MaxQData software may be used with compatible GPS modules from other sources, giving knowledgeable Do-It-Yourselfers an opportunity to put together a system using hardware they already own or can purchase elsewhere. Our DIY program allows these customers to buy a software license for use with third-party hardware, with only a few restrictions. To ensure compatibility and full support, most customers will instead want to purchase from our standard MQGPS offerings.
The MaxQData software may be used at no charge to record data and process video. This is useful for product evaluation or for applications which do not require high performance. However, you will be limited to slow-speed GPS and video.
Our new magnetic roof mount cover fits many GPS receivers, including G-Rays I, i-Blue 737, and G.top G33.
What is a Lite DIY unlock code? Well, a lot of people just want to check their driving technique or get some performance numbers on their car. They don't need to do detailed comparison analysis. The Lite code makes sense for them. Flight recordings made with a Lite unlock code can only be compared (overlaid) against themselves. You can see all your data for one run or session, and even compare one lap vs. another lap within the same session. But you cannot overlay the data traces from another run or session that is stored in a different file.
GPS Data Acquisition Software
These GPS modules are known to work:
- G-Rays I (WBT-300 *only*; please make sure you do not have a WBT-100 or WBT-200) (5 Hz or HiDef)
- G.top G33 (5 Hz)
- Transystem i-Blue 737 5 Hz (5 Hz model *only*, please be sure you do not have the 1 Hz model)
- Qstarz BT-Q1000P (TraQr or 5 Hz)
- Qstarz BT-Q1200P (TraQr or 5 Hz)
- Qstarz BT-Q1000X (TraQr or 5 Hz)
MaxQData does not guarantee GPS compatibility with other modules.
Video Software
(may be combined with any DIY license above)
Guidelines for PC/laptop hardware for Video Capture
Video capture is a CPU-intensive process that also uses a fair amount of memory. Here are the guidelines for the minimum hardware that supports the standard VeQtr™ video capture configuration:
CPU: 1.6 GHz Intel Atom 270 (single-core) with Hyper-Threading
enabled, or 1.8 GHz Intel Pentium M, or 1.2 GHz Dual-Core Intel Celeron, with CPU speed set to maximum performance
RAM: 1 GB
Hard Disk Space: 1 GB free (= approximately 1 hour of video)
Hard Disk Type: SSD recommended for vibration resistance if used for
off-road applications or in cars without "street" suspensions
Two USB 2.0 ports (one for each camera)
WiFi or Bluetooth (depending on which MQGPS module is being used)
Operating System: Windows XP with Windows Media Format 9, or Windows 7
(Windows Vista is not recommended; see discussion below regarding
Windows Media 11)
Please be aware that CPU benchmarks can give misleading results. For example, although many leading CPU benchmarks rank the 900 MHz Intel Celeron M faster than the 1.6 GHz Intel Atom 270, in our testing we have found that the 900 MHz Celeron M is not fast enough for 640x320 30 FPS video capture. This may be due to the Hyper Threading feature of the Atom which simulates a dual-core processor and allows for more efficient processing of the multi-threaded video compression engine.
Some laptop computers automatically adjust the CPU speed to conserve battery life. In our testing, this can cause problems both for video capture and for Bluetooth. We strongly recommend turning off automatic CPU speed adjustment and locking the CPU to the fastest possible setting.
You can certainly capture video on slower hardware if you reduce the size of the video, e.g. 320x240, or if you capture uncompressed video. However, uncompressed video can consume as much as 100 times the disk space of compressed video.
While an SSD is recommended for vibration resistance, in our testing we have found that many rotating hard drives do hold up well. A hard drive may required for capturing uncompressed video, since many inexpensive SSDs are not fast enough to absorb the immense data produced with uncompressed video. Hard drives are not recommended for fully race-prepared vehicles or racing on dirt or gravel surfaces.
Supported Cameras
Pretty much any USB 2.0 camera with DirectX drivers should work. However, there are differences in image quality, focus/depth of field, and how the camera reacts to outdoor lighting. Also, there are differences in the mechanical aspects of different cameras that affect how easy it is to mount them in a race car. Our User Forum has a discussion thread here where users are encouraged to talk about cameras that have or have not worked for them. Standard VeQtr systems ship with the Logitech QuickCam Pro 9000 as a primary camera and the Microsoft VX-5000 as a secondary camera.
Problems with Windows Media 11
When capturing video, the video capture software uses Windows Media Video (WMV) encoding by default. At the time of this writing, most Windows XP-based netbooks are shipping with Windows Media Format 9 and Windows Media Player 9. The WMV encoder that comes with version 9 works well for the system configuration specified above.
Unfortunately, we have learned that Microsoft made changes to the WMV encoder after version 9 that degrade the performance of the encoder in our testing on the Intel Atom processor. Windows Vista and Windows 7 both ship with Windows Media version 11. Some Windows XP netbooks currently ship with version 11. Also, installing some software, especially multimedia-related software from Microsoft, may upgrade your Windows Media software to version 11, possibly without warning. In these instances, you may not be able to achieve more than about 20 FPS at 640x320 on an Atom-based netbook.
If you are running Windows XP, you may be able to use Add/Remove Programs to uninstall the Windows Media Player 11 and Windows Media Format 11 software. Doing so rolls back to version 9, restoring encoding performance. Unfortunately, some netbooks (particularly those with small SSDs) do not ship with the files necessary to perform this rollback, in which case you will not be able to uninstall the Windows Media 11 software.
Recording uncompressed video results in dramatically improved performance, but the video files are over 100 times larger, and many inexpensive SSDs cannot handle the data rate.
We now support MJPEG encoding using either the Morgan Multimedia MJPEG V3 codec or the Accusoft Pegasus PICVideo MJPEG V4 codec. These codec are significantly faster for encoding than WMV9 or WMV11. The files produced will be about four times larger (but still much smaller than uncompressed). You can recompress them to WMV if you wish using the "Transcode to WMV after capture" option in the MaxQData Settings application under Camera Capture Settings.
The Morgan Multimedia MJPEG V3 codec can be downloaded here:
http://www.morgan-multimedia.com/technicalsV3.htm
The Accusoft Pegasus PICVideo MJPEG V4 codec can be downloaded here:
http://www.accusoft.com/picvideomjpeg.htm
Morgan Multimedia and Accusoft are independent vendors. MaxQData provides no guarantee or warrantee for their codec. The codecs, while inexpensive, are not freeware, though they are both available in a free trial version. Unfortunately, in our testing neither of these codecs works well under Windows 7.
Windows 7
Windows 7 gives good performance when capturing video using the default WMV encoding on the minimum hardware configuration. However, a full 30 FPS may not be possible for 640x320 video on the minimum hardware configuration due to changes Microsoft made to the WMV encoding algorithm. WMV encoding now takes significantly more CPU cycles on an Intel Atom under Windows 7 than it did under Windows XP/Windows Media Format 9. This may reduce the frame rate. It is still recommended to choose the 30 FPS setting, which results in a frame rate that is as high as possible. In our testing, the resulting video files are still good quality, with good quality audio.
Recording uncompressed video results in the highest quality for both video and audio. 30 FPS is easily achievable at 640x320 or even larger frame sizes. It is necessary to have a hard drive (or SSD) with sustained write speeds of over 30 MB/s in order to record uncompressed video, and the file sizes are enormous - about 1 GB per minute. But it is nevertheless a practical solution for autocrossers and many road racers/HPDE drivers.
It is possible to use the MJPEG codecs mentioned above on Windows 7, but Windows 7 does not appear to play back MJPEG-encoded files properly if the video frame size is 640x320 or larger. The video streams seem to play back with reversed field interleave, resulting in a "shimmering" effect. It is possible to reduce or eliminate this by switching the interleave setting for the codec, or disabling interleave. The audio playback is also severely degraded, and there does not appear to be a workaround for the sound quality at this time. However, only playback is affected - the audio is recorded correctly in the file. If you move the file to a Windows XP machine (with the correct codec), the files play perfectly and the quality is very good, both video and audio. We hope Microsoft will address this issue soon on Windows 7.
Here are some additional restrictions and comments on the DIY unlock code program:
- You must purchase a DIY unlock code (use "No Shipping/Will Call"), then install the software, then request your unlock code by phone or email as described on the Downloads page. The unlock code is unique for every installation. Upgrading the software "in-place" does not normally change the unlock code.
- The standard MaxQData 30-day money-back guarantee does not apply to software-only purchases. No refunds will be given once an unlock code is requested. If you have purchased an unlock code and decide you want a refund, you must request a refund instead of requesting an unlock code. This must be done within 30 days of purchase. After 30 days, or after an unlock code is requested, no refunds will be given for any reason.
- No refunds will be given if you find that the MaxQData software is not compatible with your GPS equipment. Please read the software license for disclaimers of compatibility, warranty, fitness of purpose, etc.
- Please take advantage of the free 1 Hz operation mode to determine whether your GPS equipment is compatible and whether the software is what you want before making a purchase.
- No "limited trial period" unlock codes are available.
- If you purchased a "Lite" unlock code, the price of the Lite unlock code may be applied towards your purchase of an "Unlimited" code at any time within 1 year of purchase of the Lite code. To take advantage of this offer, you must purchase the Unlimited code at the full price and then contact MaxQData by email or phone to request that the price of the Lite code be credited back to you. You will need to provide proof of purchase for the Lite code. This offer is available only if you purchase the Unlimited code directly from MaxQData.
- "Lite" unlock codes are not transferrable to other owners. "Unlimited" unlock codes are transferrable once, upon request. A single owner can request new unlock codes for new hardware (so for example if you get a new phone and need a new unlock code for it, just ask).