First issue, what type of computer. Unless you are always working in a fixed office, get a notebook computer. Desktops are cheaper and better valued but at some point, someone is going to want you to take the system to them. With the notebook, you just put it in a bag and go.

For the video computer, lots of RAM is important, right? Surprisingly no, you are better off with a faster CPU. Video does not use much memory, as long as the CPU can keep up with the camera. Only a couple of frames are in memory at any one time, the rest should be on the disk or still in the camera. I suggest a minimum of 128MB of memory; today most computers come with 256MB.

Which make of computer is the better? Today computers are all generally the same under the keyboard, Intel makes most of the important parts of the computer. We use ACER computers because they are the third largest computer maker in the world and have a good international service network. Any new computer with over 1Ghz CPU is enough for swing analysis. I usually recommend to people to buy the amount of computer hardware depending on how long they want to own the computer. If you want the computer to last 5 years get 2.5 Ghz, 3 years 1.5 Ghz will be fine. Why use time as a definition for power? Because Microsoft has this tendency to make bigger and bigger applications for which you need more and more power.

The screen: you might have seen these “Day light” screens for notebook computers. Yes, you can see these screens better in very sunny conditions but the screen size is only 10”, and low 800x600 resolution, this compares to 15” screen at 1024x768 resolution. Finally, daylight screens are expensive because not many are sold. We have also found that the TFT/LCD screens are good enough to see in sunny conditions because they reflect the light that comes into the computer. So if you are working in sunny conditions, place the screen so the sun is directly on it, this maximizes the light going into the screen so it can be reflected.

Harddrive space is simple: more is better. Video is a big data consumer; even with compression, video files of 5Meg are common. I suggest at least a 20 Gig harddrive, 30 Gig is better.  You will see harddrives of different speeds: 7200RPM, 5400RPM are the current common speeds. The faster harddrive is better, especially for video, because you are streaming large single pieces of data to the drive. Almost all notebook drives are 5400 but this will change in the next couple of months.

CDWR drives are a great feature to add to your computer, because this allows you to give recorded lessons to students. Most CD writing drives are now combo DVD and CDWR. This does not mean they write DVD but they can read them. There is a new generation of DVD writers coming, but these devices are expensive, the disks are expensive, and DVDs are not as universal as CDs. Finally, you do not need the extra space a DVD offers; 3 hour lessons are very rare.

Printers are the last piece of hardware I would like to talk about. Today’s ink jet printers can produce amazing results on normal paper at very low cost ($100.00). Having one of these printers around allows you to print motion sequences and other handouts that helps in the marketing of your business but also adds an additional revenue stream. I do suggest looking for a printer that has separate color ink cartridges. With outdoor sports you tend to print lots of green which will empty two of the color cartridges but leave the other full. 

If you already have a computer you want to use for video analysis, most of the features I have mentioned here can be added to your computer. Things like Firewire, USB2.0, ports come in both PCMCIA (CardBus) or PCI card formats. CD writers can also be plugged into USB ports. The only problem with external CD writers is that they need external power so when you are in the middle of a field fairway you can’t write CDs.  The same goes for a new computer, make sure there is room to expand. Look for things like USB2.0, IEEE1394 port, and what is required to add RAM to the computer.

If you are just starting with all this technology, it all looks like too much to figure out. Really, it is like everything else in this world, it is simple, once you know it. The simplest computer in the world has only one button but once you know that button, you will want another one. Look carefully at the growth path of the systems you buy, simple to start but expandable when you have a good handle on the basics. Starting small reduces the total cost of system ownership, because you are not paying for features you will not use for a couple of years.