This Technology Will Change WCA Competitions Forever

We have used the classic Speedstacks timer display for the entire history of the WCA, and there has been a new technology that replaced the Speedstacks display. But recently, people from California created a new timer display system that has many new exciting features that could reshape how WCA competitions are ran entirely in the future. This video dives into the specifics of this technology and my thoughts of its potential in the cubing community.
HUGE thanks to @MitchellLane For letting me use several clips and footages for this video!
Reference Videos:
• TimeBase Prototype Sho... - TimeBase
• Introduction to TimeBase - Mitchell Lane
• POV: You Receive The W... - TZ Cubes
kzbin.infou4MKzsYp... - CubersLive
Partial Inspiration:
• I tried using AI. It s... - Tom Scott
TimeBase QnAs:
bit.ly/3Hy8ARX
Time Stamps:
0:00 Intro
1:41 Part I: TimeBase
5:31 Part II: The Competition Experience
8:05 Outro
Music used in this video(in order):
Chill City Nights - Chill Hip Hop
Tal Tal Heights - Mikel & Gamechops
Astronaut in a Submarine - e s c p
Dark World - Mikel & Gamechops
Thank you for watching!

[@marcdullemond1295]

One thing I'd find slightly annoying as a judge: you still have to call 8 and 12 seconds. But the timer counts down now instead of up. So you have to call "8 seconds" while it says 7 seconds and "12 seconds" at 3 seconds. Now I'm not entirely sure (maybe the backside of the display does count up?) But if it is only counting down that would be very annoying imo

[@TriCubing]

I completely forgot to address this! The back of the display where the judge looks at is a stopwatch and not a countdown, so they can say "8 sec." when the stopwatch reaches 8 seconds. However the inspection time that shows on the front of the display(where spectators can see it) is a countdown.

[@marcdullemond1295]

@@TriCubing that makes perfect sense, thanks for the clarification!

[@z4cubing170]

how to buy time base ?@@TriCubing

[@cubingslander]

@@z4cubing170 I don’t think it’s available for consumer purchase at this time

[@z4cubing170]

oh thanks@@cubingslander

[@justagirlwhocubes]

for my world record that is exactly what happened. someone forgot to scan the tag and i needed to have some sort of time to replace it with. calvin just said that i could just create a random time and i just so happened to get a world record for 5 minutes until i started my next solve. i can proudly say i was the 3x3 world record holder for 5 min.

[@Mandotransformers.]

Lol😂

[@SGD2718]

Will you get a certificate lol

[@tjkelly9051]

@@SGD2718 I can make one if you want one lol

[@tjkelly9051]

The reason for having so may delegates (5:41) is because all of the local delegates wanted to come by and watch the first timebase comp. And because “listed” delegates usually get reimbursement on travel expenses when the venue prices are low enough. A lot of people from socal and further came out.

[@project_account6248]

9:34 I thought we were gonna see a "This video was sponsored by TimeBase"

[@malenky4057]

Not sure if it's planned, but if the timers could feed into a system that could be used for a streaming overlay that would be amazing. The world championships showed that a professionally produced stream can be really entertaining and anything that helps the production value and efficiency is great.

[@gabrielsianez]

this is one of the most well put together videos about cubing i’ve seen it’s so clean good job

[@TZ_Cubes]

Technology like time base is definitely overdue but it would absolutely help a lot with keeping competitions on schedule. Also this is definitely the most in detail video about time base so far!

[@VicJang]

I was in SacCubing two weeks ago (Jan 2024) and they had black and white stations where the white ones utilizes TimeBase. My first solve at the TB station took 5 minutes to begin because the display kept saying missing scramble and invalid ID. After these problems were resolved, it went smoothly and it does feel pretty cool to “sign” using the NFC tag. We’ve been stock with speedstacks display for long enough (20 years!), and it’s about time for an upgrade! Looking forward to seeing it more in competitions.

[@567cuber7]

Nope, they’re not officially required. Just preferred, and majorly standard. But very cool vid. This would help cubing develop even further, and help with the frustration over timer malfunctions. Thanks for the vid!

[@TriCubing]

Yup, I realized that after recording the voiceover and the timeline was a little too tricky to re-record so i put a clarification message on the screen instead :p

[@PugCuber]

thank you for this video! it was really fascinating seeing the demo that Calvin and Dan did during their Nats seminar, and I’m super excited to hopefully try this out one day!

[@curiousNic]

Excellent summary, you covered everything I wanted to know and more. I think this is a groundbreaking innovation the cubing world needs and will benefit a lot from.

[@EnjoyCubing]

This is awesome! Thanks for a great video. Looking forward to follow the implementation of Timebase! ☺️

[@CuberCaiden]

I am so excited to use these in competition, and when I saw you made a video on it, I knew I had to watch 😂

[@Bhargav7771]

Thank you for the video and the details explanation. This looks amazing. I had proposed something similar 2 years back but we could never implement. I've been competing since 2011 and this makes me feel very excited! Looking forward to this.

[@supersimplecuber]

Glad my video of max siauw's wr was in here, I love your videos btw

[@jay.tres.]

Great video, very informative! Maybe in the early days, if the system were to be implemented widely, a combination approach of scorecard and time base could work. It would take a little extra time, but it would also provide a written back up in case something were to go wrong. Maybe further down the line, having something like an NFC WCA cuber card (in the long term) would mean organizers wouldn’t have to make new NFC tags every time for everyone, just for new competitors until their official WCA cuber card arrived. And obviously NFC tags could be used as back ups in case someone forgot theirs. Either way, I think the system shows great promise.

[@TheBookDoctor]

Hey! I got an unexpected cameo in your video on the Max Siauw solve! 😂😂

[@VasoCubes]

This is a really cool timer! 10+ minutes is cool. But the scanning is really cool!! I hope I see this at my next competition!

[@nimrod06]

Tech is not the problem, the problem is if WCA can go through the structural friction to actually implement it.

[@Flash_Cubing]

I'm quite excited about this. It saves so much time putting in scores and you just get it INSTANTLY!!!

[@leoblock8061]

Wow! Thank you for the news.

[@user-zj4tg3jf4e]

this is awesome, gz to the creators!

[@rishideepak-speedcuber]

Every TriCubing video is amazing, I can't wait for this vid

[@Jupiterninja95]

This looks amazing!!

[@andrewwatkins4852]

Cool now I’m looking forward to my next competition

[@iploman]

we had something like this years ago in Poland. The results went to local DB and display for audience. But it wasnt further developed due to cost and hardware. Anyway good job :)

[@Rahul-Bollini]

Lets go I made it into a TriCubing vid

[@DavidvanDeijk]

very interesting, hope that they do timebase also in my country

[@xAntisune]

This truly is a game changer. Cant wait to use this system in the future :) Are the timebase timers able to update their software so that they can keep up? Or will new models have to be released to accommodate new rules, etc? They might also have to improve the nfc functionality because it seemed like a struggle in the clips shown 😅

[@TriCubing]

They plan to import updates into displays using a computer and a USB cable. You can read more and see common questions in the TimeBase Q&As document in the link in the description!(including your question at the bottom)

[@xAntisune]

@@TriCubing thanks so much! Love the video, very well put together jam packed with information and engaging insights. Well done 👍

[@TWCubed]

i already know that this is gonna be a banger

[@liamgrant858]

Great video! The biggest pro in my opinon is that its reset proof. That has been a huge issue for a long time.

[@veert5553]

I actually just used one yesterday and it was amazing

[@magentawolf27yt22]

The seminar at Nats about this was amazing

[@neeleshnatoo3931]

awsome video

[@CL_Cubiks]

Is so cool,i can't believe technology have come so far.

[@Cloud_Effect]

10/10 Content Bro

[@HalianTheProtogen]

I'd love to have something this comprehensive for Magic: The Gathering tournaments, especially since everyone potentially has a chess clock in their pocket.

[@shinsano7389]

Thanks!

[@TGSpeedcubing]

I hope TimeBase will be at comps in my area soon

[@NSWWendland]

nice vid!

[@INaboMisticoI]

That is awesome. I love it

[@hamster14255]

5:18 the last name of the left scrambler -XD

[@dexspits7869]

Hoping that the inspection time color is different like yellow or blue

[@VertiumGaming]

What if the judge takes to long to end the inspection timer and gives you a +2 when in reality you stayed within the 15 second limit.

[@TriCubing]

The inspection stopwatch will stop when the competitor starts the timer, so if they do go over 15s it’s their fault

[@aacubing982]

lol i was in this video during the max siauw wr part and i know one of your judges, caleb

[@br114]

Bro thats beautiful

[@VertiumGaming]

Even though ive never competed, this looks cool. But its definitely going to make my first comp more confusing

[@Sulloire]

Umm do you know when they will use that in Ireland? They look cool

[@colinstorm2892]

Oh this is genious

[@aldenling3549]

They need to watch this video

[@KPsucksatcfop1567]

This year will be wca 20th anniversary And let’s see if anything interesting happens

[@kaydenpark233]

you know this is a really good invention cause now the delegates dont need to upload the results by looking at the score card and typing it which takes a while but im wondering if there will be a ai scrambling robot that scrambles for you like the gan robot to prevent misscrambles

[@JasperKloek]

Robots could be used in comps for 3x3. But for most puzzles, no robot has yet been developed.

[@OxzowachiAlt]

the title and thumbnail change was a good move

[@TriCubing]

ayy thanks man :) The video got 3x more views immediately after changing those! (I'm mastering the youtube algorithm haha)

[@OxzowachiAlt]

@@TriCubing haha yeah I was included in those new views, it got recommended to me twice and I only clicked after the changes lol

[@LouisCubingChannel]

wow amazing

[@Damjes]

Can i use amiibo instead of name tags?

[@anderscubes]

I agree but what if the competitor turns the cube in inspection and you wouldn't know because you're looking at the countdown on the dispel

[@TriCubing]

You don't need to look at the back of the display the entire inspection period, you can keep an eye on the competitor and peek at the stopwatch after say 6 seconds to prepare to say "8 seconds". Even if that was a problem, that also applies to normal stopwatches too and that has no problems.

[@anderscubes]

alright thanks@@TriCubing

[@anderscubes]

also love your vids btw@@TriCubing

[@Randomvr9]

I have been watching you since December of 2022

[@SebLol]

good job mr tsukasa

[@LiamHighducheck]

This is hype

[@ElFayyad]

are you a minecraft player cuz i saw in one of your videos you got a Bloody A70?

[@TriCubing]

former bridger :)

[@theokurpierz]

this is so exciting! is there any way to support this financially?

[@ThatCubeKidd]

Registration fees.

[@TriCubing]

You can look at the TimeBase Q&As link(in the description) and there should be something about supporting it

[@tyronium2]

yo timebase and i have the same initials lol (TB)

[@crispygyoza9268]

I feel like the OK button is way too close to the DNF button. There's gonna be a lot of cases where people accidentally push DNF before pushing OK.

[@TWCubed]

you can click the DNF button again to reset it back to the original time

[@ScottTheLad]

@@TWCubed A long button press for DNF should undo it.

[@MichalHalczuk]

I'm sorry to be a buzzkill here, but this *will not* change how *WCA* competitions are run. Similar technology was presented by Polish team in 2012 (12 years ago!) - it was called OpenCubeWare. It actually worked, and we had enough of transceivers to run competitions with it, which worked. OCW didn't use entire custom displays, which meant it was much cheaper. What did WCA do with it, after being in tests for way more than a year? Nothing. WCA is non-profit, and there is no care for that organization to make such improvements, because why? Despite having modern technology and scale, WCA doesn't have their own timer, which would cost

[@AdventureCJ]

lessss goooooo I can actually have a chance againts the co founder of wca

[@TheNerdyCube]

I like cube.

[@colesmith7509]

Speed Stacks is struggling enough 😭

[@cringeSpeedrunner]

It’s good, but a little complicated for my liking

[@Yomaster74]

The only thing I’m not liking is the inspection part having a countdown is weird and also the judge should be looking at the competitor to make sure they’re not cheating not just the time and having it facing the opposite way does not help

[@TriCubing]

First off, the countdown inspection only applies to the front of the display(I forgot to mention this in the video). That means that the back of the display shows a stopwatch instead of a countdown. Also, making sure the competitor isn't cheating shouldn't become a problem because you don't have to be looking at the display the entire inspection period. You can just peek at the display after say 6 seconds to prepare to call out "8 seconds", and so on. Even if that still sounds like a problem, keep in mind that what you said here also applies to normal stopwatches, and stopwatches don't cause any major problems like cheating.

[@blok420]

This is just too much. I want my speedstacks display timer. I am there to solve not to go to a frickin airplane

[@cheeseparis1]

The display is unpleasant: numbers are slanted, but not the colons. Please change it for the final product.

[@Tacosmcpappyhead]

Applebees

[@ImDetonator_]

get a pop filter for your mic :)

[@TriCubing]

you're right, I always get those and it's annoying for me and probably the viewers

[@user-tz5so9pb6x]

This is sooooooooo coooooool!!! 👇

[@FedoranCubing]

Tsukasa is so Goated he coined the term “scorecardless” 👏👏👏

[@esoteridactyl]

Idk how this got recommended to me. Great job, but I would love for you to speak a bit slower. I put it on 0.75X and it felt about right.

[@TriCubing]

thanks for the feedback!

[@CompanionCube]

they got a new display, but they are still using that ugly ahh timer

[@cubestur8157]

that actually sounds kinda loitless, Dumb even... the official recorded time is based on what the individual cuber's timer on the mat says a solve was accomplished in... and the only person who actually needs to know how much inspection time has passed is each individual judge... and any penalties are simple addition(s) of whole seconds to the time the timer on the mat shows ... How about they just come up with a display setup that works as well or better than SpeedStacks and which costs a lot less? [cue the theme from DRAGNET]':

[@kris10_cubing]

i was at this comp ‼️