Easy-Scout Professional Version 2.71

Last month, we began shipping Easy-Scout Professional 2.71. We expect this will be the final release that adds features or functionality until after the coming (2009) football season.

Version 2.71 adds two features to Version 2.7, both significant.  Version 2.71 is available as a free update to registered Easy-Scout Pro users of any version equal to, or greater than 2.6, which was released in November 2008.  This is consistent with our policy of providing updates based on the “football season”, as opposed to on a calendar-year basis.

Intelligent Default Wizard

Of the two new capabilities in Version 2.71, the one most noticeable is the new Intelligent Default “wizard”. The name was chosen for the “intelligence” that it extends to the scouting data and video editing screens.

Intelligent Defaults TM have been part of all Easy-Scout products for over 20 years, and have been included in Easy-Scout Professional since it was first released in 2006.  Until Version 2.71, however, the time-saving, and accuracy-checking benefits of Intelligent Defaults TM  were available only when using Easy-Scout’s special “ADD MODE”, which saves video and play information, increments the Play Number, and creates a new play with Intelligent Defaults TM .

In short, the Intelligent Default TM wizard has the ability to adjust the values of the Down, Distance and Field Position for any play, at any time, based on the results of the Previous Play.  This is particularly useful in what we call “2 pass editing”, when a game is first “cut” into ODK, and then later, revisited to record additional data for each play – either to produce tendency reports or to expand the “search” criteria that can be used for video analysis and producing cutups.

Combined with the new Quick Cut editor screen added in Version 2.6, the Export Video module added in Version 2.65, and the Split Game Utility added in Version 2.7,  the Intelligent Default wizard completes a new set of functions that collectively represent significant improvement in the Video Editing, Video Analysis and Tendency Reporting capabilities of the program when compared to last season’s version (2.5).

Time based Registration module with License Transfer support

Another significant, but less obvious improvement that has been implemented in Version 2.71 is an optional Registration Module that supports “time-based” licensing.   In short, the new registration module can be configured either for “license purchase” customers – which have historically represented 95 percent of Easy-Scout Professional users, or existing (grandfathered)  Season Pass subscription customers.

Season Pass was a program we offered as a pilot program last season and discontinued due to insufficient interest (due largely, we believe, to the highly affordable price and low cost of ownership for Easy-Scout Pro when compared with other video editing software for football coaching).  With the improvements in Version 2.71, we are considering a reintroduction of a “new and improved” Season Pass program for next season.

For existing users (the 95 percent that purchase an Easy-Scout Pro license), the license transfer option in Version 2.71 adds a low cost, and in some cases, no-cost way to add license portability in a way that can mean significant cost savings.  In short, the License Transfer option in Version 2.71 makes it possible to avoid having to purchase an additional license when a computer is replaced with a new one.   Additional details about the License Transfer option is available by contacting a Technical Support representative.

Version 2.71 availability

Users of Easy-Scout Professional will be contacted with information about updating (free) or upgrading (reduced cost) their Easy-Scout Professional software to Version 2.71.   Full details are available also by visiting the CompuSports web site at www.compusports.com

New DVD ripper from Deskshare gets our vote of approval

In just a few weeks, we’ve become big fans of the new DVD ripping product from Deskshare – a company that has published a number of affordable, general purpose video editing products for quite a few years.

First announced in an article in the Coach’s Advisor Journal in early July,  Rip DVD Plus really grew on us quickly.  This is not to take anything away from the other products we have recommended in recent years – we just really like a lot about this new product.  As pointed out recently on the CompuSports web site, Rip DVD seems easier to learn, faster and more flexible than other products we have worked with.

Most importantly, its ability to create a single .avi or WMV (Windows Media) in varying combinations of file size and video quality make it ideal for football coaches who increasingly exchange video on DVDs or receive just-played game video on a DVD shortly after the contest.

Rip DVD Plus is not to be mistaken with most of the other DVD ripper products that are really more like file converters than DVD converters. These less-capable, file-based products can be “hit or miss” for coaches in particular, since the video for a football or basketball game is normally split between two or more “vob” files (vob files are the MPEG 2 based file fragments on a Video DVD ).

Rip DVD Plus joins DVD Copy 6 Plus as a supported DVD “ripping” products for use with Easy-Scout Professional and Easy-Cut. 

For Easy-Cut users, multi-purpose Digital Media Converters such as the DIVX Converter – included in the Divx Pro for Windows bundle (with MPEG 2 plug in option) – available from www.divx.com , and Digital Media Converter Pro, also from Deskshare are excellent alternatives and also CompuSports – supported products.

Coaches can be confident when choosing a supported capture or conversion product, since we have invested our time and money to test, purchase and learn how to use them with our video editing software products on both Windows XP and Windows Vista.

 

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Easy-Scout XP Plus Spring Savings Promotion

Recently, we announced a promotion for the month of May that offered significant savings on the latest version of our scouting software – Easy-Scout XP Plus.

The promotion offered across-the-board savings on Easy-Scout XP Plus products, and was used to introduce our new, Personal Edition at a price that represents a “rollback” of sorts to level last seen in the late 90’s.

The Personal Edition, intended for individual coaches, can be installed on two computers and is available online as a Digitial Download from the CompuSports Media Exchange.

Easy-Scout XP Plus continues to be available on CD in a Staff Edition, that also includes a download option for coaches that want to get started quickly.  The Staff Edition can be purchased both online and offline (by mail, fax using checks or purchase orders).

The two editions of Easy-Scout XP Plus are identical in functionality, and differ only in the number of coaches that can use the software and the payment options that are available.  

Full details are available at www.compusports.com

Choosing a Windows Vista Version

Computers that run Windows nowadays come equipped with Windows Vista. Since Windows Vista comes in five versions, with most versions available in both 32 Bit and 64 Bit variations, its important that the correct one is selected.

As far as whether to choose the 32 Bit or 64 Bit Edition, we recommend the 32-bit edition for its far superior compatibility in general, but specifically with the products published and distributed by CompuSports (over the 64 Bit edition, but not over Windows XP unfortunately).

As far as whether to choose Vista Home Premium, Vista Ultimate or Vista Business, in most cases Vista Home Premium is the best choice. We do not recommend upgrading the operating system on a computer that already has Windows XP to any version of Windows Vista.

For a full discussion of the details behind these recommendations, read Critical Windows Vista Purchase Considerations in the Coaches Advisor Journal.

Click here for an overview of the Versions of Windows Vista

Click here for detailed specifics about the features included and not included in each one

Easy-Scout Professional 2.51 Released

We just released an update for Easy-Scout Professional Version 2.5 that was introduced last November.  The new version features updated Report Groups that better organize the reports that were included in the new Reporting module introduced in Version 2.5 as well as a new Report Index report.  In addition, the "Back" and "Forward" buttons were adjusted to complement the behavior of the new Reverse and Forward Video Playback controls in Windows Media Player 11.

Easy-Scout Professional 2.51 is available in a full install for new purchasers and trial users as well as existing users that purchase an additional license. It is also available for purchase by users of Versions 1.0 through 2.14 as an upgrade.

Released with Easy-Scout Professional 2.51 is a new version of the Easy-Scout Database Utilities – Version 1.1. The new utilities include a new function to update the Report Groups after applying the Version 2.51 Update to an existing installation without interfering with any user-defined Report Groups.

* Changes that Microsoft made in January 2008 to the Windows Installer in Windows XP required modifications to the Version 2.5 installer for Easy-Scout Professional. The changes only affected Windows XP and not Windows Vista. The installer for Version 2.51 replaces all prior installers of 2.5 shipped or downloaded between November 2007 and March 14, 2008.

There are no known issues with installers shipped prior to November 2007 or after March 14, 2008.

Windows Vista compatibility update for CompuSports products

When Windows Vista was released in January 2007, we knew it was only a matter of time before the need to attain Vista “compatibility” would become a necessity for software publishers.  Despite an avalanche of criticism from all corners of the computing community, including the recently “awarded”, dubious designation as PC World’s “biggest disappointment of the year”,  what Microsoft wants, Microsoft gets. Its that simple.

As the PC World article points out, “Vista will come to dominate the PC landscape, if only because it will become increasingly hard to buy a new machine that doesn’t have it pre-installed.”  While Retail buyers (those that buy computers in stores like Circuit City, Best Buy, Staples and the like) found this to be true almost immediately after Vista’s release, companies that sell computers to business and insitutional buyers have been permitted to offer their customer a choice of Windows XP or Windows Vista, and will be permitted to do so until June 2008.

The unfortunate part of all of this for new computer buyers is that the cost of purchasing a new computer that runs Windows Vista does not end with the cost of the computer. Many “peripherals” like printers and video capture devices don’t work on Vista and need to be replaced.  The story is the same for software, particularly specialized software of the kind that coaches purchase for coaching-specific tasks.

We had a two-pronged approach to Windows Vista at CompuSports. Like most publishers that want to remain in business for the long haul, we made a commitment to invest in the future viability of our Easy-Scout, Easy-Cut and Easy-Recruiter products. 

The first prong in our strategy was to develop Vista-compatible versions of our video editing products, which we did shortly after Vista was released. Easy-Scout Professional 2.0 , and Easy-Cut 2.1shipped in March with Windows XP and Windows Vista compatibility.  In each case, the application itself required significant modifications in order to run at all on Windows Vista, and since a new computer, often a laptop, is often purchased to run Video Editing software, that was our priority.

The second part of our strategy was to focus on those products that were typically installed on “office” or school computers, since there was a greater likelihood that Windows XP would be slower to “disappear”. With just a few exceptions, we found this to be the case, and in fact, expect Windows Vista to have a slow uptake in schools due to the fact that schools, like business, “have a choice”. The two products in this category were our Easy-Scout XP (football scouting) and Easy-Recruiter (athletic recruiting) applications.

Easy-Recruiter was shipped early this fall in a Vista-compatible version, that itself has been updated one time in early December to resolve what had been an intermittent, yet nagging issue. 

Easy-Scout XP, while delivered in a Vista-compatible immediately upon Vista’s release,  had a design that made it somewhat inconvenient for Vista users to install and run.  Plus, its companion product, Analyzer 2006 was not Vista compatible and we learned that it would only function on Vista with a major overhaul. 

For these reasons, our approach with Easy-Scout XP and Analyzer was to “consolidate” the two products and offer them in a single, Windows XP and Windows Vista compatible product.  That product, Easy-Scout XP Plus, was shipped last month (November). In addition to consolidating the products, we took the opportunity to enhance the analysis and reporting module that had been in Analyzer before releasing Easy-Scout XP Plus. The result is a better product, where we believe 1+1=3.

While not free, these Vista-compatible versions are available at reduced upgrade pricing to current users. Season Pass subscribers for Easy-Scout Professional automatically receive the latest version with their subscription renewals, and software maintenance agreement holders receive them as needed.

Using your “mini-DV” Camcorder to convert VHS tapes

Even though topics such as this tend to be highly technical in nature and not limited to our software products, a recent article in www.coachsadvisor.com dealing with this subject has generated a lot of interest and questions from coaches. This is no surprise, since few coaches are so fortunate that they never have a need to convert a VHS tape or a DVD to a digital format that is “sports editing software-friendly”.

Since our product designs are based on the belief that there is no justification to reinvent the wheel when doing so adds cost, complexity or difficulty for the user, it makes sense that when we discover ways to reduce one or more, we make sure not to keep it a secret.  Coaches fortunate enough to have a camera that supports “digital pass through” should really consider this technique. 

To this end, I decided to include two links for current or prospective users of CompuSports’  Video Editing Software Easy-Scout XP Professional and Easy-Cut that want to explore this method of converting “analog” video sources to Digital.

The first link takes you to the Microsoft web site and applies to Windows XP Users . The article has some very useful diagrams as well as step by step instructions.

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/moviemaker/21/dvpassthrough.mspx

 The second link takes you to a recent Coachs Advisor article that covers the topic in general and has a link to a similar Microsoft web site article that applies to Windows Vista users.

 http://coachsadvisor.blogspot.com/2007/10/convert-your-vhs-tapes-with-windows.html

Easy-Recruiter News

We just released a Windows Vista compatible installer for Easy-Recruiter 2.53, the current version of CompuSports Easy-Recruiter Athletic Recruiting Management software.  The new installer should enable Easy-Recruiter to both install and run on Windows Vista in a Limited User account, however like most applications, must be installed with Administrator permissions. 

Windows Vista users can obtain the new installer by visiting the Easy-Recruiter download page and clicking on the link for the Easy-Recruiter Windows Vista Installer. 

New pricing and product changes become affective on October 1 that affect all Easy-Recruiter versions, from Express to Workgroup.  Easy-Recruiter Express will be discontinued in favor of the more powerful and popular Easy-Recruiter Personal Edition that includes advanced import/export and mail merge capabilities.   Rounded out the now 2 SKU Easy-Recruiter lineup is The Easy-Recruiter Workgroup Edition for users who want to share recruiting data either using a server or sharing folders within a workgroup network.  The licensing has changed slightly for the Workgroup edition but remains highly affordable and includes a quick-start technical support startup briefing for network users.

Easy-Recruiter enters its 6th year helping coaches from all sports implement structure and organizational through the numerous data colletion, management and reporting tools and techniques provided by this highly affordable athletic recruiting software that works for any sport.  Developed originally by CompuSports in a Football Recruiting configuration for a Division III College Football Staff, Easy-Recruiter has a broad base of users in colleges at all levels across many sports and is available at both www.coachingware.com – a multi-sports athletic software store, and www.compusports.com – a football-specific software store.

Athletic Equipment Manager now available

After over five years of distributing the Pensport Equipment Manager, in CompuSports recently acquired a license to exclusively distribute the current Pensport Equipment Manager product. In addition, the terms of the agreement granted CompuSports a license to develop a new, Windows Vista – compatible version that would be patterned after this Pensport product that remains one of the most popular and affordable programs of its kind.

With the growing acceptance of Windows Vista in schools, an entire generation of software products faces obsolescence and extinction – unless they are modified to meet the new Windows Vista design requirements. In some cases, this is a maintenance task. In others it requires that software is completely rewritten, which was the case for the Pensport Equipment Manager.

CompuSports has completed a Release Candidate of the next generation of this Pensport Equipment Manager -now called Athletic Equipment Manager. The Release Candidate version is now available along with the current Pensport product as a Trial Download from www.coachingware.com.

Athletic Equipment Manager combines the formerly separate Master and Individual Inventory modules from the Pensport product into one,  while adding a fresh new user interface.  The first release has an identical feature and functionality “set” to the Pensport version while adding a number of number of improvements in the “look and feel” of the program that are made possible by current development technology. The Release Candidate for Athletic Equipment Manager is available in a GO LIVE license to newpurchasers. 

Current users of the Pensport Equipment Manager that would like to work with the Release Candidate while continuing to use their current can also receive a GO LIVE license by contacting CompuSports.

New purchasers of the Pensport Equipment Manager will receive BOTH the current Pensport product and a “Go-Live” license for Athletic Equipment Manager 2.0 and can either install both versions or start working with Athletic Equipment Manager 2.0 immediately. The benefit of starting with the new version of Athetic Equipment Manager mmediately is that the user will avoid the need to migrate data from the Pensport Equipment Manager program.   A data migration utility that will to handle a portion of the task of moving Pensport Equipment Manager data to the new Athletic Equipment Manager automatically with be provided when the final version is shipped later this fall.

In summary, the Pensport Equipment Manager software has been reborn as the functionally-identical Athletic Equipment Manager. The new version is built with modern development technology, is Windows Vista-compatible, and is available now as both a trial and “Go-Live” Release Candidate version to registered users.

PenSport Equipment Manager joins CompuSports family

Pensport’s Equipment Manager software has been added to the CompuSports family of sports software products.  Since we began distributing this industry-leading Athletic Equipment Inventory program over 6 years ago, it has impressed us and many of our customers.  

Work on the next version of the software has already begun, and we’re working with Pensport to incorporate a variety of Equipment Manager support and information resources  into our technical support center.   Truth be told, however, the program is easy to understand, easy to use and generates very few questions or problems.

We began to consider adding an affordable sports inventory management software application to the family of products that we publish late last year.  At that time, after working with Windows Vista for just a few weeks, it became evident that Windows Vista would require a large number of software applications to be modified in order to run properly, and many would need to be rewritten completely if they were to run at all. 

To be sure, not every program justifies the time and expense involved in rewriting it, but we believe that the Pensport Equipment Manager software continues to meet the needs of athletic directors, coaches and equipment managers.  In addition to its Equipment Inventory program, Pensport, a major force in sports software during the ’90’s, produced many fine software applications, many of which we also acquired.

Some of these sports software applications may emerge as new, modern members of the CompuSports family, and we plan to incorporate some of the design concepts from other Pensport products into future versions of our existing Easy-Scout and Easy-Recruiter products.