DigiBall need question

nataddrho

nataddrho

www.digicue.net
Silver Member
Recently I asked for feedback on this product. A few critical users here repeatedly asked the following question, which I think deserves a good answer. What are your thoughts? I am adding this to the webpage. Thanks.

The pros didn't need a DigiBall to become great. Why then should I?​

There is no replacement for hard work and dedication. The DigiBall is a tool. It is not a gimmick or a quick fix. It will not make your game better magically overnight by itself. Just like one would use a measuring tape to build a house, the DigiBall is your measurement device for tip accuracy. You can build a house without a measuring tape, but it wouldn't be very efficent. Rather than trying to cut lumber in place to get it to fit, it is much better to first measure, then cut the lumber, and once you know it is the correct size, install it in place.
In the same way, you can build your pool/billiards game without a measuring device, but it also is not very efficient. Rather than trying to hit millions of balls and observe the outcome of dozens of variables, it is much better to first isolate specific shots, measure your consistiency and accuracy with the DigiBall, and then determine if any misses are due to your tip accuracy or to your aiming. Divide and conquer. Once corrections are made, then install the shot into your game. Observe how the shot holds up during competition.
Pros have been using drills to divide and conquer their game as they build it; they do not try to build it all at once. The DigiBall is an extra tool that can help you get more information and make improvements much more efficiently than 100% pure end-result observation.
 
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nataddrho said:
Recently I asked for feedback on this product. A few critical users here repeatedly asked the following question, which I think deserves a good answer. What are your thoughts? I am adding this to the webpage. Thanks.

The pros didn't need a DigiBall to become great. Why then should I?​

There is no replacement for hard work and dedication. The DigiBall is a tool. It is not a gimmick or a quick fix. It will not make your game better magically overnight by itself. Just like one would use a measuring tape to build a house, the DigiBall is your measurement device for tip accuracy. You can build a house without a measuring tape, but it wouldn't be very efficent. Rather than trying to cut lumber in place to get it to fit, it is much better to first measure, then cut the lumber, and once you know it is the correct size, install it in place.
In the same way, you can build your pool/billiards game without a measuring device, but it also is not very efficient. Rather than trying to hit millions of balls and observe the outcome of dozens of variables, it is much better to first isolate specific shots, measure your consistiency and accuracy with the DigiBall, and then determine if any misses are due to your tip accuracy or to your aiming. Divide and conquer. Once corrections are made, then install the shot into your game. Observe how the shot holds up during competition.
Pros have been using drills to divide and conquer their game as they build it; they do not try to build it all at once. The DigiBall is an extra tool that can help you get more information and make improvements much more efficiently than 100% pure end-result observation.
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I hope you sell a bunch of them but i still think its a gadget in search of a reason. I can tell in micro-seconds what caused the outcome, good or bad, of a particular shot. Make/miss and cueball behavior is all you need to observe. I don't believe there are 'dozens of variables' to deal with. You seem to very tech-absorbed and that's fine i guess for some players, i see the same thing in golf.
 
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garczar said:
I hope you sell a bunch of them but i still think its a gadget in search of a reason. I can tell in micro-seconds what caused the outcome, good or bad, of a particular shot. Make/miss and cueball behavior is all you need to observe. I don't believe there are 'dozens of variables' to deal with. You seem to very tech-absorbed and that's fine i guess for some players, i see the same thing in golf.
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Ok you can tell in "microseconds" how many years did it take to teach you that?
 
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I'm ready to pre-order. Let me know when you want my money. I would also like to buy a Digicue Blue if it will work on a Mac with an M1 chip. I wonder if in the future whether the strokes recorded with a Digicue Blue could be paired up with the location that was struck on the DigiBall?
 
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garczar said:
I hope you sell a bunch of them but i still think its a gadget in search of a reason. I can tell in micro-seconds what caused the outcome, good or bad, of a particular shot. Make/miss and cueball behavior is all you need to observe. I don't believe there are 'dozens of variables' to deal with. You seem to very tech-absorbed and that's fine i guess for some players, i see the same thing in golf.
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What do you think of the answer to your question I proposed? I think you were the one (or ones) who mentioned it first?

Do you think there are a lot of players whom can’t tell what is happening based on cue ball outcome alone? What about people with inconsistent strokes that still pocket the object ball but don’t know why their position is so poor?
 
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I personally wouldn't even address it, but that's me. Keep the FAQ's to facts, not opinions. The goal of a business, ANY business, is to make money. Not to answer a few people who don't think a product is needed. By that logic, there is almost nothing for sale in the planet that is "needed". Toilet paper does not come with FAQ saying why you "need" it.

IMO:)
 
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Tools like this are great for teaching and learning. Many players I help are either not aware of what they are doing exactly or are too stubborn to admit it. Like if a ball does not go backwards, they say "but I DID hit it low" and no matter how many times I try to explain physics they stick to their statement LOL. This would show in black and white that they did not, and where and how they actually hit it.

I also like it as a fun thing to use with friends, like target pool, to see how good the players are with their shooting and try to out-do each other.
 
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7stud said:
I'm ready to pre-order. Let me know when you want my money. I would also like to buy a Digicue Blue if it will work on a Mac with an M1 chip. I wonder if in the future if the strokes recorded with a Digicue Blue could be paired up with the location that was struck on the DigiBall.
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I am not ready for preorders yet, and those may not even be handled through me personally. I will keep you informed!!
 
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alphadog said:
Is this a start up?
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Yes and no. I designed the tech but I won’t be involved in the sales and distribution. I’d rather have an established company handle that, it is way too much work for one person. It is much better to keep me free to handle problems and issues, code updates, related to the product if and when they pop up. Something always does.
 
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alphadog said:
Another idea could this cueball be used as the 1 ball in a 9ball rack? Could show exactly where rack was struck.
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This is an interesting idea I didn’t think about. The impact location is calculated directly by how much spin the ball has, assuming zero slippage during impact (chalked cue with no miscue). During a break the cue ball slides off of the 1 ball, so there is some coefficient of friction less than 1. It may not be precise. But you could tell if the 1 ball has any side spin, which would indeed be an indication of how square you hit it. But the balls behind the 1 may immediately stop the spinning before it is captured by the gyroscope. We will have to experiment.

What I already know you can do is use the DigiBall as an object ball and measure the induced spin from throw and collisions which is neat. Maybe deliberately chalking a spot on the object ball with different chalks can help us do an experiment to measure skid?
 
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nataddrho said:
This is an interesting idea I didn’t think about. The impact location is calculated directly by how much spin the ball has, assuming zero slippage during impact (chalked cue with no miscue). During a break the cue ball slides off of the 1 ball, so there is some coefficient of friction less than 1. It may not be precise. But you could tell if the 1 ball has any side spin, which would indeed be an indication of how square you hit it. But the balls behind the 1 may immediately stop the spinning before it is captured by the gyroscope. We will have to experiment.

What I already know you can do is use the DigiBall as an object ball and measure the induced spin from throw and collisions which is neat. Maybe deliberately chalking a spot on the object ball with different chalks can help us do an experiment to measure skid?
Click to expand...

"What I already know you can do is use the DigiBall as an object ball and measure the induced spin from throw and collisions which is neat."

Would it be possible to use two or more DigiBalls together to measure both sides of the collision(s) accurately? Not sure if that would really buy anything useful, but might be interesting to see. Any plans on bringing back the DigiCue Blue and tying that data in too to add even more color to the picture?
 
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djl said:
"What I already know you can do is use the DigiBall as an object ball and measure the induced spin from throw and collisions which is neat."

Would it be possible to use two or more DigiBalls together to measure both sides of the collision(s) accurately? Not sure if that would really buy anything useful, but might be interesting to see. Any plans on bringing back the DigiCue Blue and tying that data in too to add even more color to the picture?
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Yes, you can use two DigiBalls as you describe.

Yes, I will bring back the DigiCue Blue, but at this point I think my customers deserve a little bit more capability than 5 years ago. This will require new hardware (which I did complete), testing (which I haven’t done yet) and integration into the new app.

I also must, and will be, supporting legacy DigiCue Blue hardware.
 
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