Acquisition and real-time display system of golf swing video with multi-stream merging

1 . A method for capturing and merging golf swing video, comprising:

establishing connections to a plurality of cameras that are configured to record video streams of a golf swing of a user from a plurality of different viewing angles during a same time period of the golf swing;

receiving input from the user via a wearable device, wherein the input comprises detecting a golf waggle wrist movement using the wearable device;

initiating transmission of the recorded video streams from the plurality of cameras in response to the detected golf waggle wrist movement;

receiving the recorded video streams over the established connections;

identifying a start time and a stop time associated with each video stream;

combining the video streams from the plurality of different viewing angles based on their respective start and stop times to form a combined video stream, wherein the single combined video stream has a start time that is after the last start time of the recorded video streams, and an end time that is before the earliest end time of the recorded video streams, and wherein combining comprises automatically synchronizing a plurality of video keyframes of the recorded video streams based on a start and stop time of each recorded video stream to eliminate timing variation due to network lag or buffering; and

displaying the combined video stream.

2 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

establishing the connections over a local network that is accessible to the plurality of cameras.

3 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

initiating the transmission of recorded video streams in response to the input from the user into a central controller.

4 . The method of claim 3 , further comprising:

receiving the recorded video streams at the central controller.

5 . The method of claim 3 , further comprising:

identifying the start time and the stop time associated with each video stream at the central controller.

6 . The method of claim 3 , further comprising:

displaying the combined video stream on a display screen of the central controller.

7 . The method of claim 3 , further comprising:

transmitting the combined video stream from the central controller to a server on a second network.

8 . The method of claim 7 , further comprising:

overlaying annotations onto the combined video stream.

9 . The method of claim 8 , further comprising:

receiving the annotations from the user through user input at the central controller.

10 . The method of claim 8 , further comprising:

receiving the annotations at the central controller in a transmission received from the second network.

11 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the local network is a WIFI or Bluetooth network.

12 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the second network is the Internet.

13 . An apparatus, comprising:

a plurality of cameras that are configured to record video streams of a golf swing a user from a plurality of different viewing angles during a same time period of the golf swing;

a wearable device configured to detect a golf waggle wrist movement and transmit a command in response to the detected golf waggle wrist movement; and

a portable control console configured to:

establish connections to the plurality of cameras;

receive the command from the wearable device;

initiate transmission of the recorded video streams from the plurality of cameras in response to the command from the wearable device;

receive the recorded video streams over the established connections;

identify a start time and a stop time associated with each video stream;

merge combine the video streams from the plurality of different viewing angles based on their respective start and stop times to form a combined video stream, wherein the single combined video stream has a start time that is after the last start time of the recorded video streams, and an end time that is before the earliest end time of the recorded video streams, and wherein combining comprises automatically synchronizing a plurality of video keyframes of the recorded video streams based on a start and stop time of each recorded video stream to eliminate timing variations due to network lag or buffering; and

display the combined video stream.

14 . The apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the portable control console is further configured to:

establish the connections over a local network that is accessible to the plurality of cameras.

15 . The apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the portable control console is further configured to:

transmit the combined video stream to a server on a second network.

16 . The apparatus of claim 15 , wherein the portable control console is further configured to:

overlay annotations onto the combined video stream.

17 . A system to acquire and display golf swing video captured simultaneously from multiple cameras at different viewing angles, comprising:

a receiver configured to receive golf swing video streams from the multiple cameras, wherein each golf swing video stream has an associated start time and end time;

means for combining the received golf swing video streams to generate a combined video stream that has a combined start time that is after a last start time of the received golf swing video streams, and a combined end time that is before the earliest end time of the received golf swing video streams, and wherein combining comprises automatically synchronizing a plurality of video keyframes of the received golf swing video streams based on a start and stop time of each received golf swing video stream to eliminate timing variations due to network lag or buffering.

18 . The system of claim 17 , wherein the means is a console device, and wherein the means is also for displaying the combined video stream.