Quite a few of you have been asking “What makes Dartfish Express better than other video analysis apps?” Well, the fact is that I have several great apps on my phone and all are striving towards perfection according to their own definitions of perfect. The simple, if enigmatic, answer is “Express is not better, it’s different!”
Okay, I know that isn’t what you were hoping for, so I’ll try again but let me say straight up that any attempt at a feature comparison will quickly make this article yesterday’s news. Instead, let me explain what Dartfish is trying to accomplish with Express and you can decide if it’s what you need.
A different approach to video analysis
An Express video analysis is based around the still shot – that critical moment where something can be improved or something can be learned. In technique analysis, most activities have these moments: “Get your elbow above your wrist here”, “Get your centre of gravity further over the ball”, “Extend and reach!” In tactical analysis, a still shot marks the start of something: “Check out how the opposition creates space here”, “This was the time to make your move!”
In an Express analysis, still shots accentuate the original video: Pinpoint that position; mark it with a still shot; use drawings to aid observation or explanation; record your observations for future reference or sharing with others.
It is an approach which has some benefits:
- The original HD video is enriched and additional analysis files are never created
- Still shots bookmark those important moments, allowing you to jump to them quickly
- Drawings are added to the still shot, so they don’t have to be deleted to watch the naked video.
Still shot analysis is not necessarily better than the analysis recording offered by other apps. In fact both feature in our Pro desktop software. From that, we learned years ago that some prefer one tool and others love the other. Why did we choose to put still shots into our app then? I can answer that with one word… MediaBooks.
Where does your analysis go next?
Dartfishers have always told us how much they value our MediaBook. It offers them a way of weaving video, still shots, text and audio into a learning experience with a life of its own beyond the software. Its latest incarnation is the dartfish.tv analysis sharing website and we have always thought of that and Express as being inseparable partners – Dartfish.tv is how you distribute your Express analysis and Express is how you do detailed analysis of dartfish.tv videos shared with you.
If you haven’t seen a dartfish.tv Mediabook recently, check one out here. If you are viewing on an iPhone or iPad, tap the download button to take it directly to your Express app. Now have fun…!
It is a bigger picture as your video analysis requirements develop and grow. Perhaps you are part of a team or organization, such as the many which have trusted Dartfish to help deliver results over the past 15 years?
For you, dartfish.tv is the keystone supporting everyone: Your Premium channel controls who gets to see what. Then, on one side you have your pro users; those who rely on Dartfish software for advanced analysis, game analysis, video/data integration, perhaps accessing video simultaneously from multiple cameras or remotely from network cameras. On the other, your Express users have convenience; they can grab opportunities to create content for your channel… but more than that, they can have high quality interaction with what they find there – via a one-tap download to their app.
Perhaps you are producing public content? Games for fans, tagged up with ‘shouldn’t-be-missed’ highlights? Pay-to-view content that places a financial value on your expertise? In both cases, Express is a value-added bonus that allows your audience to continue to use your content offline.
So what makes the Express App better, rather than just different, is when it takes its place as part of the Dartfish integrated tool set. If you are looking for a complete solution for an organization’s video analysis needs, that is exactly where we are aiming. I can only say “Aiming” because we are constantly keeping step with a rapidly changing world of video. We invite you to grow with us.
Find out more about Dartfish Express
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