Tuesday 12 October 2021

New Pivo Pod X - Kickstarter Deal

If you have been considering getting a Pivo to video your rides, here's your chance for a deal!

Pivo just released a pre-order on Kickstarter for their new Pivo Pod X. They claim that it is smoother than their other versions, and due to a nifty ball mount for your phone, is able to track up-and-down, not just side-to-side.



They are offering Early Bird funding specials that amount to 49% off the retail price. That's a pretty sweet deal! But you will have to act fast - the Early Bird deals will expire soon!

They're only a couple of hours into the release on Kickstarter and just a few thousand below their funding goal. Current expected shipping date is January, 2022. Ask Santa to do his shopping early!


Click here to find it on Kickstarter. 

Is the Pivo right for you? Here are a few things to know about it to help you decide.

  • It tracks you via an app on your smartphone. For horses, it looks for a rectangular shape (the body of the horse). It is not able to differentiate between different rectangle shapes, thus, if there is more than one horse in the ring, it will follow the most recent one that passes the camera (the last rectangle shape that it saw), and you might end up with video of every horse in the ring except yours. (You just need to ride past it again to get it to pick you back up.)
  • It needs to constantly see the shape in order to maintain tracking. I've had issues with it losing me behind a pile of jump standards. Also, it has a hard time when the light changes from bright to dark, as when I pass an open overhead door when riding inside during a summer day. If you ride a dark horse in a dark arena, you might have problems.
  • Due to the processing power that the app requires, it will only work with newer, higher end phones. You can find a list of approved phones on their website.
  • The zoom is only as good as the zoom on your phone. Same for video quality, although most phones these days can produce amazing video.
  • Whenever your phone does a system update, there is a chance that it will affect the app and give you problems when you try to record video. The developers are very good at releasing fixes, but it can take a few weeks. 
  • You will need a tripod to go with it.
I quite like my Pivo Pod, and as long as you know its limitations (don't plan on videoing your ride during a group lesson)  I think it does a really good job. This new version might just be coming my way in the new year (I'm at home with a head cold. Online shopping is inevitable.)

4 comments:

  1. I love the idea of a pivo but the tech just isn’t there yet to work for me unless they develop a pairing beacon like some other more $$ options…

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    1. It definitely has some limitations, but that's the trade-off for the much lower price. Pivo has said many times that their product will not be developed to have a wearable tracker system - usually in response to someone who didn't do their research before getting a Pivo.
      I've had many frustrating problems with my much more expensive Pixio. They each have their strengths and weaknesses.

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  2. I already signed up for one! I actually lost my pivo in a move (whoops) and this kinda popped up at just the right moment. I'm excited, I miss having media of my rides, especially seeing as I ride alone like 90% of the time and no one is around to video.

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    Replies
    1. Hopefully this one works just as well (if not better) than the previous versions. If so, I'll sell my Pivo silver.

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