GSA golf releases Vistrak (Alpha testing)

[keither5150]

My initial plan was to wait until my unit arrives next week. But honestly, I can't stand it any longer.

GSA has released a brand golf sim call Vistrak. Pricing from $995 to $2795. $995 is for current GSA users looking to upgrade. For new users, the price is $1495. Vistrak measures club speed, club face angle, club path, deviation from sweet spot (horizontal). Ball data includes spin, spin axis, ball speed, HA, LA. Vistrak does all this with one camera. Please note that LA will not be as accurate as GSA’s multi camera systems. While this may be acceptable for many, those of us who want better accuracy can add a floor mounted Vcam for $690.

$2795 will get you a nice case with integrated IR lighting along with a Vcam. As volumes increase, the cased version should go down in price.

Vistrak is not your usual GSA product. Vistrak doesn’t require a triggering system for the camera. It does not require a sensor mat for club data. The camera has an AOI (Area of Interest) and will trigger once the ball is struck, similar to the GC2 or Uneekor. User defined hitting area is massive. As large as 30x12 inches can be used. Please note that marked balls or balls with a clear black logo need to be used for spin measurement. The logo will need to be facing the camera. This is a small price to pay to be able to use premium balls. Currently clubs need to be marked but GSA is working on a solution for that.

Vistrak can get clear images for spin measurement without the need for an annoying and expensive IR flash. Vistrak can measure ball speed from 2mph up to 200 mph. HA should be within normal GSA tolerances of less than +/- ½ degree. LA tolerances will be tested with and without the optional Vcam. Please note that Vistrak can be added to any GSA sim.

And…. Vistrak will give club data to any sim. This will be tested during Alpha and Beta testing

My Alpha testing unit will be shipped on Monday. Beta testing will be open to the public once Alpha testing is complete. Beta units will sell for $750. Beta testing quantities will be limited ( probably less than 10) so act quickly. Production will be limited at first so don’t expect the unit to ship the next day. More information can be found on the website https://www.golf-simulators.com/vistrak.html

Contact GSA or me for ETA’s. Martin from GSA will not be monitoring the forum for questions. All questions about Vistrak can be directed to me. Some of you might remember a buzz about Vistrak a few years back. Since then camera tech has improved and come down in price. Originally a two camera version was going to be released. But as testing continued it was discovered that a single camera can provide the data required. Videos and reviews will follow once I am up and running. Only 2 Alpha units will be out there so we expect Alpha testing to last at least a month. Integration with 3rd party software will be immediate.

[keither5150]

I am looking for a couple GC2 and Skytrak users that may be interested in testing Vistrak during Alpha testing. You must be willing to drive to Airdrie Alberta for the testing. I will have beer. Please PM me if you are interested. My schedule is quite flexible.

[GripItAndRipIt]

Looking forward to seeing the results of Alpha testing! Looks like this could be a great product at an even greater price! Keep us updated!

[keither5150]

Sim is coming via FedEx ground. So it will arrive next Monday. I am a little sad, I guess I am going to work tomorrow. Anyway, here is the latest news.

I have confirmed the following things today with Martin.

1. Boost will have a maximum setting of +/- 5%

2. The sim will have two different modes.

Sim mode will have camera settings that will have a balance between club and ball data.

Club data mode where a player is using Vistrak in conjunction with another sim. For instance a GC2 player using the Vistrak for club data only. In this mode, camera settings will key towards the most accurate club data possible.

We will be testing both modes once they are live. I am not sure if there will be a big difference.


3.Club fitting software. We didn't get into this to deeply. I am assuming GSA's own driving, chipping, and putting range. This range will work with the video playback software.


4. Deviation from sweet spot ( horizontal ) will be sent to TGC.

5. Currently Vistrak has a beep when the system is ready for swing. We can change it to one of a few different things. We can add a green light/ red light to the unit. I am not sure if I want to look up to see if I can hit. Or.... and I believe that this is the best option.... we can have a little LED light on the end of a usb extension cable. The light will shine green when the system is ready to hit. I asked Martin to put an overlay over the TGC software. The problem is that the software already has a overlay top window. So Martin says that it may be a fight to add another thing to it. We will try to add the overlay. In TGC 2019, everyone seems to hate the "Ready for Swing " smack dab in the middle of the screen. It should be changed to a Green light/ red light and moved to a corner of the screen.

Beta testers may be able to come up with something better.

[Jwheels9876]

Does your current GSA have a driving range/club fitting mode and Are you able to save all of your shot sessions for future examination?

[keither5150]

No, this will be a welcomed addition. I went from Red Chain to TGC. Red Chain had a driving range but it really wasn't featured like the software is now. On the bright side, this club fitting software should be released during beta testing. And Martin is very good at taking direction and implementing things quite quickly. So the beta testers will have a say in shaping the future software.

[JackedUpSwing]

Questions for testing:

1) Whats the delay from shot to information displayed?
2) Accuracy compared to skytrak/gc2
3) Can balls be marked up like uneekor so we dont have to allign the logo facing up each time?
4) How does it send information to the PC? USB, Ethernet, etc?
5) Would it be possible to have the unit send club data to TGC while GC2 sends ball data?
6) Does club data need stickers?
7)Is there another camera that can be interfaced to get AoA kinda like another camera is used for vertical launch angle?

Excited to see some videos!

[keither5150]

Some of these questions have to be answered once I am up and running.
1. Not sure at this time. Generally GSA products have very little delay.
2. will be tested
3. You can buy marked balls from GSA. Uneekor balls will also work.
4. USB 3.0
5. Not at first. For this to happen, GSA would have to build a Bluetooth interface to take the GC2's data. The control panel will decide what data trumps other data and what is sent to the game.
6. This will be tested during Alpha and Beta testing. Without stickers is a possibility.
7. What a great thing to ask Martin during Beta testing. If you use Martin's ball spin dual camera mounted on the floor, it would give you LA. You could also add stickers to the end of the club head. In theory this could give you AOA.

[keither5150]

7. Forget about the floor mounted spin camera. The new cameras being used in Vistrak will replace all other GSA cameras. Once Vistrak is well into beta testing, GSA will be working on a portable floor mounted version of Vistrak. This unit will easily capture AOA with a marked club. My guess would be about a year away.

[wbond]

So how would that actually work? The data gets sent/read/or whatever to the vistrak pc and then that sends the data to another computer that is running TGC? If that's correct, I would assume there would definitely be a delay of some kind.

On the GSA site In the tech news section a week or 2 back I read that you need a separate PC to run the vistrak and another to run your sim software? Did Martin mention this to you keither5150 or has that changed?

[keither5150]

Wbond, Currently, club data from a HMT can not be used or sent to TGC. Vistrak will be the same. However Vistrak may be able to run in a different window or extended desktop providing club data on a second screen. The can also be done by running Vistrak on a separate PC. Whether a second PC will be a requirement for this will depend on the main PC's specs. This will be tested during beta. In a perfect world, Martin could build a Bluetooth interface into the Control panel to handle the data from the GC2. Data from the Vistrak and GC2 would go through the CP and the CP would decide which data is sent to TGC. If you are going to send club data to TGC from Vistrak, you may as well send HA as well.

Since club data will not affect the ball flight in any way, is this needed? Other than just having all the data in one place, which would be nice.

Vistrak and the control panel should be able to run on any laptop that has USB 3.0. This will be tested during beta.

This may not be an issue to worry about and here's why. As good as the GC2 is, there are things that GSA does better. HA for example is close to 10 times more accurate from an overhead camera than from a side mounted launch monitor. LA and ball speed, I would be confident in saying that they are equal. Putting is extremely realistic when your are talking HA accurate to about 1/10 of one degree. With GSA, if you miss a putt, you missed the putt.

What if Vistrak's spin and spin axis is about 95% accurate ????? would you even use the GC2 other than take it to the range? I have had a couple offers already for GC2 users to go side by side with the Vistrak. ( Thanks for the quick response guys ) This step in the Alpha testing will be crucial as spin is king when it comes to data. People can live with +/- 1 or 2 degrees as long as spin is good. Martin is very confident that the new camera will pick up spin with a high level of accuracy. We are hoping that it does. The fact that an older product like the GC2 is still considered the benchmark is a testament to how great the GC2 is.

[keither5150]

Let me clear this up. The vistrak runs on one pc. The same pc runs TGC . If a GC2 user was to use his GC2 and vistrak just for club data, you may need a second PC. We will be testing this during Beta for sure. Hopefully we can test this during Alpha. Worst case scenario GC2 users, may need a second pc. Best case scenario, vistrak runs in another window on a extended desktop. Vistrak alone does not need 2 pc's . That has been confirmed. Vistrak runs on GSA's control panel. Which uses next to nothing for resources. The new cameras even have their own buffers.

[keither5150]

Let me add something to the whole 2nd PC thing for GC2 and ST owners. If you are currently running a crappy PC that struggles with TGC. Adding more workload to the PC may affect performance. If you have a kick ass PC that plays TGC at max settings, you probably will have no issues.

[htdumps]

Looking forward to your review!

[Burtgolf]

I went to the site and not finding if there is a minimum height requirement for mounting. From the pictures it looks like its higher than the impact screen and a bit forward of the hitting area (my flop shot area...lol). Also not finding anything on applying for the BETA testing release so curious how that will work.

Thanks!

[GripItAndRipIt]

7’-10’ mounting should be fine. As of now, alpha testers will have unit 3’ forward of hitting position. Site currently states 9’ and alpha testing will give more answers.

[keither5150]

Beta release is still weeks away. Information will be posted on the forum and the GSA website.

[keither5150]

There are only two Alpha units being sent out. During Alpha testing, we will be testing minimum mounting height. Most likely you can mount it as low as you want. The lower you go, the smaller your AOI (hitting area ) will be. At 9 feet, the hitting area is 12x30 inches. I think that you need a 72 degree LA to hit the unit from 3 feet away.

You can monitor this forum or GSA's website for more information as it becomes available. My Alpha unit will arrive on Monday. I will be posting information once I have it up and running. GSA expects Alpha testing to run about a month.

More information about Beta testing will become available once the Alpha testers feel that the unit is ready for Beta testing.

[Burtgolf]

Thanks for the quick response! I will monitor this thread for your updates for sure! Very interested in this at it looks like it will provide all the data points I am looking for!

[keither5150]

SOB..... ETA for delivery of Alpha unit bumped to Tuesday by FedEx......maybe I can meet them 1/2 way somewhere. SOB !!!!!

[Jwheels9876]

Who's the Mike that is the other Alpha tester? Is he also on here? Would be good to have both opinions on the unit.

[keither5150]

I will find out. Pretty sure that I am supposed to CC him on all correspondence. If he is not on the forum, I will see if he is willing.

[Jwheels9876]

Did Martin say you could post freely about the unit or did he want it kept in house between the 3 of you? I'm definitely going to buy the beta if the club data seems legit on it and just add it to my GC2. I can't afford to buy an HMT but $750 is a drop in the bucket comparatively

[keither5150]

I know we were going to talk about this during the setup. Not too sure about that one. I personally think that it's important that anyone who is interested gets fed updates as things start to happen. I am pretty sure that Martin and I are on the same page there. Martin has never asked me to hold back on my opinion. Probably not going to start now. If it doesn't work out of the gate, we will work with him to get it going. Should work out of the gate. I have installed all the software needed.... camera drivers, updated Control panel. I just have to plug the camera in.... and have Martin register the serial number, so it will be picked up by the control panel. At this point we should be swinging.


I will clarify if I have the freedom to do what I want.

[Jwheels9876]

Hopefully he doesn't mind you sharing the info. If everything works perfectly I'm sure he won't
I exchanged a few emails with him yesterday and he's as excited as some of us to see what you guys think.

[keither5150]

My thoughts are, be honest about your videos and reviews. Don't just show 3 shots that somehow worked out. I did a video last year or the year before with the GC2 side by side with the PX5. I showed about 40 pitches ranging from 10 yards to 70 yards. At certain launch angles the two were as identical as could be. My 9 iron shots.... I could have just shown 5 shots with me drawing the ball and called it a day. For some reason, my GC2 had trouble picking up my fades..... I showed that the two sims differed there. Maybe the GC2 was the correct one, who knows.
I am optimistic that the one camera sim will work. If it doesn't, I am sure that two Vistraks in stereo will be awesome. GSA will still be able to sell a stereo version at a great price. My current system is set up in stereo and feels really accurate. It is crazy how realistic putting and chipping feels with a stereo setup.

Or maybe we will need a flash. This is the point of Alpha testing. Get it working, and then see what it takes to make it not work....if that makes sense. I will be testing different mounting positions. I actually built a slider for putting on the GC2. I will be mounting the camera to that on the ceiling. I will easily be able to test different mounting distances. My slider has close to 30 inches of travel. I have numerous lights to test as well. Installation parameters are important to nail down before we go to Beta. I might go out and buy a few used clubs from Value village. So I can test club data on different clubs. The goal is accurate club data without stickers. Not the end of the world if we need stickers. Right now my Vistrak is on a truck in Kentucky. I really should have given Martin my FedEx account #.

[Jwheels9876]

Yeah I don't see the big deal if we have to put stickers on the clubs if it makes it more accurate.
Is the unit your getting going to be inside the casing or is it just the camera by itself?

[keither5150]

Just the camera with mount. The beta units will probably be just the camera with mount as well. I have never had cases on my other cameras since 2014. Case looks nice though. If this turns out to be a high volume sim, they will eventually all have cases. We should do serial #'s like the GC2. I want #1 please.

Looks like we are going to have quite the diverse group of beta testers. More than a few long time forum members like yourself. A few Optishot and R-motion guys. We even have a newbie that is a caddy at Augusta National. Here is hoping that there won't be any hardware changes and Beta starts sooner than later. Everyone will have plenty of warning before Beta units are released.