A Virtual World (Pivo!)

Over the weekend, I tried to re-watch the Sandra Bullock movie, The Net, but it just didn't ring true enough for me to finish it. It's from 1995, so the techno-jargon was more than a little dated. If you haven't seen it, Bullock's character, Angela Bennett, stumbles onto a conspiracy. She's a hacker, so to prevent her from revealing what she has discovered, her identity is erased. Since she works from home and has no friends in real life, no one believes she is who she says she is. You can figure out what happens next.

Some of the movie is pretty prophetic though. There is a scene where she orders a pizza online - that was not even a possibility back in 1995 and probably not even available in 2005. Like Angela, I find that I am living more and more in a virtual world. As we did last year, my students are once again enrolled in my virtual classroom. While I have briefly met some of them, our relationship is being nurtured through the chat feature in Google Meet/Zoom, the Canvas Inbox (a type of email), and Parent Square (a Facebook-like interface).

I've mentioned before that I am the vice-chairperson for the Tehachapi Mountain Chapter of the California Dressage Society, my USDF Group Member Organization. We now run our monthly meetings in-person for those who choose to attend and virtually via Zoom for those members who either don't live nearby (me) or who don't want to meet in person.

Over the weekend, Sean Cunningham, owner and trainer at STC Dressage, gave me another lesson virtually. While we've tried before, this time, it went perfectly. For our first attempt at using Pivo Meet, we did it at STC Dressage during an in-person lesson just so we could trouble shoot. For the second attempt, my iPhone over-heated before the lesson really even got going, so we tried again the next day. That worked for most of an hour, but again, my iPhone over-heated.

I bought a new phone, and we scheduled another lesson. The Friday night before, I got a notification that I was nearly out of data, so I had to cancel the lesson. It took a full week, but I was finally able to upgrade to a plan with unlimited data, so Sean and I agreed to meet virtually on Saturday morning. With a brand new iPhone 12 Pro, unlimited data, and an umbrella to keep my phone from over-heating, I was ready.

To my relief, everything worked perfectly! For those who may be considering doing virtual lessons, here's a run down on what you'll need.

Materials:

• ​The most up-to-date phone you can afford. Check with Pivo to see if your smart phone is supported.
• Wireless ear buds. I went with the Powerbeats High-Performance Wireless Earbuds - $79.97 for black (other colors are pricier). These babies have amazing sound and range. My Pivo is set up outside of the ring at the A end of the arena, and the Powerbeats have never once lost the connection or had an issue with the quality of sound.
• Pivo Pod Silver - I bought the faster version because I wanted the best possibility for success.
• Some kind of tripod. I use a small tripod with bendable legs so that I can either attach it to the fence or stand it on something outside of the arena.
• Umbrella to shade the phone and the Pivo Pod from the heat (rain in the winter).
• Pivo Meet App - it's free, and only the person setting up the Meet needs the app.
  
• A laptop or other device; the trainer, or whoever is watching, doesn't need the app.

Pivo on a tripod on a muck bucket on a tree stump. It woks!

Launching a Pivo Meet:

It helps to have some experience launching virtual meetings, but if you're brand new to Zoom-like calls, you'll be able to figure it out.

• Pair the ear buds with your phone.
• I don't put my phone on Do Not Disturb because I need to hear Sean calling in case things go sideways. While I heard notifications during the Meet, the Meet itself was unaffected by the incoming notifications.
• Turn the Pivo Pod on.
• Launch the Pivo Meet app.
• Connect to Pivo.
• Once connected, be sure to select Guest Control. This allows your trainer to move the Pivo if it loses you.
• You can either start the call and then copy the Google Meet link to share, or you can share the Google Meet link from the first screen by hitting the three dot triangle at the top and sharing the link in an email.
• Either way you choose to share will work. I like to share before I launch the call.
• Once the meeting link has been shared, you can adjust your settings by swiping left: Auto Tracking (horse), On-Screen Position (center), Tracking Speed (fast), Auto Zoom (on), Predictive Follow (off), Target Exposure (on).
• Change the camera to the front camera(s) (not the selfie camera).
• Wait for the trainer to open the link.
• If you close this Pivo Meet, the old link doesn't work. You will need to generate and share a new link.
• End the Meet by clicking the X.

At the end of the lesson (more on that in a day or two), Sean and I discussed the technology. We both felt like the iPhone 12 Pro gave us a better experience than we had with the iPhone 7 Plus. The video and audio worked seamlessly. We didn't have the delay that we had seen and heard with my old phone. Our communication felt instant and we could both hear without any delay or lag time. From Sean's end, he reported that the Pivo tracked me perfectly without losing me once. I couldn't see the video of course, so I don't know how well he could actually see me, but he didn't have any complaints.

That evening, I checked my data usage. Since the new plan had only gone into effect on Friday evening, I was able to see approximately how much data the Pivo Meet took. My hour long Pivo Meet used 1GB of data. My old plan was for 5 GB of data, so it's clear that plan had to go. If you're planning on doing Pivo Meet lessons, check into how much data your plan allows.

Overall, Pivo Meet is going to save me a ton of money. Diesel is currently $4.00 a gallon, and at 13 miles per gallon, that comes to $80 in diesel for each lesson. The Pivo itself cost $170 (case, remote, and extender thing) and the Powerbeats were another $80. I also bought a tripod for $24. I did buy a new phone and a pricier data plan, but I would have done that anyway. I've had the Pivo Pod for nearly a year and used it long before I even thought of doing a virtual lesson. Even so, my expenses come to $275. I've taken two virtual lessons that didn't require any traveling or diesel, and after the next lesson or two, what I've invested in equipment will pay for itself. ​

If you're thinking of giving Pivo meet a try, my advice is to go for it!