Garmin Catalyst?

Our race team is looking for a few things such as a constant camera, lap analyzer, and something that can overlay track data onto the video. The Garmin seems to answer all of those questions and be a plug and play solution vs. the Autosports Labs Racecapture. I currently have the Racecapture Track hooked up to my Hondata S300 and displaying on a tablet; but, it's unreliable, doesn't always want to work, and once we kill power for a pitstop it doesn't always like to return to it's normal function. Also we have the worst luck with GoPros lol. 

I tracked down our video review of the Garmin Catalyst:

Also, here's an article that details some other options on the market. Hopefully this helps.

DirtyBird222 said:

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that can overlay track data onto the video.

<..snip>

 

It doesn't do that yet. I have one and like it a lot, but it's video export/video editing functionality is kinda really bad as of now. Which I find really weird since one of it's best features IMO is it's ability to move around in a video on device based on micro-segments to review laps. 

When watching the laps all it shows currently is mph speed - and the only way I've found to export data is to pull the card - kinda silly. 

I love my catalyst because setup is easy, but they have a lot of little things they need to work out still. I'm surprised (and disappointed) we haven't gotten a winter update with any of those features. 

In reply to accordionfolder :

I've had a few Garmin devices (high end cycling computer, smart watch) and I always get the feeling that they get their stuff to about 90% but never follow through with fixing those last bugs or features. The devices work well and last but there's always something that just isn't quite right. Now think of all the aircraft flying around with Garmin glass cockpits lol.

In reply to adam525i (Forum Supporter) :

Yeah, that's what it feels like .... 80-ish% of the way to an awesome product, and it has all the information/data locally needed to get that last little bit, but they haven't. The APEX Pro iOS app is better at data analysis if you don't want to literally pull up a computer/full data system.

 

From what I understand Garmin is about to release an update that allows you to export a data/video file that shows laps with the data overlaid on it. 

Not sure when it's going to happen but purportedly very soon...

In reply to docwyte :

Is there anyway to get visibility into their current roadmap? Their initial offering of "data analysis" is so laughable limited - and also makes insane recommendations half the time. I'm not sure what bug I ran afoul of, but it was recommending to get my "best lap" to literally drive the left hand perimeter of the track for the entire lap - hahaa..

I DO enjoy the device, but it's missing pieces are kinda holding it back. Side by side lap/segment comparison for video AND speed traces? Better lap to lap comparison on device? 

The lack of overlay in the video export is what had me sitting on the fence for a while. I too read that this feature is coming soon in a future update. Because of that I went ahead and pulled the trigger a couple days ago to get the $100 rebate for March. I'm supposed to get it today and I'm excited to use it at my first event in a couple weeks. My biggest concern is the volume of the "coach." My car is stupid loud so I'm hoping there's some kind of available audio output I can use in case I can't hear the speaker.

In reply to infernosg :

It does have a headphones jack that they recommend using vs bluetooth to avoid audio lag. 

Yes, it has an audio jack.  That's what I plan on using. 

I do hope they come out with the video/data overlay export soon.  I bought one on sale awhile back with that assurance.  Supposedly they've come up with it and are testing it. 

In reply to accordionfolder :

No idea.  Sounds like yours has the car positioning all jacked up.  Is the camera directly in the centerline?  Was it only that one time?

In reply to docwyte :

When I said roadmap - I meant product roadmap. i.e. how did you find out they what they were going to have in the coming updates?

It had positioning, etc correct. Video overlay and the rest were fine, just the "purple" lap and recommendation was just the left side of the track everywhere, which is clearly NOT the fastest way around, haha. I don't usually pay a ton of attention to it's "opportunities" features, it's not usually the best. Speed traces and positioning on track usually dictate what I try (along with the live delta on the timer) when I'm expirementing. 

I completely missed the audio jack in the specs. I'm not sure how I feel about running a wire from the device to my head though. From what I've read the Bluetooth lag issues mainly seem to be when using the vehicle's audio system. I'll try some generic Bluetooth earbuds and see how they work. Speaking of wires, where is everyone putting the display? I was thinking of to the driver's left but it seems front and center is more popular.

In reply to accordionfolder :

There's a huge thread on Rennlist about it and one of their main vendors chimes in a lot and mentioned this update was coming.

I just got one and used it at Lime Rock a few weeks ago.  I'm quite impressed by the instant feedback and real time suggestions/confirmations.  I'm really excited to try it this weekend at Palmer, as that was my first time in real life at Lime Rock, and I have a few thousand laps at Palmer. 

I'm the ideal user for this product, as I have an Aim SOLO that I've never even installed the software for.  I don't really have time in my life to analyze data, so I really was just using it as a predictive lap timer.

Yeah, export is essentially non-existent, though.  I'm really excited to see what the big update brings.

I'm using a motorcycle intercom setup bluetooth connection and I don't think there's any lag at all.

Thanks for all of the input on the device. I think for the price tag it sounds a bit lacking. I'm just going to keep rocking the RaceCapture. Found some stuff on facebook where someone found a way bring the software back up anytime power is cut

Got mine today and played with it a little. I had no issues getting it to connect to a set of Bluetooth earbuds. Volume won't be a problem with those, for sure. Time will tell if there's any noticeable lag. I will say this thing is bigger than I expected. I'm not sure why because it's clearly advertised as being 7". For some reason I was thinking it would be the size of the old Garmin nav units. I've got two weeks until my first track night at Dominion Raceway to get everything installed and sorted. Definitely excited to try this out.

In reply to infernosg :

I know I sound negative in this thread, but I DO genuinely like mine.

I think it has massive potential - which was one of the reasons I got it. The other reason was it's SO EASY to setup the video and timing, once they get the export video down, it'll be great. Once they get better on device data-analysis it could be best in class. 

One tip that I've learned the hard way: check the "video alignment" (there's a button to do so when you click "race") before each session if you have time. It doesn't usually have a problem with alignment or video, but if the device has error'ed out on the camera it'll show up then and you can reset the device (usually just pulling it out of it's magnetic base and re-attaching it is enough). I had a hilarious spin at my last club day and it was the ONE session the camera decided to not work, so bummer! 

accordionfolder said:

In reply to infernosg :

I know I sound negative in this thread, but I DO genuinely like mine.

I think it has massive potential - which was one of the reasons I got it. The other reason was it's SO EASY to setup the video and timing, once they get the export video down, it'll be great. Once they get better on device data-analysis it could be best in class. 

One tip that I've learned the hard way, is check the "video alignment" (there's a button to do so when you click "race") before each session if you have time. It doesn't actually usually have a problem with alignment or video, but if the device has error'ed out on the camera it'll show up then and you can reset the device (usually just pulling it out of it's magnetic base and re-attaching it is enough). I had a hilarious spin at my last club day and it was the ONE session the camera decided to not work, so bummer! 

Digging further it seems like the catalyst is better suited for trackdays sans crapcan endurance racing. A 256GB SD card storage limit means I can't just throw a 1TB card in there for an event. Could switch it out with each driver change but that adds complexity to a pitstop. 

Seems like the extra $400 over the Catalyst is worth the AIM Pro Solo with SmartyCam or worth getting this Racecapture stuff working properly haha. 

In reply to DirtyBird222 :

The Garmin has two card slots -  1 takes a 32GB, the external take the 256G - so a bit more than "just" the 256, but not much.

I'm not sure how it decides which to use however. Keep in mind it's not recording in 4k, it's only recording in 1080p - so I think it'd work for longer than you think - but definitely, in it's current iteration, doesn't seem targeted at endurance racers. It has a lot of features that would help with that however, they just need tweaked....

 

accordionfolder said:

In reply to DirtyBird222 :

The Garmin has two card slots -  1 takes a 32GB, the external take the 256G - so a bit more than "just" the 256, but not much.

I'm not sure how it decides which to use however. Keep in mind it's not recording in 4k, it's only recording in 1080p - so I think it'd work for longer than you think - but definitely, in it's current iteration, doesn't seem targeted at endurance racers. It has a lot of features that would help with that however, they just need tweaked....

 

I mainly want to use it for my dad and some of the co-drivers in the car. They've gotten better over they years; but, i think they could benefit from some additional coaching. Putting a gopro in the car that focused on the driver helped a lot too. I too could also benefit. 

In reply to DirtyBird222 :

I just did the quick and dirty math checking how the minutes vs gigs works out on my device and it seems about 15 minutes per 1G (obviously rough, rough estimation).

So you'd get about 15*254 (add some fudge factor in) 3,810 minutes or 63.5 hours of video per card.

accordionfolder said:

In reply to DirtyBird222 :

I just did the quick and dirty math checking how the minutes vs gigs works out on my device and it seems about 15 minutes per 1G (obviously rough, rough estimation).

So you'd get about 15*254 (add some fudge factor in) 3,810 minutes or 63.5 hours of video per card.

Why is that so much better than the GoPro rate of memory consumption? 

In reply to DirtyBird222 :

Which gopro, which resolution is it recording at, and what frame rate? 

The catalyst's video isn't otherworldly, just "decent" - though Youtube does make it look worse than it does on device or on my computer to be fair.

 

FYI, I got pushed a firmware update last night that added overlay to the video: