Is there any point in paying for Track IR, rather than using regular webcam and downloading one of the other softwares for free/cheaper? Any experiences and opinnions about this type of tech in racing sims or just in general would be much appreciated.
I am using FreeTrack which works like a charm for me. I also modded an old webcam by removing the IR filter and inserting a piece of disk form a floppy disk. So it can only see IR light. I then ordered some simple IR leds (4) and some resistors to make the cap/headphone mod. Really simple and cost me just a few euro's. http://www.free-track.net/english/ I have no experience with other software however. But I can't seem to come up with a reason to pay for such a product since the free alternatives work perfectly for me.
FaceTrackNoIR work really well. Now, integrated solution will eat less fps as a lot of management are made inside the electronic module, and not by the computer cpu. So if you have an enough powerful machine you can use a free webcam solution, and it's fine. Saying that, I didn't notice a lot of fps lost when I used the freeware, even on my previous laptop (dual core 2,80). So my advice will be: try the free solution first
Unfortunatly I dont have a wheel atm, but I will try to fiddle around with the free ones and see how they work. I have heard that there is random issues with some of the free ones, lag, detection problems, etc... and some say that they havent had any problems what so ever. I guess it could be that the equipment, user and circumstances causes most of those problems. I use 42" tv as close as I can get it with the wheel in the middle, and I'd like to bring more easy access to the mirrors, and rest of the cockpit view.
I would suggest that what ever you try that you make sure there is no light source beside or behind you that might throw off the IR that the camera is looking for. The random light is usually the main reason that there are any issues, and you will see it even with TrackIR.
Also, with faceTrackNoIR I changed my webcam setting to be as low resolution and color depth I can reach to speed up refresh of the webcam grab. It improved the grab fluency and eat less fps. This software don't need to get your face as high resolution to work pretty fine. And BTW, you don't need any game, wheel or whatever other software to run FaceTrackNoIR: just launching it and you'll see your face and will be able to test it.
I highly recommend trying free solutions first. FaceTrackNoIR does have some lag and lack of precision, but it is easy to set up, all you need is a webcam and a well-lit face. Here are some videos of it working in rFactor2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FL0wFCwLtI http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzRv2tEsr38 FreeTrack looks awesome and will be more precise. I must try it soon.
I tried last summer: * facetracknoir: too much lag (imho). detection didnt always work. if detection lost you can end to look somewhere at race. -> didnt work for me. * freetrack: selfmade cap with three leds. detection works good. less lag. but implemented trackir protocoll doesnt work with rf2 -> doesnt work with rfactor2 * trackir 5: works out of the box. using the cap clip. detection works very good. good resolution. very low lag. -> works great with rfactor2
Have no experience of the free ones but have seen a number of videos with people using them. I have owned TrackIR4 for a number of years. In my experience you need to be able to track accurately and use as little smoothing as possible. When I look at facetrack, it seems very hit and miss. Turning your head 10º doesn't seem to yield the same results in game each time. Using a 'flat' face track seems inherently flawed. The versions that use a modified webcam and IR LEDs will be better. TrackIR will be better again. I love my TrackIR and when/if it dies I shall get another. I recently hooked up a kinda triple screen systemn with SoftTH and thought head tracking would be obsolete but it works even better! One issue some people have with head tracking is moving your head one way and keeping your eyes on the screen. (effectively moving your eyes in the opposite direction). With three screens this goes away. I can move my head to look at the side monitor and have trackir multiply the movement. ie I look 40º to the right to my right side monitor but the the view I see in that monitor can be as far to the right as I want. (or even behind) . This is reproduced accurately each time I do it. Glancing to the side into corners is quite intuitive. Highly recommended. It will always make sense to try a free version first but don't be put off by the results, some systems will work better than others and Facetrack may not let you appreciate the full benefits of head tracking.
I will implement this tech to my sim gaming, which is the product I end up with is still open, but I suppose the Track IR would be the mercedes of these devices to aim for. Obviously if I get a free one working good, without the issues that might be too much to tolerate, I'm not going to throw $160 away.
FaceTrackNoIR v1.7 has just been released yesterday and has lots more functionality than before, especially with a FreeTrack like IR-based tracker, it has gotten very accurate. I have just been using the alpha versions until today, and cannot wait to see what all made it into this release version.
I bought Track IR 5 and the pro version of the head thinger, and it is pure awesomeness!!! I have 42" tv that I use to game with, and its so close that using Track IR is actually like turning your head to look at the mirror, and there it is. Can have perfect fov and still use mirrors and everything else perfectly... perfection. PS. if you donate to FTN folks money, they give you the next version to try out, like the recently released 1.7 you got the alpha version to try out. I suspect that you get alpha 1.8 from now on.
In my case after I tried FaceTrackNoIR I bougth TrackIR and in my case it works better. Frequency and smoothness was better. Howevr I have some problems with lights. FaceTrack NoIr requires light in your face while Track NoIr works perfect with lights off but sunday afternoons I need to "close the blinds" to avoid sun reflections. In my opinion IR will always work smoother that face recognition software which requires a more complicated algorithm to recognise the eyes, nose, .... However I am not very happy with the quality/price ratio of TrackIR. I would not recommend it. I would say it can be better and cheaper done with the required knowledge and patience.
Very interesting! Now I can build my own led cap/clip for a few dollars, and use FaceTrackNoIR with the PointTracker IR tracker to get high quality tracking that works with rFactor 2. If I were a rich man I would just buy TrackIR, and be able to enjoy a working solution immediately. But I cannot justify such a high price at this time. I am saving up for the Oculus Rift, which will have integrated head tracking.
You can always just purchase the trackclip pro from naturalpoint and save having to assemble something with ir leds and use what ever you wish to use for the head tracking that detects ir. costs a little more, but saves time and hassle.
It kinda depends on what kind of lighting you usually play. If its proper light to your face, those leds are just waste of money really, but if you like to play in dark like I do, where your camera may have issues of finding your face, then its almost a must. Reflector tape will do fine for good lighting.
I have track-IR 4 using TIR5 software with rf2. For some reason I get a stuttering effect when turning my head, but only about 50% of the time. I can sit in the pits, turning my head from side to side, its glass smooth for first few turns, very jittery for next few then smooth then jittery rinse repeat. Its very strange. I am using 3DVision, but I use 3DVision with "rise of flight" and TIR is buttery smooth with that. My pc is GTX680 SLI and i7 3770K so has no real performance issues in rf2. As a result, I don't use it.
Interesting. I have TIR5 + software + clip pro, my pc isnt anywhere near your caliber and I havent had that kind of issues with rF2.
My experience when trying facetracknoir was, that face detection adds why too much lag. IMHO for simracing not acceptable.
When you start up the software, go into camera view and see what the camera sees. If there are any red dots other than the ones on the trackclip, you have extra light issues. If there is extra light, you might try and put a backdrop behind where you sit to help block out stray light.
