January 17, 2007

NaturalPoint® TrackClipPRO™
by Joeri "Sloeri" Blootacker

When NaturalPoint released the TrackIr Pro 4 set in 2005 motion tracking in games was at it best, at least that’s what I was thinking. How on earth would Naturalpoint be able to improve this perfect piece of hardware?

With 6 degrees of freedom and a 46 degree field of view it was quite impressive!

But now it gets even better folks…

Naturalpoint has once again used the feedback of their customers to create an even better product.
One of the things some people where aggrivated about while using the TrackIr was that they had to wear a hat with the clip gasped to it.
Since a lot of users wear headphones while playing games it was sometimes difficult for those people to wear their headphones together with the Hat and Clip.

Naturalpoint came up with a simple yet astonishing good solution, The TrackClipPro !

The featherweight TrackClipPRO simply clips on to almost any over-the-ear headset.
Once you clip it on, it offers full 6 degrees of freedom (6DOF), which results in fluent, smooth and quick look around in your games and improves your visual awareness in situations where you need to react quickly.

Let’s take a closer look at the TrackClipPRO. One of the first things you will notice about the TrackClipPRO is the very light weight!
A heavy piece of gear clipped on your headphone would have been difficult to use for longer periods, and even give a pain in the neck if used to long, but the TrackClipPRO is so light you will barely notice it's there!

The TrackClipPRO clips onto your headset with a two-way adjustable clip. The clip can accommodate different sized headphone bands up to 1 ¼ inches wide and ½ inch thick. Once the hinge of the clip is closed the TrackClipPRO is firmly secured onto the headset.

I’ve tested the TrackClipPRO intensively during the last few days and it stays firmly attached to the headset, even when I moved my head up and down rapidly. I’ve even tried to get it to fall of but I had to shake my head so much I was getting a serious headache ;)

Another small point of criticism while using the TrackIr was it wouldn’t always work perfectly in a darker environment. Naturalpoint apparently listened to the customers again and enhanced the TrackClipPRO with 3 tiny leds. These leds are emitting just enough light for the TrackIR receiver to improve the accuracy and smoothness of the tracking even more. The result is a perfect working product in all conditions!

You might wonder where the TrackClipPRO gets its power from. It doesn’t require batteries but simply uses a free USB port. Naturalpoint has been so kind and smart to feature the TrackClipPRO with a Pass-through USB cable connector so that you can attach your TrackIR device to the TrackClipPRO. This way, only one USB port is being used.

Now, let’s fire up the new gear !

Before you start, make sure you download the latest version of the TrackIR software
( currently version 4.1.029).
If you don't have it already you can find it on the Naturalpoint web site here:

(http://www.naturalpoint.com/trackir/06-support/support-download-software-and-manuals.html)

Once you’ve downloaded and installed the software, you just have to plug the TrackIr Pro and TrackClipPRO into a free USB port.
If you’re already a TrackIR Pro user, I recommend creating a new profile for your TrackClipPro, just to avoid overwriting any other profiles.

If you don’t have one already, Naturalpoint has a really good TrackClipPRO profile up for download on their website here :
http://www.naturalpoint.com/trackir/04-community/community-profiles.html

Simply download the file and place it in the profiles directory where the TrackIR software is installed.
Downloading this profile can save you some time setting up a good profile, as the TrackClipPro is slightly more demanding in setting up than the Hat with the Vector Clip. Once you’ve set it up right it is absolutely awesome!

Since I received the TrackClipPRO during the Christmas holidays, I had some time to test this amzing product in several racing games.
I tested it in Netkar Pro, GTR 2 and rFactor. In all of these games, the tracking was more accurate than with the Hat and Vector clip. Since I'm always using my beloved 5.1 headphone set when playing games, I was one of those people who was struggling with the Hat, the Vector Clip and the headset.
All of my problems were solved with the TrackClipPRO.
No more sweating under the hat, no more problems with the Vector Clip falling off etc.

With the addition of the active leds on the receiver the tracking has improved a lot, resulting in perfect performance under all circumstances.

To conclude this review, all I can say is “very well done Naturalpoint !”
The TrackIr 4 and TrackClipPro package is being sold for under 200$. This is a very competitive price for a product that will change the way you game!
The TrackClipPRO is simply ideal for anyone using headphones.
Don’t wait for anything else, just buy one. You will be surprised how much it
improves your gaming experience.

My system specs :
AMD Athlon 64 3600+
2gig Corsair Xpert ram
Geforce 7800GS
DirectX version 9.0c December release
Creative Soundblaster X-Fi Fatal1ty
Windows XP Pro with SP2

Anyone who would like to buy a TrackclipPRO can go here:
For Benelux --> RighTThing: Click here to go to their shop
Rest of the world: http://www.naturalpoint.com