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system requirements for ErgVideo virtual cycling software

an internet connection is required

We support only the latest release of ErgVideo software currently available in your account page. For this version (as with versions since 4.5), an internet connection is required. Streaming bitrates for highest-quality are about 5 Megabits/sec. When you have a slower connection to your internet provider, or very busy links that throttle your own bandwidth below 5Mbps (such as when others are drawing demand for internet resources), lower picture-quality is served automatically to keep your workout in-sync.

Users with legacy-licensed ErgVideos installed can operate for several days without an internet connection. A reduced set of features and operations will be available. Eventually you'll have to connect when the time-out expires.

 

wi-fi is fine, but wired solves problems

If your interent connection from your home to your provider is sufficiently fast (as above), your in-home wifi will be too, provided that the signal is strong and there is no interference. If your general experience with your home wi-fi connection is that it is often slow or interrupted, or you-tube videos are slow to buffer and load, you have problems that we can't magically resolve for you. We see many places with a wi-fi node in the basement and a user's office 2 floors away. Remember too, that wireless ANT+ and BTLE devices use the same unlicensed consumer-frequency band as wi-fi, and they can interfere with each other under some configurations.

To eliminate the effect of weak signals,possibility of interference, or random wi-fi disconnects, you should wire your PC to your router or modem with ethernet cable.

 

home user PC requirements

The home subscriptions support up to 3 riders.
Below looks like a lot to digest, but it's safe to say that a PC manufactured and sold in the last 4 years that has Windows 10 and ISN'T marketed as a netbook, and doesn't have a lousy ATOM cpu, will likely work in a home setting because today every device needs to do video really well.

CPU and Operating system: Windows 10 is required. Windows 8,7,Vista, XP, and RT are not supported. Windows 10S machines will need be converted to regular Windows 10. It's simple.

  • Multi-core CPU, 2GHz or more, Core2Duo or higher, with minimum HD4000 integrated graphics, or a discrete graphics system. CPUs earlier than or below Core i3 generation 3 requires discrete graphics cards, 1GB minimum dedicated video memory.
  • 2GByte of system memory.
  • Windows Media Player 11 or higher must be installed (default is WMP 12 in Windows 7 and 8) to play licensed, locally stored ErgVideos. Not required for subscriptions-only use.
  • .NET framework 4.6.1 or higher must be installed. A properly updated and maintained Win 7, 8, or 10 will have this (or higher) installed.
  • Anywhere from 3 to 16GB of hard disk space per video (for legacy, licensed ErgVideos installed. Not required for subscription use).

Graphics System:

  • A video subsystem with Windows WDDM driver support, DirectX10 or higher is required. High Definition video capable, 256MB video RAM minimum. These will generally be marked as "Win 10/8/7/Vista compatible".
  • For integrated graphics, look for HD4000 or higher.
  • Display Resolution: minimum 1024x768 pixels, using normal font size. Using larger font sizes will scale the ErgVideo windows and your display will require more pixel count.

Interfaces

 

studio requirements

Do not try to hyper-economize on a piece of equipment critical to your business! We don't recommend laptops for any studio applications. Generally speaking, their multi-screen video performance is often poor, and they are more likely to fail because they are transported and otherwise abused.

Get a powerful Windows 10 64-bit desktop system with a Core i5 or better, 4GB RAM. This is pretty common with any PC shipped with 64-bit. If you expect 12 or more riders on 1 system, spare no expense in getting best, fastest CPU available. Pick an EXCELLENT video card with minimum 1GB memory (because you will use multiple, hi-resolution screens) and buy a reasonably new model. You will need two video outputs at least. We also recommend a battery back-up so power-outages do not tear down your sessions or lose data.

You need only a single ANT+ stick to support up to 24 riders and their various personal ANT+ devices. It must, however, be located within range of everyone, and without obstructions. Read more here.

mac users:

ErgVideo works correctly in the Windows 10 environment, given correct hardware, performance capacity, and drivers. We have many Mac customers who run Windows under Bootcamp and run ErgVideo completely problem-free. Less successful are those who try VMware, Parallels or other virtualization for Windows packages. We sincerely do not recommend them.  We won't enage or help you with your experimentation with any such products, nor can we help you debug any problems you may have running Windows on your Mac. You will have to deal with Apple for that, they claim it works, so they can support you. Don't even try it with less than Core2Duo CPU's.  We'll only provide support for ErgVideo itself, working inside the Windows 'boundary'. We have indeed seen issues with Apple in video card drivers for some cards running under Mac + Windows.  We don't recommend Mac's to be used in studio multi-rider environments.

 

ANT+ compatibility and trainer firmware

ErgVideo is compatible with ANT+ FE-C trainers, heart rate monitors, speed sensors, cadence sensors, speed and cadence sensors, as well as power meters (PWR type). Our ANT+ certification for all device profiles shown is complete.

            

Update your trainer firmware. Most manufacturers have stabilized on their ANT+ protocols and FE-C compatibility, but if you think something isn't working quite right, a first thing to do is check firmware. Wahoo kickrs and Snap need at least version 1.3.32, which is really old. You should be ashamed if you have this or below. Get on it!