AhSoul Posted September 29, 2013 Posted September 29, 2013 http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=231047079283#description Anyone ever tried one of these, or got an opinion? I'm currently using FreeTrackNoIR with the face tracker but it's pretty jittery. FTNIR now has a point tracker in it though, and my PS3Eye camera should pick up IR leds, so that clip looks like much cheaper option than getting a TrackIR..... [sIGPIC][/sIGPIC] Soul's pit thread
geert Posted September 30, 2013 Posted September 30, 2013 I've got one of those and it's good quality although I've used no alternatives so can't really say how it compares to trackir stuff. It's made from metal and so it's very sturdy, which can't be said apparently for the trackir alternative. I had some problems with freetrack though and I don't even know how I fixed it, I also had to install facetracknoIR and that got it working.
AhSoul Posted September 30, 2013 Author Posted September 30, 2013 Interesting thanks Geert! I'm torn between getting one of these or building something myself :) [sIGPIC][/sIGPIC] Soul's pit thread
geert Posted September 30, 2013 Posted September 30, 2013 You're welcome. I just checked his ebay add and now it states it's stainless steel, wasn't there before I believe. When I bought the thing he also sold it as a DIY assemble package and somewhat cheaper off course. I guess it's a bit expensive since the parts are presumably dirt cheap, but probably quite a hassle to find all those things out (where to buy etc.). Although I can't say how the performance of this product in combination with freetrack compares to trackIR, I can definitely say that the clip is very solid, the steel part is not flimsy and the connections and stuff well put together. It' incredible how expensive the trackIR system is, so this seems a good alternative. Using it for 3-5 months or so, and had no problems with it. You can use some Tie wraps to connect the thing to your headset.
AhSoul Posted September 30, 2013 Author Posted September 30, 2013 Yeah the individual parts are pretty cheap, but then I've got to spend the time making a frame, researching what spec LEDs and resistors to use, learn to solder etc etc By the time I've done that, £25 seems pretty reasonable :) [sIGPIC][/sIGPIC] Soul's pit thread
AhSoul Posted October 1, 2013 Author Posted October 1, 2013 Ordered mine just now. Looking forward to much more stable headtracking! :D [sIGPIC][/sIGPIC] Soul's pit thread
IvanK Posted October 1, 2013 Posted October 1, 2013 Does it work with trackIR or just Free track etc ?
Blaze Posted October 2, 2013 Posted October 2, 2013 Should work just fine with TrackIR, it's exactly the same as the Track Clip (3 IR LEDs). I'm considering one of these as well for my TrackIR, the Track Clip breaks WAY too easily, and this steel construction looks much nicer. i7 7700K | 32GB RAM | GTX 1080Ti | Rift CV1 | TM Warthog | Win 10 "There will always be people with a false sense of entitlement. You can want it, you can ask for it, but you don't automatically deserve it. "
AhSoul Posted October 2, 2013 Author Posted October 2, 2013 I'll post up my thoughts once I've got it :) [sIGPIC][/sIGPIC] Soul's pit thread
TimeKilla Posted October 2, 2013 Posted October 2, 2013 My TrackIR Pro clip has started to come apart and I treated it like gold put it away in a safe place after use only had for four months really cheap made annoyed i've looked after it so well too. Did not expect it to come loose so can understand why folk buy things like this. :joystick: YouTube :pilotfly: TimeKilla on Flight Sims over at YouTube.
AhSoul Posted October 2, 2013 Author Posted October 2, 2013 Plus a TrackIR in the UK is £150. This is £25 and I have the camera already ;) [sIGPIC][/sIGPIC] Soul's pit thread
Panthro Posted October 2, 2013 Posted October 2, 2013 Interested in this. I want to know if the different LED positions affect tracking, maybe it could be bent to the same locations? [sIGPIC]http://forums.eagle.ru/signaturepics/sigpic86362_2.gif[/sIGPIC]
AhSoul Posted October 2, 2013 Author Posted October 2, 2013 In FreeTrackNoIR you can specify the dimensions of the clip and the positions of the LEDs (so come up with whatever configuration you like and tell the tracker). No idea if the TrackIR software lets you do the same? Otherwise I guess you could try bending to match the TrackIR clip but I'd be nervous given the wiring etc. [sIGPIC][/sIGPIC] Soul's pit thread
k0braka1 Posted October 2, 2013 Posted October 2, 2013 So do you need FreeTrack AND FaceTrackNoIr for the DelanClip to work or just one of them? Intel i5-4670k @ 4.4 ghz | Corsair H100i | Gainward GTX 760 Phantom (overdue an upgrade) | Asus Maximus VI Gene MBoard | 8gb Corsair Vengeance | 3 x Sandisk/Crucial SSD's | Corsair AX760 PSU | Saitek X45 (ftw!)
kraszus Posted October 2, 2013 Posted October 2, 2013 I believe that FacetrackNoIR has a Freetrack plugin.
AhSoul Posted October 3, 2013 Author Posted October 3, 2013 You only need to use FaceTrackNoIR. It has a port of Free Track called PointTracker inbuilt now: http://sourceforge.net/p/facetracknoir/wiki/PointTracker/ [sIGPIC][/sIGPIC] Soul's pit thread
AhSoul Posted October 3, 2013 Author Posted October 3, 2013 Well my Delan clip just arrived. Initial impressions are very good. It appears well-designed and constructed, was packaged well and even comes with a bit of black film to put over the camera lens. My main concern is having to plug it into USB as I've run out of ports on my hub :) I'm tempted to see if I could modify it to run from a small battery perhaps, but let's get it working first..... [sIGPIC][/sIGPIC] Soul's pit thread
AhSoul Posted October 3, 2013 Author Posted October 3, 2013 So played around with the DelanClip tonight with mixed results..... Used FaceTrackNoIR as Free Track just keeps crashing even with patches. With the supplied IR filter (a section of floppy disk) I find that it just blocks too much IR light to be useable with the leds more than say 30cm from the camera. In my 'pit my head is ~1m away, so this just isn't workable. However if I remove the filter and turn the room lights off things are a different story. The tracking is fantastic! :) Mapped the translation z-axis to camera zoom and the game is transformed:D I can pan smoothly around the cockpit or view outside wherever I please effortlessly. Then by moving my head forward slightly I can zoom in the camera which is great for looking at small switches, looking for targets on the ground or lining up the gun reticle. So I just need to fix the filter issue. The maker suggests using developed camera film but I do wonder where I could get some. My other option is to remove the IR filter from the PSeye cam itself but might try some different filter material first..... [sIGPIC][/sIGPIC] Soul's pit thread
k0braka1 Posted October 3, 2013 Posted October 3, 2013 Interesting read AhSoul. I've just brought a cheap ps3 eye camera of ebay and plan to set it up with FaceTrackNoIR but just using the face tracking rather than leds. Depending on how this works out I may invest in one of these DelanClips. Only problem I have is that it looks a bit d.i.y Intel i5-4670k @ 4.4 ghz | Corsair H100i | Gainward GTX 760 Phantom (overdue an upgrade) | Asus Maximus VI Gene MBoard | 8gb Corsair Vengeance | 3 x Sandisk/Crucial SSD's | Corsair AX760 PSU | Saitek X45 (ftw!)
AhSoul Posted October 3, 2013 Author Posted October 3, 2013 Well it's just a guy soldering some leds, resistors and wires to a metal frame so it's going to look a bit ghetto, but trust me the tracking is much, much better than face tracking.... With the face tracking it's got to pick your face from all the background image and figure out when and how it moves judging by that shape. It's no where near as accurate as tracking 3 distinct single points in a black background. [sIGPIC][/sIGPIC] Soul's pit thread
geert Posted October 4, 2013 Posted October 4, 2013 The "delan-clip-guy" kindly provided me with some developed photo film as filter material, which works very good. When you use 2 layers it blocks too much IR-light, but when using only 1 layer it's nice. I have to keep the room dark though, to be able to use it properly and I sit about 30-50 cm from the webcam (PS3 eye) and I'm pretty sure it still works when I sit a bit further away, don't know the limits though. I tried to remove the IR blocker from my PS3 eye but I found out I had the problematic cam where the IR filter is extremely hard to remove. So maybe check whether you're lucky and maybe you can easily remove the IR filter. Yeah, it's definitely a DIY item (Delan clip) but I would say very well made, and the fact that it's made from metal in stead of plastic (like the track IR pro clip) makes it much better (I assume). I also had lots of trouble with freetrack, it kept crashing. I installed both facetracknoir along with pointracker 1.0 beta or something and then facetrack hardly ever crashed, so they share some things I guess. I don't even have to do anything with facetracknoir or the pointracker, I only need to start up freetrack the rest just has to be installed, that's all! BTW, if you like facetracking especially due to the added immersiveness, you might also like stereo3d, I use it all the time, but it's very personal whether you like it or not. Some guys here did some great stuff with some fixes and now it works virtually flawlessly in stereoscopic 3d which to my opinion adds much more to the sim (you need a 3d monitor/projector and some other stuff too). cheers
AhSoul Posted October 4, 2013 Author Posted October 4, 2013 Cheers geert. Even with FaceTrackNoIR installed Free Track crashes a lot so I'll still to FTNIR. I think the interface on that is nicer anyway. I *think* I'm lucky that I've got the PSeye that can be easily modded (based on comparison photos online) so I'm going to try and remove the filter today. The Delan guy said try photo film but not sure where I'd get some round here so might as well try the IR filter removal instead. At the same time I can put the floppy disk film inside the lens so its not stuck to the outside :) [sIGPIC][/sIGPIC] Soul's pit thread
AhSoul Posted October 4, 2013 Author Posted October 4, 2013 Just took the PS3eye apart and removed the IR filter (fiddly job) and put a piece of the floppy disk inside the lens. Tracking is now so much better and at a much greater range :D Didn't bother putting a piece of plastic back in to get the focus working as it's not necessary for tracking it seems. Can't use it as a webcam anyway with the floppy disk stuff inside and I don't need to use it for anything other than head tracking. So looks like I've got pretty much exactly the same as TrackIR for £25 (and a free camera I had lying around)! :) :) [sIGPIC][/sIGPIC] Soul's pit thread
geert Posted October 4, 2013 Posted October 4, 2013 Great stuff! But now I want to get my hands on a "good" PS3 eye now, you know, the filter removable version since my head tracking in still quite shaky and light sensitive. Do you happen to know how I can recognize a good ps3 eye in an ebay add or something like that? What are some distinct visual differences between the good and bad ps3 eye? Thanks.
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