Rowing an online session

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Rowing an online session

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Information exchange

While the online session is underway, the Online Rowing Server exchanges information across the Internet between the participants' RowPro PCs to show everyone the position of all participants in real time throughout the online session.

Network considerations

Ideally, the information would be sent between participants across a very fast and reliable network.  Although the Internet is not always fast and reliable, RowPro uses the Internet for Online Rowing because it is the only practical and affordable way to enable Indoor Rower users around the world to participate in Online Rowing.

Because the Internet is what's called a "best endeavors" network, its performance is not guaranteed.  Normally, its performance is  fine for Online Rowing, however you may occasionally notice some disturbances due to network conditions on the Internet.

During the online session, one or more participants may lose their connection to the Online Rowing Server. If this happens, their Pace display will change color.

The Concept2 PM display

You'll notice on the Concept2 PM display the row itself proceeds just like any other RowPro session, except that the bottom half of your Concept2 PM screen shows four lines of position information relative to other participants.

During the online session these four lines show:

1.The lead boat

This shows the lane number and name of the boat in the lead, and the number of meters ahead of you.

2.The boat ahead of you

This shows the lane number and name of the boat ahead of you, and the number of meters ahead of you.

3.Your boat

This shows your lane number and name.

4.The boat behind you

This shows the lane number and name of the boat behind you, and the number of meters behind of you.

The 3D Display

On the RowPro 3D display you will see the following during the online session:

Lanes

There will be up to 16 lanes instead of the usual four.  The boats will be in the lanes starting from the far lane (the one nearest the shore) which is Lane 1.  You and the other participants will be in the lanes you were allocated on the Check-In and Start screen.

Participant colors

RowPro participants will be displayed in the colors they have chosen in their RowPro Profile.

Course radar

You will see a small radar panel at the bottom right of the 3D Display with a triangle representing each boat.  The center section of the course radar represents +/- 100m, and the 'slots' to the left and right of the center section represent 100-200m, 200-500m, 500-1000m, and over 1000m.

The course radar therefore covers the entire length of the course, and enables you to see at a glance where any boats are that are not currently in the main 3D view because they are out of camera range.  You may prefer to use the 2D display in future online sessions if you want to see more of the course onscreen.

Pace bar

On the right of the 3D display you will see a Pace bar that shows each participant's average pace. If a participant loses their connection to the Online Rowing Server, their Pace bar entry will change color.

Boat movement

Your boat will move in response to your rowing. The other participants' boats will move according to information about their boat position received via the Internet.

The 2D Display

On the RowPro 2D display you will see the following during the race:

Lanes

There will be 8 or 16 lanes depending on the number of participants in the online session. The boats will be in the lanes starting from the top lane which is Lane 1.  You and the other participants will be in the lanes you were allocated on the Check-In and Start screen.

Pace bar

On the right of the 2D display you will see a Pace bar that shows each participant's average pace. If a participant loses their connection to the Online Rowing Server, their Pace bar will change color.

Boat movement

Your boat will move in response to your rowing. The other participants' boats will move according to information about their boat position received via the Internet. The 2D display auto scales from 100m to 1,000m of the rowing course to keep all boats visible. If the separation between boats exceeds 1,000m the slowest boats will move off the screen.

URL of this page: https://digitalrowing.com/support/help/index.html?rowing_an_online_session.htm