VELO BASEBALL

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

HOW IS THIS APP DIFFERENT THAT OTHERS THAT I SEE ADVERTISED?

Most of the baseball speed measurement apps are thinly disguised stopwatches.  This is a highly inaccurate method as a 90mph fastball takes 459 milliseconds to reach home plate!  No wonder hitting a baseball is one of the hardest things to do in sports.

BUT WAIT, I'VE SEEN A FEW APPS THAT REALLY DO MEASURE THE BALL SPEED IN FLIGHT?

Yes, but the main difference is that Velo was designed from the beginning to be used handheld.  Velo uses a highly sophisticated mathematical algorithm to identify a moving ball against the background, and then measure the velocity while compensating for inherent movement of a handheld iPhone/iPad.  This goes way beyond simple image stabilization.

HOW DO I GET THE BEST RESULTS WITH VELO?

Stand perpendicular to the pitch.  Select the pitching distance.  Pinch-zoom to line up the distance marks with the pitching rubber and the BACK TIP of home plate.  Tap the screen to focus.  Each pitch will automatically be measured and displayed for 5 seconds.  For the best results, stand as close as possible using minimal zoom.

WHY DOES THE PITCH SPEED NOT DISPLAY SOMETIMES WHEN A PITCH IS THROWN?

In low contrast situations it can be difficult for the iPhone/iPad camera to see the ball.  Most fields have a batter's eye so that a hitter can more easily pick up the ball.  Velo is just like a hitter.  If the view has high contrast to the ball then the app can see the ball well.

EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE A SPEED IS DISPLAYED, BUT NO PITCH WAS THROWN?

Fast moving objects in the background can sometimes be registered as if a pitch was thrown.  To help minimize this, position yourself so that objects such as baserunners or automobiles are not within the active window.

OOPS, I DIDN'T ALLOW ACCESS TO THE CAMERA AND/OR PHOTOS.  HOW DO I FIX THIS?

On your iPhone/iPad, go to Settings -> Velo Baseball.  Turn "Camera" ON and Change the "Photos" setting to "Add Photos Only".  Your app will now function normally.

CAN I USE VELO BASEBALL FOR THROWS FROM THE FIELD?

Yes!  By tapping the Distance Display, you can select from common base path distances as well as pitching distances.

WHEN USING VELO AND A RADAR GUN AT THE SAME TIME, I NOTICED VELO'S SPEEDS ARE A BIT HIGHER.  WHICH ONE IS MORE ACCURATE?

We noticed the same thing!  This lead us to check Velo against high speed video where we determined the exact distance traveled over a known time.  In all test cases, Velo was more accurate than popular radar guns!

MY IPHONE/IPAD GETS WARM WHILE USING VELO.  IS THIS NORMAL?

Velo's algorithm is very processor intensive.  It is normal for your device to get a warm.  If Velo is used for an extended period, in hot weather, or with a thick case, the iPhone/iPad may throttle the processor speed.  The throttling icon will appear continuously to let you know that the Velo's algorithm cannot continue.  Occasional flickering of the throttle icon is normal and often represents background tasks being performed by your device temporarily making velocity measurements unavailable.

WILL THERE BE A VERSION OF VELO FOR ANDROID PHONES?

Maybe.  We are currently researching this, but the processor requirements simply may not be available yet on an Android device.