Track IR Opinion Discussion

[Kenadian]

Just a heads up to those who use TrackIR coming from Tech at NaturalPoint.

The TrackIR Camera can become rather warm with extended periods of use. Habitually I've had TrackIR start with Windows and running in the background continually.

Given the high amount of light in my apartment (I face due south) the LED's would flicker with light bouncing off the walls.

This means that your camera is active the entire time the Software is loaded and my guess is this can drastically decrease it's life expectancy.

From this day forward I won't allow the Software to load with Windows, I'll turn it off and on when I'm using a game that supports it's usage.

 

[Daunt]

Honestly, if you've not tried, do not knock.

Gah. This is what got us into this in the first place. I never knocked it. I knocked the company behind it, their policies regarding it, and the price for it. As I've said multiple times already, I'm 100% positive without trying it that it is effective at what it does.

Do other things do the same thing for less money? I am sure it is not as good as trackir... good enough? I think so.

 

[ElektroVodka]

It's a selfie.

Bullshit, everyone knows i don't have a beard.

 

[little P]

I bought an EDTracker for next to nothing that gave me head tracking (albeit tethered), but only left/right, up/down and roll. No cameras, worked perfectly.

I have owned and used a Track IR as well (until it broke out of warranty) so I can objectively comment.











I've forgotten what I was talking about.

 

[little P]

But seriously folks.

Track IR is fantastic and it is great to be able to lean every which way like a demented llama with a recently broken neck BUT... it is very expensive. However, if you have the dosh and want to spend it on that why not. The only reason I didn't get another one when it broke was due to me holding out for the Rift. I got myself an EDTracker and that worked great. I got a DK2 rift and promptly sold it with no loss. It is impressive, but has some way to go before I'd buy into that as my primary way of head tracking/3D immersive experience(TM)

So, as someone who has owned and used indie tech, Track IR and Oculus Rift my conclusion is that I would have the Rift as a luxury - an every now and then fully immersive experience, and have an EDtracker for head tracking. I'd have Track IR if a Rift wasn't on the shopping list.

 

[mondo]

Can EDTracker do 6DoF?

 

[ElektroVodka]

Can EDTracker do 6DoF?

It doesn't.

However, when looking for that i found an alternative to TIR, it's cheap, can support 3 and 6 DoF(depends on your wishes) fairly easy to get and can be a lot of fun if you know how to solder.

http://www.free-track.net/english/freetrack/qu-est-ce-que-c-est.php

 

[Kenadian]

I'm awaiting confirmation on whether or not there was any defects in my TrackIR via it's Serial# so I'll update once I know.

I will state though that given the emergence of alternate technologies in this regard I'm a bit put off by the fact there is no rebate of any kind offered to those who've experienced hardware failure. TrackIR is not a price sensitive solution initially but purchasing it twice due to failure is too much to expect.

One could argue that the same can be said of most Hardware which is a completely valid point but typically the Computer Hardware prone to failure is Hardware you know runs that risk (Video Cards, Motherboards, Hard Drives, etc.).

With TracIR I never considered for a moment that the camera could go south and as such left it running every moment my computer was up.

The benefit of hindsight affords me the knowledge that is a risky proposition indeed however it doesn't help my wallet.

I'll likely have to purchase a new unit but I will do so grudgingly and it will be apparent every time someone asks me about TrackIR on Twitch (which is probably 10 - 15% of the time).

Up until now I've been a stout supporter and will continue to sing their praises in both usefulness and Tech Support but will now add a note of caution that it can fail.

I don't know if anyone's actually purchased a TrackIR unit via my recommendations but I know of at least a few iRacers who've tried it ingame due to my Twitch Streams and willingness to share profiles.

Word of mouth and a very small rebate from dslyecxi.com is what got me into TrackIR in the first place, that and better control over view in IL2 Forgotten Battles.

Now if someone were to ask me if TrackIR is worth it I'd say it's as good as (if not better than) triple monitors however I recommend checking the alternatives as well due to cost and potential failure.

I'm a bit bummed out at the moment, f3ck :icon_confused:

 

[little P]

No like I said only left/right, up/down. No leaning in etc. That project looks interesting Quick. If I was bored I'd give it a go, as it is I'm so bloody busy all the time it's all I can do to get an hour of gaming in! :icon_neutral:

 

[ElektroVodka]

No like I said only left/right, up/down. No leaning in etc. That project looks interesting Quick. If I was bored I'd give it a go, as it is I'm so bloody busy all the time it's all I can do to get an hour of gaming in! :icon_neutral:

I'll keep you posted if i start with the project, and if succesfull i could probably build another one.

It's only the leds that require soldering, i'm pretty sure every nitwit can remove the ir filter from a ps3 eye camera and replace it with some fine tuned floppy drive intestines.

The other thing is a power source, i don't want another wire dangling next to the headphone wire that is already there.

The only option i have is to tie the 2 wires together with ty-raps or whutever and make it 1 cable.

Leaves another question tho, what am i going to use as a power supply.
I know the IR leds are low power so it should be possible to just solder a usb plug on the wire and use the pc as a power source.

Plenty stuff to figure out, and i guess that is the downside of DIY.... you want to perfect it.

 

[Kenadian]

Just a small update on my situation but a substantial one I think.

In speaking with Tech Support they've offered me a 20% discount in the form of $30 off a new unit. Of course I'd much rather not have to purchase it again but the fact NaturalPoint is willing to do this speaks volumes to me.

You're out of luck typically with any product out of warranty so this fact alone puts them well ahead of most companies I've ever dealt with.