TrackIR is a device by Natural Point that tracks head movement and is ideally suited to Flight Simulation, adding yet another dimension of realism to your simulated flying, in particular when in the Virtual Cockpit. It’s also a great help in car racing games that support it, allowing you to “look ahead” around corners and for other genre’s of games, such as first person shooters. As you’d expect, I’m concentrating on it’s use with Flight Simulator X for the purposes of this review.
I’ve a confession to make. I’ve always liked the idea of TrackIR, but could never bring myself to sit at my laptop with a hat on with reflectors attached to it. This was the original way in whichTrackIR detected your head movement (and still does for those who don’t yet have the TrackClip Pro add-on). My family thinks I’m eccentric enough as it without this addition! So, I was very interested when Natural Point announced the release ofTrackClip Pro, a device that attaches to your headphones (and also to your computer via USB ) and contains an active transmitter to make the head tracking more precise. This adds two advantages: 1) the tracking is much more precise and 2) you don’t feel like a lemon using it! My family is quite used to seeing me with headphones on, so I can get away with this quite easily 
The following image is the original reflector supplied with the TrackIR devices.:
Installation
The complete package I tested consisted of the TrackIR 4 Pro and TrackClip Pro units (the TrackClip Pro can be purchased separately), an installation CD and quick start guide.
The first step is to install the drivers and software required for the unit. Once complete, you then plug the TrackIR into your computer via USB and place the receiver atop your monitor. I had some concern that this might be a problem on my laptop with its very thin lid, but I needn’t have worried. The unit sat firmly on the lid and is very adjustable, so you shouldn’t have any problems with your setup.
The TrackClip Pro uses active LED’s to provide more precise tracking compare to the original reflectors and attaches to your headphones (I used them with my Logitech set with no problems) via a padded clamp. You then plug the TrackIR device into the USB socket supplied with the TrackClip Pro, and then into the USB port on your computer. Thus, only one USB port is required for both devices. The TrackClip Pro can be used with the TrackIR 3 (with vector expansion) or TrackIR 4 devices.
Setting up
Once the software has been installed, you can open the configuration utility. This allows you to, amongst other things, select the profile for the software you would like to use it with. I selected Flight Simulator X. Once selected, I edited the profile and notified the utility that I would be using it in conjunction with theTrackClip Pro. This simply requires selecting one of the options and is remembered between uses, so it’s a one-off requirement.
From within the utility, you can also display a 3D head display as follows:
This display shows, in real-time, the orientation of your head as detected by the TrackIR unit. As you can see from the screenshot, you press F12 to center the heads. In practice, you sit in your normal seating position and then press F12. The utility then knows where your head “normally” is and can then track its movement relative to the starting position of your head. F12 also works from within the Simulator, so if you’ve had to leave your system for a moment, simply put your headphones with theClipTrack Pro attached back on your head, press F12 again and you’re ready to go. It’s all very simple and straightforward and was much easier to use than I imagined it would be. You can also press F9 to enable/disable the tracking at any time. This can be useful when, for instance, you move your head to look at the radio stack, but would then like to freeze the viewpoint to enable you to tune them without having to worry about where your head is.
The following image is an overview of how the entire system works:
TrackIR/TrackClip Pro in use
Time to put the system to test. I fired up Flight Simulator X and set up a flight from my local airport (EGNT) using the default Maulle (due to the excellent visibility it provides from the virtual cockpit). Before taxiing out to the runway, I did a quick scan around the cockpit, but this time, instead of having to use the hat-switch on my joystick, I achieved the same result by very gentle head movements. This is something that is very difficult to portray, it really has to be experienced to be believed, but the effect is truly stunning. I was amazed by the fluidity of the movement and it’s much more intuitive than using a hat switch.
Because the unit tracks your head movement in all 3 dimensions, moving your head towards the screen effectively zooms in to the instrument panel, allowing you to take a clearer look at the gauges. This was a very uncanny feeling to start with. The added realism was almost overwhelming!
The TrackIR web site has a couple of videos showing TrackIR in action with Flight Simulator X. You can find them here and here and also check out the video below.
The unit really does make the cockpit feel truly 3D. You can lower your head, move forward and look up and find yourself looking underneath the panel, as if you were really there. This would be difficult to achieve with any other input method in a reasonable amount of time. With theTrackIR, it takes as long as it takes to move your head.
Glancing over your shoulder, moving forward so you can peer over the nose of your aircraft, being able to quickly scan the important instruments are all made much easier and much more intuitive than with any other device I have tried.
As I said, it’s really quite difficult to put into words the effect that is achieved. Check out the videos and, if possible, take a unit for a test drive so you can really “feel” what it is like.
Conclusion
I am impressed with TrackIR/TrackClip Pro on many levels. Firstly, it’s extremely easy to setup. I was quite prepared to spend an hour or two getting it all going, yet, once the software was installed, it took barely a couple of minutes to have it all working as I wanted. Secondly, the added realism when using the simulator. It really is nothing short of stunning. Of all the add-on hardware I have tried, this is the single most effective unit at immersing you into the simulation. It really does feel as if you’re “inside” the simulator.
The unit had hardly any problems at all with spurious reflections that I understand caused some problems with the original reflector units that you needed to apply to a hat/cap.
This truly is one of those add-ons that, once you’ve tried, you can’t imagine going back to the simulator without it.
The TrackIR 4:Pro costs $179.95 and the TrackClip Pro is $39.95. If purchased together, the package price is $199.99, saving you $20. You can make an additional saving by clicking on the banner on this site. This may seem a lot but, believe me, yoursimming will never be the same again.
My thanks go to Natural Point for providing the review sample.
Sponsor: Visit the FlightSim Pilot Shop for your Flight Simulator add-ons
Technorati Tags: flight simulator, natural point, trackir 4 pro, trackclip pro
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