TrackIR 5 Head Tracking System with TrackClip PRO – 6DOF USB Optical Motion Tracker for PC Gaming, Flight & Racing Simulators – NaturalPoint Head Tracker Bundle

Product arrived sooner than expected and works 10/10.

I’ve used this for a bit now, and it’s been absolutely amazing. I was using another app, for head tracking but it wasn’t as smooth and consistent as the TrackIR. The nice thing about the pro is you can either clip the wired tracker to your headphones, or on your VR if you just want a very big screen to play on. Since getting this I’ve been flying on MsFS and DCS and have had better accuracy in tracking and less headache with disconnect issues. I’ve actually bought another one as a back up, along with IR reflective tape so that I can pretty much use what ever I want to track on.

Hands down the best $150 I've spent on peripherals when it comes to flight simulation. You couple this with a great HOTAS (I'm currently rocking the X56 and ThrustMaster Pedals) and you've got a recipe for an awesome experience in any flight sim. I literally cannot fly any sim without TrackIR after using it. It took about two days to get completely used to, and it hasn't come off my headphones since 2016 when I bought this bad boy. Being able to simply turn your head in a natural way and looking around in game feels amazing and frees your hands for flight controls! EFFORTLESSLY stay on target during dogfights and pulling G's. If you're playing against people without one, you will be miles ahead of them in a fight. Games it works best with: ArmA 3 (on ground as well), DCS World, Falcon 4.33 BMS, Elite Dangerous, X-Plane, Microsoft Flight Sim Folks are complaining that the clip sucks and doesn't stay locked; it doesn't suck and it does stay locked. I have a Sennheiser Game One headset (also incredible), and what I do to get it to stay locked is to pull the headset up a little bit to where the thinner part within the band is visible and locked the mechanism on there (picture for reference). It stays locked and has no moved after two years of use, wear and tear. I am usually pretty gentle with my headphones (I mean they're $250 with another $30 with the clip pro) but sometimes they fall off my stand or lap. The clip pro has held on strong through all my wear and tear without fail. Be warned that the TrackIR is very sensitive to bright lights. Just last night I had a candle burning behind me and couldn't figure out for the life of me why my TrackIR was freaking out. It was picking up the damn candle behind my shoulder, that was easily 5 feet away. It does not have a problem in well lit rooms, so you're good there! Do yourself a favor and DO NOT pass this up. You'll thank me later.

There are no two ways about it: I could never fly the same again without headtracking. Elite: Dangerous, DCS World, Rise of Flight and Arma 3, the games I purchased this equipment for, all recognized it immediately with no input from me. And there is no lag whatsoever when I turn my head to check a cockpit warning light, or look down to see what my fuel pressure is at, or examine my cargo holdings... It took a few minutes to acclimate to a turn of 15 degrees of my head translating to a turn of 50 degrees on screen but it becomes quite easy to glance at exactly what you want with barely a few hours of practice. And let's talk about being able to lean out over the side of the cockpit of a Sopwith Dolphin biplane roaring 20 meters over the ground to check that your two released 20lb bombs had an effect on your intended target: You will never be able to go back to a POV hatswitch after the feeling that that gives you. The depth that this brings to flight simming cannot be overstated; the only thing I see challenging this would be full VR and I frankly did not want to invest that much in rather unproven tech yet. The Pro Clip is poorly manufactured, and has a terrible design, but if/when it breaks I will just fabricate my own fastener; a first-year engineering student could have done better than this tripe so I'd wager I can whip something up without starting WW3. Truly, the Pro Clip's design is the weakest point of this whole package. It will not fit all headsets, and is counter-intuitive to properly fit to even regular headsets with thin metal bands. I recommend checking whatever you plan to affix the Pro Clip to for compatibility before ordering it unless you don't mind having to work at it. However, once the Pro Clip is in place: magic. I game at night when my daughter is asleep; so the IR emitters the Clip brings to the table are great since I cannot use the regular reflector design as well. The Pro Clip is definitely questionable; but since you can get this bundle for just about $10USD more than the regular TrackIR 5 and I can work with it I won't complain too loudly - your results may vary. I could easily see someone with less delicate installation methods breaking the Clip before ever even getting to use it, and that would be a no-go. Drivers were a breeze to install, and the program comes "out of the box" with a default setting I have not needed to tweak or mess with whatsoever. Seriously, from when this arrived to when I was excitedly calling my wife over to watch me turn my digital head was under 20 minutes. I tried FreeTrack, FaceTrackNoIR, and several others and they all required more setup and work than I wanted to engage in, especially for the dubious results I was getting. TrackIR has won me a customer and I will recommend the TrackIR 5 to anyone I fly with. Try it. You will never want to fly without it, and if you use it with Arma 3 or DayZ you'll wish every single FPS ever made supported this thing. I know I do.

This impressive concept does exactly what it claims. Since the mid 1980's The most unrealistic aspect of all the flight software I have experienced was the lack of the ability to turn the head fluidly to see anywhere but straight ahead. Joystick hat switches never really cut it. For real pilots, situational awareness - the ability to look around - is not a luxury. It is a necessity. It isn't much different for pilots in simulators and flight games. I eventually pulled back from flight software because the sense of immersion wasn't there for me. TrackIr comes to the rescue brilliantly, and opens up a new world and a greater sense of immersion for all desktop pilots. That said, there are a few issues. This product is obviously long-in-the-tooth. The infrared camera, as has been frequently mentioned, comes nowhere close to fitting atop any monitor I've had in the last 20 years. You will be on your own when it comes to finding a way to adapt it to the top of yours. Lots of people complain about the flimsy plastic clamp on the TrackClip PRO. It's actually quite a clever, if complex, design, allowing a range of expansion to fit a variety of headsets. I successfully tested it on 3 very different sets. It's true that this clamp is made with small, delicate parts, and will be prone to fail if abused, or just removed and replaced frequently. It would be best to attach it and leave it mounted between uses. I would have designed something simpler and more robust, but it is what it is. be careful with it! Most impressive is the software provided for setup and adjustment. Unfortunately, NaturalPoint has done one thing that is quite inexcusable. The software, though a free download, comes with absolutely no guidance as to it's use. The user is left clueless as to how to use it and must rely on the kindness of other users (YouTube videos) to understand it. The only instructionals in the package only deal with assembly of the hardware itself. (Post Script - I later discovered a help manual via a tiny drop-down at the top left corner of the screen! Frankly.....the YouTube videos were easier to decipher!) People also rant about how the user is confined to one position and cannot move without messing up the alignment. Trust me - while strapped into my open cockpit Experimental home-built by a five-point harness, my body is totally restricted from movement! If you should accidentally move your position a bit there is a key assignment that allows the user to instantly re-center the view with one stroke. The other common complaint is the cost. That is doubtless because NaturalPoint has had a monopoly for years. This shows in their complacence in keeping the product updated (ie. a printout with their current web URL is actually just thrown into the box so they wouldn't have to reprint the packaging). You will see reviews that complain that this is just a dumb-simple I.R. camera and a few LED's, and is correspondingly way overpriced. As a former professional toy designer I can assure you that this seemingly simple package and the accompanying software required a considerable bit of cost and development to bring to market. Still, that's no excuse for leaving the product on the market for so many years without providing consumers with needed updates. It's your choice. With all it's faults It's probably still the best of it's kind available today, and you're going to have to pay-to-play. I'm just sorry I waited this long to get on board. Addendum. After using this device for two years I offer these tips: I have now used Track IR with Win 7, and using the same software, with recently installed Win 10. No issues. I have mounted the IR camera to the top of two different thin monitors by gluing a block of stiff stiff packing foam to the inside of the longest leg. The foam fills the space between the inside of the back leg and the back of the monitor. People having issues with alignment should understand that Alignment IS fussy! Place yourself in a comfortable position, squarely in front of the camera and make an effort not to move from that position during play. Put on and plug in your headset first, then start the software, being careful not to move yourself or the position of your head while the software is booting. Oddly, in Win 10 my software opens in a tiny minimized window at the top edge of my monitor. I maximize it to full-window, and then quickly return my head to a centered position. If I am square to the camera, the alignment cross-hairs will appear directly in the center of the screen, and I will be able to turn my head to the left and right, getting approximately the same range of movement on both sides. If I seem to be slightly off-center I hit my F12 key to re-align to center (you will also do this every so often while in-game). At this stage the left camera LED will be lit. Once I enter game the right side LED will also light up. You don't have to fuss with the software in any way to get this far. Second thing to be aware of is that the Track Clip Pro must be fairly solidly mounted to the side of your headset. With most of today's headsets it won't remain that way. Feel free to use tape or a soft glue to hold everything in place if you wish, after you get it operating correctly. Adjust the angle and tilt of the side arm that has the 3 LEDS, and once certain that everything seems to function smoothly and squarely, take off your headset and make note of how the Clip is clamped and adjusted on your headset, so you can return it to that same position later. If operation becomes wonky in-game, or you're way out of alignment from the start you can be pretty certain it's because the clip had twisted out of alignment. I actually use my phone's screen as a mirror to check the alignment of the arm after putting on my headset. It is also possible for a cable to unknowingly get twisted around the Clip arm and pull everything out of adjustment. It does take time to get used to the idea that you can't squirm around in your chair or move it's position, or do anything that changes the relative position of your track Clip in relationship to the camera without whacking out it's alignment. There is a slight bit of leeway, but not much! And disabuse yourself of the idea that you are going to take the Track Clip on and off regularly. It likely won't survive that! Put it on your headset and leave it on! I use a homemade desktop stand to hang my headset and wrap it's cables on when not in use. Sounds like this is all too much trouble, but once you learn the ropes and get used to operating with it, you won't actually pay that much attention to it. I consider it so essential for flight sims and for multiplayer Arma 3 that I have ordered a spare in case the day should come that I can't get another one.

Pros: - The leading head tracking device - Very accurate - Feels "natural" when looking - The adjustments on this are incredibly specific allowing you to dial-in your exact expectations/limitations - Small and light but well-made Cons: - Have to remember to start the TrackIR App and "zero" yourself each use or if you adjust your headset - App can appear to be complex to basic users - IR only attaches onto one side of your head, handles left turns and some maneuvers differently This is THE head tracking utility in the universe to use. I have used this on X-Plane, MSFS, Star Citizen, EVE Valkyrie, DCS, Elite Dangerous, and almost every driving game out there(except TDU2 on Steam). I particularly like how great it works with DCS and ED. I eventually had to tailor the curves for each game for the maximum effectiveness but it works great out of the box. Take the time to read everything and experiment. This even works flawlessly with older games such as Falcon 4.0: Allied Force. Definitely a good buy if you're tired of moving the camera by the keyboard or camera pan buttons. Free-look is amazing! I will definitely buy the next version.

Why 3 stars and not 5? The software is intuitive and I have no complaints about it. Plenty of videos to show you how to change all the settings for individual needs. Operation has not failed me and every game I’ve used it for has also worked flawlessly. So why the 3 stars? The clip that holds the device to your headset is absolute garbage. It pops off with minor bumps or movements. It supposedly has 2 adjustments both of which are not going to help with staying attached. I got so frustrated that now I bought a dedicated set of headphones and just zip tied them to the headset. For this much money you would think they would redesign a better attachment system. Now that it’s firmly attached to my headphones, I am satisfied woth this product. I prefer my VR but some games that require keyboard and mouse are perfect for TrackIR

This thing is awesome! Once you get it setup and get the settings dialed in, dead zones etc, it’s just epic. I play Star Citizen and have the game to use it only when I’m in the cockpit of my ship. I can look around, lean in close and look up etc. The realism that it adds during flight is a game changer. Just take taking off from a station and being able to look over you shoulders and quickly see stuff is really cool. I highly recommend this to anybody playing star citizen.