How to record your world for VeoGeo

VeoGeo will be going ‘Beta’ soon – so get out there and start recording some activities! Mountain Biking, Driving, Karting, Skiing, 4WDing, Skydiving… almost anything you can think of can be recorded and uploaded to VeoGeo.

So – how do you do it?

You need two basic things – a GPS device and a Video Camera.

GPS

The GPS you use must be able to log data (once per second to achieve the best results). Then you must have a way of downloading the data from the GPS to your computer and saving it as a ‘GPX’ file.

I use a Garmin Etrex GPS or a Garmin Forerunner GPS and ‘GPSBabel’ software to save the GPX file.

VIDEO

For recording video, you can use your normal digital camera, your camcorder, or any of the newer solid state based devices. Some of the cameras I use regularly are the the Canon SD600 and the Samsung SC-X300L (The Samsung is great because it has an external rugged, waterproof camera you can mount on your helmet / handlebars etc). You just need a way of getting the recorded video file onto your computer – something most people have no problem doing if they are using digital cameras.

RECORDING THE ACTIVITY

When you’re out there ready record, here’s a few things to remember:

1. Ensure the GPS and Camera’s batteries are fully charged
2. It may help to synchronize the times of your camera and GPS. The GPS time is incredibly accurate, so set your camera time to match the GPS time. This can help to synchronize the files later.
3. Take the time to set them up properly – ie ensure the video camera is framed properly and that the GPS has a good clear view of the sky. There’s nothing worse than recording a great activity only to find out the camera angle was all wrong!
4. Turn on the GPS, ensure it gets a fix, then start it logging (some GPSs log track data automatically)
5. Turn on the video camera, press record, then commence your activity!

A few other notes:

• Use a low quality video setting, as this video will be streamed over the internet, so smaller sizes are better
• Activities of 10 minutes or less are ideal (there is a 10 minute / 100MB limit on video sizes)

We’ll continue posting hints and tips here on the VeoGeo blog.

Good luck recording your world!