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[Flanker27]

im thinking about getting a track IR system but they all seem to be well over 100$ is there another system other then the one Microsoft sells for cheaper or is it a cornered market thing?

[Gubi]

Nope

[SAS~Storebror]

they all seem to be well over 100$

You get what you pay for.
There are other solutions trying to cover the same thing, but TrackIR is the one that comes hassle-free and does a perfect job.
Plug&play, no issues, all smooth and dandy.
And yes, it's 193 EUR here right now (which is already 17% off) - you will want to have the "pro" set with the active LED clip, trust me.


Mike

[sniperton]

What you basically need consists of three parts:
- a camera (must be bought anyway)
- an IR hat or clip (can be either a commercial product or a DIY one for less than 10 bucks)
- a software (OpenTrack is a widely used free alternative to Natural Software's TrackIR)

Here you have the full range of options:

https://www.trackhat.org/shop-cfk4

[Koi]

 I  stumbled across this on Amazon. Its a  new tracker  similar to the  Natural Point Tracker IR so
if you  don't already have a tracker IR yet take a look at this one on Amazon, look for " S18 OpenTrack Camera plus the clip". It list for $79.28 Canadian 

 If you do have one and need a replace the  NP tracker IR clip you have held together with tape then look at this it a "S18 - TrackIR  Clip".  One can use it with the  Track IR 5 or 4. As I already own the Natural Point Tracker IR and IR clip. I just bought the IR clip arm to replace the broken Natural Point one. It only cost me $39.76 Canadian including shipping which is a good deal as the  NaturalPoint clip is listed at $125.00 Canadian.

These can be ordered either as a complete set  of tracker clip and Camera or each separately.
  I ordered the  clip on Nov 17  and  received it yesterday Dec 3.
When I Compared it to the Natural Point Tracker IR Headset clip the first thing I noticed was that it is much stronger, being made of  solid heavy plastic  one quarter of an inch thick. The LEDs are attached to an arm that, unlike  the in NP Tracker IR ,dose not move and therefore is more durable and not subject to easy breaking.  Like the NP tracker clip it is  shaped like a capital letter "Y" but has a flange off the stem. It is this flange that is used to attached it to the  headsets. The flange  is a sturdy flat plastic  plate with two slots running it's length through which two thin Velcro strips are provided for use to attach it to a head set.  I found, however that a couple of wire twist ties work better and are less fiddly to use.

It is a USB plug n play devise and worked no problem first time.
So the up shot is that I think its a winner and a much better deal than the in NP one.

[K5083]

Good tip, Koi.  I just ordered one.  My passive TrackIR reflector clip generally works perfectly, but sometimes gets confused on bright mornings when strong light comes through the window.  This should cure that.

The power can be furnished by one of those cheap phone chargers rather than have the wire run to your PC and take up another USB port.

August

[SAS~Storebror]

a camera (must be bought anyway)

...A camera with removed IR filter to be precise.
Not everybody will consider himself capable of removing the IR filter of the camera which he "bought anyway", and definitely not everybody will be happy with the impact on normal webcam operation.

https://www.trackhat.org/shop-cfk4

Trackhat is a commercial competitor product to TrackIR and that site only offers products by Trackhat.
It's okay to link it, but promoting it as a site that lists "the full range of options" is a bit misleading.

As I said: You get what you pay for.
If you buy TrackIR 5, you've cut it all.
It you buy Trackhat, you've cut most of it.
If you buy something from 3rd party source (Amazon, ebay, whatever), you probably cut most of it, but you rely on the quality of someone you don't know.
If you decide to try a DIY solution, you save money in exchange for your own contribution - it depends on your abilities then.


Mike

[sniperton]

Trackhat is a commercial competitor product to TrackIR and that site only offers products by Trackhat.
It's okay to link it, but promoting it as a site that lists "the full range of options" is a bit misleading.

I linked it only as an example for a site where all needed components can be got either individually or as a complete set.

Most alternatives to TrackIR use the PS3 camera as it provides you with a resolution of 640 by 480 @ 60 FPS. For best results, the removal of the IR filter is advised, but if the LEDs are strong enough and the environment is not too bright, a piece of exposed photo film in front of the lense suffices.

The most cost-efficent way is to buy a PS3 camera (preferably with the IR filter already removed), and to make a cap or clip yourself. A cap is the easiest to do, but a clip is more handy if you use a headset.

Clip with 3D printing (https://www.stlfinder.com/3dmodels/freetrack/):



Clip without 3D printing:

[whistler]

I have been using EDTracker Pro Wired for longer than two years now. Stick the little box to your headset or cap and you are good to go. No cameras, no worries about lighting condition. 3 degrees of freedom only by default but you can get pseudo 6 degrees of freedom with some work.

TrackIR 5 is probably the best (I never tried it) but when/if my EDTracker Pro fails, I will just buy EDTracker Pro Wireless without a second thought.

[SAS~Storebror]

Probably one of the biggest caveats in threads like this is the fact that only a very few users can actually compare results with different head tracking solutions.
You pick one, you're happy with it, so you stick to it and never worry about any other solution.

I can't say anything about EDTracker or Trackhat either.
I can say something about FaceTrackNoIR compared to TrackIR 5: They don't compare. FaceTrackNoIR is crap compared to TrackIR 5 and any money and/or time you spend on it is gone to waste.


Mike

[whistler]

You can't go wrong with TrackIR 5 and it is option number 1, if you have funds, yes. No doubts. It's the "industry standard" for a reason, I am sure. I was looking for a non-camera based solution and EDTracker just 'does it' for me, as Mike hints.

Just like with any hardware, some components and peripheral will take you there just fine while other, often the more expensive the better, will excel at it. My previous DIY solution never truly worked right and I grew tired of it, therefore don't go the DIY route if you are not used to electronics/craftsmanship.

[Mick]

... X'Mas is approaching, time to add a TrackIR 5 to your wish list ...