Headtracking software recommendations
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Hi all. First off, the title should more accurately read “Headtracking HARDWARE recommendations”. I’m thinking about taking the plunge and get a head tracking system. It would make the game immensely MORE enjoyable. All of them say they are the best of course. I’d like a little feedback from user experiences so I can make an informed decision. I’m leaning towards the trackIR system. I was also looking at the Hat track system and they seem comparable in price due to the exchange rate (I’m in the US). I’m running Windows 10 and it’s not listed as being supported by the TrackIR. Also any suggestions for useful peripherals for these systems would be greatly appreciated. Alas, I do not have a PS3 eye nor anything comparable. Thanks!
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I’ve been very happy with the DelanClip, others recommend the edtracker and the UTC mk III. Avoid TrackIR if you can, IMHO it’s way overpriced while at the same time being of very shoddy build quality.
Places to start:
http://www.delanengineering.com/
https://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=159647 (sorry for the DCS link :D)
EdTracker:
Just let me know if you have any other questions. (not affiliated with any of the above vendors, simply a very happy DelanClip user)
All the best, Uwe
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+1 for EDTracker - I have the wired one, but they also have a wireless one now…which I’ll probably grab one of these days.
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Thanks for the info. I’d completely forgotten about the Delan clip and I’d never heard of EDTracker, I’ll need to take a look at both. I’d also never heard that the TrackIR is shoddy.
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Both of those devices look interesting. Neither LOOK very PnP. How easy did you guys find the setup process? The Delan clip looks like it offers 6 degrees (Yaw, pitch, roll and X, Y, Z). It APPEARS that the EDTracker only offers yaw, pitch and roll?
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TrackIR, It works on WIN10. I have been using Freetrack for years and switched to TrackIR last week. In Freetrack you have to set large smoothness to avoid jitter which will make large latency between actual head movement and camera rotation. In TrackIR you don’t have to and this low latency allows quick glance of cockpit, wingman, and tally. It brings completely different experience to the sim.
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I am satisfied with my EDtracker, but in videos I have watched, TrackIR has a better response/smoothness quality and has the capability to zoom-in/out.
Edtracker/Opentrack offers yaw, pitch, and roll control and a psuedo-zoom. If I look down far enough, the view zooms
in to see cockpit instruments larger. I use the mouse (or HOTAS) to zoom outside the cockpit. The EDtracker is cheaper
than TrackIR, only slightly less smoother, and room light/darkness is not a factor. (I play in a shared room where light levels are high).
I have to plug my HOTAS/EDtracker/Headset setup for each sim session so I have to recalibrate the EDtracker each time (20 seconds).
I believe the TrackIR Pro Clip had a terrible reputation, at least a year ago, for shoddy construction, hence the Delan clip.
Hope this helps. -
I just purchased the Delanclip and I’m very happy with it after a few weeks of use. I use the Facetracknoir software recommended by manufacturer and after a bit of initial fiddling with curves and clip orientation haven’t had to mess with setup except to set the initial face fwd view prior to each use. The tracking software runs in the background which has to be started first.
I purchased the PS3 camera at the same time and Delan pre mod it with an IR filter. Modding my own camera appeared too much like hard work considering the small extra cost to have it done correctly.
Only minor issue i have found is when i look down to read something like a checklist sometimes the camera loses track as the led lights on the clip overlap but this doesn’t happen when using the normal head moment required to look around the cockpit.
For the price i couldn’t recommend it high enough.
Edit: Forgot to add that it does roll, yaw and pitch as well as X, Y and Z so zooming just requires moving head forward and I can now lean over and see the fuel quantity indication warning lights that I could never find before.
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- one more for ED-tracker;)
It’s not exactly 6 dof, but combined with OpenTrack you can tinker a bit with the axes to good effect. I have the wired version as well and it works flawless with BMS. It’s not affected in anyway by any lightsouces as IR dependent trackers can be. Highly recommended
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I found the facetracknoir setup quite easy, I also ordered a used & modified ps eye cam from Delan when I purchased the clip.
I find scrolling / head movement very smooth with no jitter whatsoever.
All the best, Uwe
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+1 for the Delan Clip. I also got the modified PS3 cam when I ordered it. The LED lights do overlap when I look certain ways, but it is not an issue as long as you set up your curves correctly.
I was looking at the ED-tracker quite a bit before I purchased, but I am glad I went with the Delan. The 6 degrees I do use quite a bit in BMS in order to look at gauges (Hydrazine gauge for example). I have never used an ED-tracker, but it’s my understanding this is not possible with it. However, in Arma I don’t use the Z axis at all and just X and Y would be sufficient.
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Look for any clip where the LEDs don’t meet when you rotate up and down. Few clips I’ve got as samples have very low total pitch range. Right now I’m working with a clip maker for a very flat clip that won’t exhaust pitch range no matter what.
I am satisfied with my EDtracker, but in videos I have watched, TrackIR has a better response/smoothness quality and has the capability to zoom-in/out.
Edtracker/Opentrack offers yaw, pitch, and roll control and a psuedo-zoom. If I look down far enough, the view zoomsThis smoothness thing you say is interesting. Is it lagging? What happens if you turn off all filtering in opentrack?
sh
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Look for any clip where the LEDs don’t meet when you rotate up and down.
TrackIR Track Clip (non-pro).
That was the one of the reasons why I went to TrackIR. -
EDtracker hm <6DOF is a big compromise. Apart from trackIR I would recommend either DeclanClip or DIY: cheap, effective and nowadays very snappy and smooth.
For DIY it seems declanclip offers the modded cameras but the PS3-eye mod is pretty easy to do if you have an old floppy disk lying around; plenty of guides on yt.
The clip you can also make yourself in give or take an hour. For the LED-mount, follow the serial approach listed here:
http://forum.free-track.net/index.php?showtopic=1856
The leds and resistors are quite specific but are easily ordered online; for the base I used a simple hook available in just about any hardware-store:
:rofl:
Cherry on the cake but not needed necessarily: transparent fimo-clay balls over the leds to offer a bigger target for the tracker-software.
Software-wise, go for opentrack. A trackIR unit is easy and good but if you want cheap, the whole setup above won’t cost you more than 20 bucks.
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This smoothness thing you say is interesting. Is it lagging? What happens if you turn off all filtering in opentrack?
sh
I would say my Edtracker and Opentrack feels over-responsive. Don’t know how to articulate it. They are digital, I am analog. IRL, if I were to swing my helmet around to see my wingie, I would be quickly swiveling around but then smoothly slowing down as that jet came into peripheral vision, then smoothly stopping, finally focusing on that beautiful jet off my wing. Now though, I swing my head around, bam I am there, screeching to a halt on that aircraft off my wing, then focusing in on a beautiful jet. I realize, I couldn’t see the screen if I turned my head 90 degrees plus, I am just trying to communicate a subtle difference.
When I adjust for smoothness in the accela filter then I get an annoying delay at the start of the movement. (Could be I am annoyingly hypersensitive ). The Opentracker developer is working on this though and I check back for a stable release often.
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Is anyone using freetrack?
I’m starting to make one, 3 Leds, see if I can get it mounted on my headset somehow.From the videos, the software seems pretty reliable (although I believe the webcam makes the difference). Anyway, if someone is using, is it accurate enough?
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I found the facetracknoir setup quite easy, I also ordered a used & modified ps eye cam from Delan when I purchased the clip.
I find scrolling / head movement very smooth with no jitter whatsoever.
Hi Uwe,
I just downloaded facetracknoIR, I use glasses and the lamp is above and a bit behind me…
Let’s see how it works. -
I would say my Edtracker and Opentrack feels over-responsive. Don’t know how to articulate it. They are digital, I am analog. IRL, if I were to swing my helmet around to see my wingie, I would be quickly swiveling around but then smoothly slowing down as that jet came into peripheral vision, then smoothly stopping, finally focusing on that beautiful jet off my wing.
When I adjust for smoothness in the accela filter then I get an annoying delay at the start of the movement. (Could be I am annoyingly hypersensitive ). The Opentracker developer is working on this though and I check back for a stable release often.
You’re adjusting the wrong thing. leave smoothing on zero. Set sensitivity to 0.45. Set deadzone to 0.06 and leave it there. Adjust sensitivity for the right amount of jumpiness vs immediate response.
The sensitivity slider should be renamed to smoothing and smoothing itself renamed with a warning that it should stay zero for 95 percent of users.
Maybe smoothing should be removed entirely and added by a plugin.
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TrackIR Track Clip (non-pro).
That was the one of the reasons why I went to TrackIR.It does occlude on extreme positions. Also changing seat position mildly makes it start occluding. Two companies are now dealing with a mini clip of my design. It’s impossible to occlude without getting beheaded, with a decent margin of error.
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Is anyone using freetrack?
I’m starting to make one, 3 Leds, see if I can get it mounted on my headset somehow.From the videos, the software seems pretty reliable (although I believe the webcam makes the difference). Anyway, if someone is using, is it accurate enough?
See my post above, take a look at opentrack. It uses parts of the freetrack software and I can highly recommend it. The recording below uses a typical opentrack setup; quite smooth and accurate (I don’t use any sort of deadzone or something)
I guess this would probably best compare to a TIR 4 as my cam (ps3eye) will do 120fps in 320x240 but only 60fps in 640x480.