Lesson 20 of 21

UltraEdge — How It Works

5 min read•2/19 sections

Sound synced to slow-motion video.

How It Works: Directional stump microphones pick up any impact sound. The system aligns the amplitude spike frame-by-frame with the ultra-slow-motion (>300 fps) video of the ball passing the bat.

Reading The Trace: A spike EXACTLY as the ball passes the bat = ; a spike before or after = pad, ground, or shoe contact. The waveform's shape (sharp vs soft) helps distinguish bat from pad.

Limits: Wind, crowd noise and thigh-pad slaps produce ambiguous traces; that's why is usually paired with Hot Spot for the finest edges.

Technical Breakdown

19-section schema

Definition

(also called Real-Time Snicko) is the audio-visual system that shows whether the ball touched the bat, glove, pad or body during a delivery.

Tactical Use

Batters must trust the technology — walking after a clear is now standard etiquette even before the umpire raises the finger.