A photo finish with any webcam
Pinewood cars cross the line inches apart, and faster than anyone can really see. A camera at the finish line lets the judge slow it down, step through it one frame at a time and make the call with the whole room watching.
Free for up to 20 racers. Runs in Chrome or Edge, and keeps going when the Wi-Fi doesn't.
How it works
- Set up a camera at the finish line. A USB webcam, a capture card or a phone set up as a webcam all work. Put it low and to the side, looking straight across the line
- Pick it on the Race step. The race laptop remembers which camera you used last time
- Press Finish. Drop the gate, and as the last car crosses, the judge presses Finish or the space bar. The camera keeps rolling for a moment, then the clip is ready
- Find the finish frame. Step frame by frame and slide the yellow judging line to the finish. Every car in a frame is caught at the same instant, so whoever is ahead in that frame was ahead
- Save the result. The big screen shows the result and plays the finish in slow motion, stopping on the frame the judge picked
Getting a usable picture
Light matters more than the camera. A bright, even light over the finish line gives a sharper picture than a fancier camera in a dim gym. Put the camera at the same height as the cars, looking along the finish line rather than down at it, and tape or clamp it so a bumped table doesn't knock it out of position between heats.
Most webcams record 30 or 60 frames a second. At 60, a fast car moves a few inches from one frame to the next, but every car is frozen at the same moment in each frame, so the leader is still easy to see.
How much gets recorded
Each clip covers 2 seconds before the Finish press and 1 second after, so the lead car's crossing is in there even if the judge is a little slow on the button. You can change both in Settings, along with how fast the replay plays on the big screen.
Privacy
The video stays on the race laptop, in memory. It isn't uploaded or saved to disk. On Club Plus, one still photo of each finish can be saved for parents to see on their phones, and the race manager can delete it.
Questions
What camera do I need?
Any camera the laptop can use: a USB webcam, a capture card, or a phone set up as a webcam. Good light and a faster frame rate both help.
Which plans include the camera replay?
Camera replay is part of the Club and Club Plus plans. Saved finish photos for parents are part of Club Plus.
Is the video uploaded anywhere?
No. Clips stay on the race laptop, in memory. Only the optional finish photo, on Club Plus, is saved to the cloud.
Do we still need a judge?
Yes. The judge presses Finish and calls the order, and the replay helps with the close ones. Derby Dashboard doesn't connect to track timers yet; we're actively working on support for USB track timers, and it's coming soon.
Sign-ups are coming soon
We're getting Derby Dashboard ready for more packs and clubs. Want to hear when it opens?