".
2. Go to Tools --> Macro --> Security --> Trusted sources -->"Trust all installed add ins and templates" Make sure that this is checked.
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I used MaxTRAQ to digitize an AVI file and I saved it as “name.maq” but MaxMATE cannot open it ?

Curent version of MaxMATE only read exported MaxTRAQ files.  To export a file from MaxTRAQ;

1) Select File-Save As and select MaxTARQ AScii File as the file type
2) Click on the Options buttin in the lower right corner of the dialog and select MaxMATE format.
3) Click OK

You can now open this file in MaxMATE.
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MaxMATE has an option for selecting units. Does changing this affect my calculations ?

No.  The unit option in MaxMATE is for display purpose only and does not affect the calculations in any way.
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Can I import 3D data from MaxTRAQ 3D into Visual 3D ?

Yes you can.  MaxTRAQ 3D uses the C3D file format as its native format.  It can also export the data to ASCII format so you can import it into Excel or any other analysis package.
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How do I decide where to place my cameras in order to gather 3D data ?

The way the cameras need to be placed is at least 60° apart from each other (but not a full 180°) because you need to have each camera getting in view at least one set of markers from 2 angles (so that there is at least 1X overlap of marker view from each camera in order to generate the 3D angles - placing the cameras at a full 180° from each other makes for no overlap, meaning each camera is working on an independent 2D view, which will not give you proper 3D data). Because of this need for a 3D system to get the markers in view of at least 2 cameras at a time, we suggest the use of the sphere or half-sphere markers.
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Does it matter if the cameras are set to different heights ?

The height of the cameras does not matter - one could be higher than the rest, etc., but they need to be placed so that the area of interest is in the shot, the cameras are at least separated by 60° but not more than 90-100° apart from each other, and that each camera is getting in view at least one set of markers in view from one of the other cameras.
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How do I calibrate MaxTRAQ 3D using a static reference frame ?

To use the Static DLT Calibration, go to “Tools-Options” and select “Static DLT Calibration”. In the calibration view, enter the number of markers/points you have in your reference frame (minimum 6 markers/points is required) and then enter the coordinates (in system units) for each marker/point in the table. Load the AVI files for each camera and digitize the reference markers/points in the same order as you have entered the coordinates. Then select “Tools-Calibrate” to perform the calibration. You should get merit values that are less than 10 if the calibration was successful. Also, check the calculated camera locations and make sure they are correct.

The 3D transformation is the same as with the wand calibration method. The only difference here is that the DLT transformation does not return a residual value for each transformation.
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How do I synchronize the cameras ?

It depends on what camera you use.  If you're using standard Camcorders then these cameras have no hardware means to synchoronize multiple cameras.  We suggest to use a visual cue such as flashing an LED or simply dropping a ball.  Basler cameras are normally synchronized using a signal generator.  The SportsCam can be synchronized by connecting them together with a synch cable.  Other industrial strength cameras have similar ways of being synchronized.
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