Interpreting QMD data

[KissedOut]

So I got my QMD and have been fooling around with it a little. The device weighs 34 grams and attaches pretty easily to the cue. The software download (I am using an LG tablet) went fine and there was no problem linking the QMD to the tablet via bluetooth.

Then I took a few shots. I left all of the settings at their defaults.

After a shot the display keeps cycling through the output for that shot. What it shows is a cue going back and forth with a graph showing something. Velocity? It also shows an image of a ball with a tip and crosshairs centered which also moves as the display cycles through the shot over and over.

If I click on the metrics button I get a list of shots with a set of numbers for each shot. Some of the numbers are red, indicating that on those measures the performance was outside of the acceptable range.

The numbers divide into three categories, lateral motion, vertical motion, and roll. Each has 2 different numbers, one indicating the range of that kind of motion through the stroke, and the other indicating the same thing at the moment of impact.

On the 4 shots I recorded, all of my lateral and vertical numbers were within the acceptable range. But all of my roll numbers were in the red. My ranges were all weighted on the negative side, and all of the roll readings at impact showed roll to the right in the 10 to 18 (degrees?) area.

So, what does it all mean? Unfortunately the material on interpreting the results is a little skimpy so I hope someone who is more familiar with these kinds of things than I am can provide some interpretive help on what these results mean.

What does the graph show? What does a graph of a "good" shot look like. What do the numbers mean. What exactly is roll? Does it need to be fixed? How do I fix it?

Thanks.

 

[bbb]

also i thiught the software could show you your stroke from the front and back and not just from the side
is that true??

 

[Mosens]

QMD shows you what you're doing. You can use the data to identify and analyze any flaws you feel you should work on. Help from an instructor may also be useful, they generally have helpful mechanics techniques to allow you to find the best fit of stroke metrics for you.

In your case you're rolling the cue beyond the defaults set in the software. Is this bad? The defaults were set from an average of players of varying abilities. They're only an average and may not fit your personal profile for a good stroke. These metrics are customizable, you can widen or narrow their ranges for an individual best fit. Once you've found your best fit, tighter ranges will challenge you to focus and improve.

Not seeing your stroke, let me throw out - does a lighter grip lessen the roll? Is a lighter grip right for you? I personally exceed to default roll range but I'm somewhat happy with my stroke, so I've widened to range. But when I get 'in the red' I focus on getting back on track.

The graph is the velocity of the cue during your backstroke/pause/forward stroke. It's negative (under the line) during your backstroke and positive (over the line) on the forward stroke, It also shows you if you're accelerating into the ball (increasing velocity at impact). The user guide also explain this.

So I got my QMD and have been fooling around with it a little. The device weighs 34 grams and attaches pretty easily to the cue. The software download (I am using an LG tablet) went fine and there was no problem linking the QMD to the tablet via bluetooth.

Then I took a few shots. I left all of the settings at their defaults.

After a shot the display keeps cycling through the output for that shot. What it shows is a cue going back and forth with a graph showing something. Velocity? It also shows an image of a ball with a tip and crosshairs centered which also moves as the display cycles through the shot over and over.

If I click on the metrics button I get a list of shots with a set of numbers for each shot. Some of the numbers are red, indicating that on those measures the performance was outside of the acceptable range.

The numbers divide into three categories, lateral motion, vertical motion, and roll. Each has 2 different numbers, one indicating the range of that kind of motion through the stroke, and the other indicating the same thing at the moment of impact.

On the 4 shots I recorded, all of my lateral and vertical numbers were within the acceptable range. But all of my roll numbers were in the red. My ranges were all weighted on the negative side, and all of the roll readings at impact showed roll to the right in the 10 to 18 (degrees?) area.

So, what does it all mean? Unfortunately the material on interpreting the results is a little skimpy so I hope someone who is more familiar with these kinds of things than I am can provide some interpretive help on what these results mean.

What does the graph show? What does a graph of a "good" shot look like. What do the numbers mean. What exactly is roll? Does it need to be fixed? How do I fix it?

Thanks.

 

[Mosens]

It shows you a top, side and back view. Click the view button to toggle through the views.

The software is free, you can install it and see the included sample shot and play around with the different screens to get a feel of what QMD provides. The sample shot is a pendulum stroke from our mechanical testing machine. Its elbow doesn't move.

also i thiught the software could show you your stroke from the front and back and not just from the side
is that true??

 

[KissedOut]

The graph is the velocity of the cue during your backstroke/pause/forward stroke. It's negative (under the line) during your backstroke and positive (over the line) on the forward stroke, It also shows you if you're accelerating into the ball (increasing velocity at impact). The user guide also explain this.

Thanks for the info. I am a reasonably bright guy but you guys make it hard to figure out your product.

I think the explanations in the user guide are a little bit lacking. You need to add examples. Don't just show what the numbers look like, include some interpretive information. Maybe include a sample file of a few shots and then, in the guide, explain what the readings signify. That would be far more useful than wasting space describing drills that everyone already knows, and that add no insight into using the product.

I don't mean this in a harsh sense But if your selling point over the competition is all of the monitoring data your product generates, then it just makes sense to focus on, or at least address in a serious manner, how to make this data useful Otherwise people will throw up their hands and go with the simpler device, where all you have to understand is beep=bad.

 

[Skippy27]

I spent a couple hours with mine KissedOut and feel the same way.

Eventually I just quit using it as the feed back didn't seem to help guide me in improving.

Every once in a while I will put it back on a stick and do a few strokes to compare to my others.

 

[JB Cases]

what's a QMD?

 

[JB Cases]

found it http://www.cue-md.com/

 

[Mosens]

You're right, we need to beef up the user guide. The metrics are a new feature that I think people will find real useful with better understanding about how to interpret them.

QMD does do 'beep is bad' if that's all you want to get out of it, though it sure provides a lot more.

Thanks for the feedback.

Thanks for the info. I am a reasonably bright guy but you guys make it hard to figure out your product.

I think the explanations in the user guide are a little bit lacking. You need to add examples. Don't just show what the numbers look like, include some interpretive information. Maybe include a sample file of a few shots and then, in the guide, explain what the readings signify. That would be far more useful than wasting space describing drills that everyone already knows, and that add no insight into using the product.

I don't mean this in a harsh sense But if your selling point over the competition is all of the monitoring data your product generates, then it just makes sense to focus on, or at least address in a serious manner, how to make this data useful Otherwise people will throw up their hands and go with the simpler device, where all you have to understand is beep=bad.

 

[KissedOut]

You're right, we need to beef up the user guide. The metrics are a new feature that I think people will find real useful with better understanding about how to interpret them.

QMD does do 'beep is bad' if that's all you want to get out of it, though it sure provides a lot more.

Thanks for the feedback.

I understand that and I want more than beep is bad and that is why I went with QMD.

On the more positive side, I think the QMD may be having some impact already. One thing I WAS able to glean is that I have a bad habit of twisting the cue. My roll numbers on the metric screen are a sea of red. Bad red.

So, as a first step band-aid, I drew a line with a sharpie on my ferrule, so I could see when I was twisting the cue, and practiced that way, trying to keep the line right on top.

And wow, focusing on not twisting seemed to make the whole stroke a lot better - I was getting that nice crisp English that you only get with a nice stroke in 3C. I don't know how permanent the effects will be, and I am off to the Instructors forum to explore this whole twisting the cue thing, but I am excited at the early results.

One other thought. I would love it if a future software update allowed you to export the metrics table as a csv file, or other file that can be read by spreadsheets and databases. That would allow the user to analyze their metric table in a more dynamic way and maintain running stats.

 

[bbb]

i also recently bought it to try it out
even tho i am in the raffle for a free one
my question is the default metrics are from what type of player?
also i guess the numbers could tell you if you are consistenetly off by the same amount it may not be bad because of the consistency
do you think this assumption is true??

 

[bbb]

demonstrations of results from a pro with various stroke types
would be helpfull

 

[bbb]

lastly there is a green line and red line showing the cue sticks motion
what do they mean??

 

[bbb]

let me say
i like the QMD 2.0
it gives more information on whats wrong compared to the digicue
i love OB CUES for the customer support and the quality of their products
i shoot with ob shafts
but i think the qmd is a better device to answer
how is my stroke and whats wrong
to help you get a better stroke

 

[Mosens]

The red line goes right through the center of the cue, the green (maybe yellowish) line is the straight line set when you address the ball before starting the backstroke. Deviations between these lines show how far off you are sideways when looking at the top view of your cue animation. You stop the animation and go through it frame by frame to get great detail about what your cue's doing.

lastly there is a green line and red line showing the cue sticks motion
what do they mean??

 

[Mosens]

The defaults were set from an average of some of our tester, they're a variety of playing levels.

As for consistency... Minimal lateral movement of your cue is probably the most important factor in a good stroke. If you're consistently hitting the ball left of there you address it by the same amount, for example, you may want to try to straighten that swoop out. Vertical movement of the cue butt is expected in a good pendulum stroke, but if your cue butt is dropping towards the end of the forward stroke you're probably dropping your elbow and that generally should be avoided. I think the jury is still out on the roll of your cue during your stroke, the grip seems to have the most influence over this. Working on a consistent roll is probably best.

i also recently bought it to try it out
even tho i am in the raffle for a free one
my question is the default metrics are from what type of player?
also i guess the numbers could tell you if you are consistenetly off by the same amount it may not be bad because of the consistency
do you think this assumption is true??

 

[bbb]

when i shadow swing when i am standing does the qmd record that as a shot??

 

[bbb]

here is a pic of a shot and the metrics
how do i interpret the dotted line vs the red line
and the metrics

 

[Mosens]

interpreting the dotted line.....
The green dots show the velocity of your stroke from the beginning of your backstroke to impact with the cue ball. Starting from the left and going right on the chart the velocity is negative (below the horizontal, red chart line, the cue's moving backward) during your backstroke and returns to the red line at the end of your backstroke (cue stops moving). Then it goes positive (above the red line, cue's moving forward) up to contact with the cue ball. For your shot you have a quick but smooth backstroke, a very slight pause (a couple dots on the red line, this is about 3/100th of a second) and a quick, smooth acceleration on your forward stroke. The velocity is increasing right up to contact with the cue ball which indicates 'acceleration through the ball'.

The transition from backstroke to forward stroke is pretty abrupt, slowing down the backstroke a bit and more of a pause would smooth it out. The velocity chart example below shows a smoother transition, it's flatter entering and leaving the pause.

While using QMD you can keep an eye on the chart and see how it's shape changes for shots with different tempos. This will give you a better idea on what it's showing you.

here is a pic of a shot and the metrics
how do i interpret the dotted line vs the red line
and the metrics
View attachment 436130

View attachment 436131

 

[bbb]

interpreting the dotted line.....
The green dots show the velocity of your stroke from the beginning of your backstroke to impact with the cue ball. Starting from the left and going right on the chart the velocity is negative (below the horizontal, red chart line, the cue's moving backward) during your backstroke and returns to the red line at the end of your backstroke (cue stops moving). Then it goes positive (above the red line, cue's moving forward) up to contact with the cue ball. For your shot you have a quick but smooth backstroke, a very slight pause (a couple dots on the red line, this is about 3/100th of a second) and a quick, smooth acceleration on your forward stroke. The velocity is increasing right up to contact with the cue ball which indicates 'acceleration through the ball'.

The transition from backstroke to forward stroke is pretty abrupt, slowing down the backstroke a bit and more of a pause would smooth it out. The velocity chart example below shows a smoother transition, it's flatter entering and leaving the pause.

While using QMD you can keep an eye on the chart and see how it's shape changes for shots with different tempos. This will give you a better idea on what it's showing you.

that was VERY HELPFUL.....:thumbup::thumbup:
THANKS