TrackIR user from sometime in 2012. A few words about the TrackIR will be very relevant to the
TrackHat.
I bought the deluxe TrackIR set with the ball cap clip-on and the IR LED side mount device that has to be attached to headphones.
Point 1Do you use a headphone set? Because both of them offer a device that will attach to it.
The big problem, as far as I was concerned, is that
you now have TWO sets of USB cables hanging off your head.
I don't, normally, use a headphone set, so I disliked it immensely, and never used it more than an hour.
The TrackHat side mount is stronger than the TrackIR, so that's a plus.
Point 2The TrackIR ball cap Clip gets a bad rep for it breaking. Maybe little kids break it a lot. Mine's not only doing great, but I prefer it because once I put the cap on I'm totally free to move about without any USB cables.
(PS - And I don't like hats)How is that relevant to the TrackHat?
I'd strongly recommend buying the
Trackhat Plus. It has no USB cable. The LEDs get power from a 10 hour rechargeable battery. The only negative that I see is that you have to keep your Trackhat Plus clean, the LED's look like they're built into the cap. Could be wrong, though.
Point 3The
Trackhat opentrack software.
I know nothing abut it.
The "relevance" point is...?
The TrackIR software lets you set the tracking speed from decimal points to full numbers. When you first start using either of them you will probably get motion sickness.
For first time users of the TrackIR software, I'd strongly recommend setting it to .3. As time goes by you can slowly move it up.
If the
Trackhat opentrack software doesn't let you do something like that I'd have a hard time recommending it.
Either one will give you a better flight experience.
Think about this.You're coming in for the final turn to line up on the runway.
YOU TURN YOUR HEAD TO LOOK AT THE POSSITION OF THE RUNWAY, JUST AS YOU WOULD IN A REAL LANDING BEFORE MAKING THAT TURN.
Yeah. I'd recommend getting either. It takes a little getting used to at first, but using a head tracker makes flying in a flight sim A LOT more natural.
PS - Years ago I tried another program -
FaceTrackNoIR.
It worked, but at the time I didn't like all that much.
But that's been about four years ago, and if you have, or can borrow, an old Webcam, then give it a try.