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#42
08-01-2012, 06:19 PM
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I had a trackIR4 with trackclip pro, until it died after 2 years of use.
My short verdict is great tracking quality, but flimsy construction for the money asked. That's why i didn't buy a replacement set. As for freetrack, the higher FPS your camera can capture the better it gets. The problem with freetrack is that with the majority of 30 FPS cameras you have to balance it out between speed and smoothness. The faster you make it, the "jerkier" it becomes. Having a camera with a high FPS capture rate negates this. For example, if you can get a camera that captures 120Hz (same as the TrackIR cameras) it would be indistinguishable. I also tried FacetrackNoIR but i find that for the camera to work as intended the exposure needs to be increased a lot, which eats away at the camera's FPS and makes it impractical. Having tried all of them i think that the best solution nowadays would be a solid state 6-DoF sensor, the kind of things they put in model airplanes and program to work as autopilots. You can get one for $60 or so and it gives full 6DoF capability at very high accuracy: 3-axis gyroscope, 3-axis accelerometer and a magnetic sensor to act as a compass and help establish a reference point for center. The best thing with that solution is that your quality of tracking is no longer affected by how wide the camera's FoV is, how far away you are sitting from it, or how bright/dim the lights are in your room. There is no camera anymore and since the sensor is small, you can easily attach it to your headphones just like you would do with a LED or reflector assembly. It's main drawback is that you can't do away with the USB cable (unless you use batteries to power it), so it might put off some people who prefer reflectors over LED assemblies like the trackclipPro. Of course, someone needs to sit down and code the software for it but it's not too much of a big deal. There is a free, open source head tracker for Linux (IL2:1946 runs under WINE in Linux and X-plane has native Linux support, so there is a flight sim community within the Linux users) that could be adapted to do the job. The only problem with this is that it's a strictly DIY affair for sims that run under Windows. Since most games don't support a non-commercial API to interface with such devices, the guy who will code the software will have to "fool" the game into thinking it's a trackIR device. This is done by renaming your custom made .dll to the name the game expects to "find" when a trackIR set is connected. This whole idea came up when i got a buddy of mine back into flight simming. He's an experienced programmer and has his way with soldering tools, so we thought we could make our own headtracker that will be better than TrackIR at less than half the cost. He has modified Linuxtrack a bit to use with IL2:1946 and he could come up with the required software (eg, a windows port that will work with CoD and solid state 6-DoF sensors) within a couple of evenings, but we wouldn't be able to distribute it for fear of lawsuits. 
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#43
08-01-2012, 06:29 PM
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#44
08-02-2012, 11:37 PM
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My Clip Pro just quit last night, but Track IR 'support' gave me a deal in replacing it( I'm two years past warrenty,)so for less than $40.00 I'll have a new one tomorrow...Good news!
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#45
08-03-2012, 09:50 AM
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I've just been through exactly the same thing.
My Track IR 5 broke after about 2 and 1/2 years of constant use. ( flight sim addict) I was low on money and considered freetrack but I'm used to track IR5 for so long. I think I would notice the lower precision and regret not getting another 5. Only the best will do I'm afraid. I just ordered mine and I'm waiting for it to arrive. I haven't flown in maybe 6 weeks as I can't bear to fly with out tracking.... CANT WAIT to take off again! I like the gyro sensor idea ...
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#46
08-04-2012, 11:54 PM
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Anyway, that sounds like a really interesting project. I'm not a very experienced programmer, but if you guys decide to go through with it and need any help let me know.
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#47
08-05-2012, 12:49 AM
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However, for any third party tracking software to be recognized by and work with CoD or IL2:1946, it has to emulate trackIR and that is only doable in one way: by naming the .dll that the tracking software uses with the same filename as naturalpoint's .dll file. So, no matter if it's a completely different file internally, people can argue that you are using a copy of trackIR's files because they see a file named naturalpoint.dll in the program folder. It would be relatively trivial to prove to court that the files are different, but who needs the legal expenses?  Now, if part of the CoD SDK (to be released in the future) included an API that let us manipulate the in-game camera, the issue could be avoided altogether because we would be able to have our Linuxtrack port interfacing directly with CoD.
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#48
08-05-2012, 07:51 PM
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FreeTrack works great, so I do not see a need to develop another tracking software. The source code is available for anyone who needs to modify it.
You guys should try it. I have been simflying since "Aces over Europe", and using head tracking software brings simflying to a whole new level. I use a Logitech C201 Camera with the IR filter removed and a 3 point IR Cap. I will not go back to flying with a hat switch. Good Luck, RAS
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#49
08-05-2012, 09:57 PM
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#50
08-05-2012, 10:06 PM
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TrackIR 5 just works without the hassle.
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Linear Mode
