Budget head tracking with SmoothTrack and OpenTrack with Microsoft Flight Simulator

[@GumperVanLier]

Thank you for this information. Another excellent and informative video.

[@jonbeckett]

Glad it was helpful!

[@tdb0ne1]

why is everyone not listing the phone they tried this on? i play DCS World in 1080P@120hz normally. i have an S20 5g, S20+ and S21 Ultra. How do you find out what the lag in miliseconds from when you move your head to when it does it in game? its all about ms. i am about ready to puchase smoothtrack but not sure if i want to use aitrack instead. i seen a video comparing aitrack and opentrack to trackir 5. trackir 5 has like 7ms response time and aitrack + opentrack i think they said had 50ms. can you tell me more about this please as far as smoothtrack performance?

[@jonbeckett]

I switched to the Tobii head tracker, which has a much lower latency.

[@Blairvoyach]

I use a Delan clip and an old PS3 camera with the UV filter removed as a backup for VR. Total cost around £30 a few years ago. SmoothTrack and OpenTrack are awesome free programs. Once dialled in they are almost as good as a £200 TrackIR. Great video once again.

[@jonbeckett]

Cheers :)

[@tdb0ne1]

well i just bought it. im running it on my S20+. how do i switch to the back camera and how do i change framerate settings?

[@jonbeckett]

Back camera? I'm not sure I understand. Framerate is a function of the power of your computer, and the graphics settings you choose to run the simulator at.

[@GamingAmbienceLive]

smoothtrack is dumb just use the webcam, you will kill your phones battery, it will get so hot it will refuse to charge and this WILL damage the battery

[@jonbeckett]

Depends on the phone.

[@GamingAmbienceLive]

It does not@@jonbeckett

[@briancrawley8440]

Nice video. I have used this for a couple of years now. So much cheaper than other eye trackers. Also not affected by the daylight like TrackIR which sits in my drawer now. I use mine on iPhone.

[@jonbeckett]

Thanks for the info!

[@joshfredr7846]

it doesn't work.. it's lagging, inaccurate and just not there.... :(

[@jonbeckett]

It's completely dependent on how good your phone is.

[@joshfredr7846]

@@jonbeckett I actually bought your app, and emailed you for help, but you've never responded.

[@pierreaveline7867]

Hi, how to save parameters (x,y,z,…) ? Everytime I close and reopen the app, I have to redo all the setting, thanks a lot

[@stuartrutman4885]

I tried it a few months ago. It was glitchy as heck. Could only turn my head to the right. Didn't work turning left. And it was very stuttery. I look on Kijiji and found a used TrackIr for 80$ Canadian. I bought it and plugged it in and it is smooth as silk. Couldn't live without TrackIr

[@jonbeckett]

I think it's down to the quality of your phone camera and horsepower. There is another app called AITrack (I think) that will let you do the same thing with a webcam.

[@matbrammer740]

I have followed every step paid for SmoothTrack and have the OpenTrack. But it’s like your shaking your head when in game. Even when your phone nor head is moving. I can’t figure it out

[@jonbeckett]

It's very dependent on the quality of your phone cameras.

[@dsstratone]

Thanks for the vid ..... During daylight nothing except SmoothTrack works for me because there is a big window in my back. Glad to have it. It's a bit sensitive but works even under these conditions. As soon as it is dark outside I switch to Grass Monkey .... I can recommend both.

[@jonbeckett]

I know somebody with the Grassmonkey tracker - sounds very good.

[@indianrockstrat]

I wonder how this would work Using the webcam on your laptop when the flight simulator is streamed from a gaming PC in the same room

[@jonbeckett]

Give it a try :)

[@Rosenrot213]

I used Opentrack before buying tobii, I found that using a led bracket was the best option and performance with OT, works great for a budget setup, tobii is next level but reflected in cost.. Great video

[@jonbeckett]

Great tip!

[@davidwestwoodharrison]

This is such a snazzy little app. I bought a magnetic wireless charging stand (Anker) that can prop my phone up in front of my monitor. But it can get a bit toasty after an hour or so.

[@jonbeckett]

Yeah - my phone burned through 75% of it's charge in the hour I was playing with it last night.

[@cubs56698489]

What settings did you use? When I turn my head to either side it also rotates the view down even though my head is level. Makes it hard to use. I tried moving all the sliders around but didn't see any change.

[@jonbeckett]

That's to do with your face tracking - not to do with Opentrack.

[@stephenbull2026]

Used to have head tracking with a PS2 webcam. Takes some getting used to and time to dial in the sensitivity. Now I have VR , no going back. Great video.

[@jonbeckett]

Cheers :)

[@dcnolde]

I have Grass Monkey head tracker so far it works Great at a decent price. Jonathan, are you planning on using head tracker now?

[@jonbeckett]

I doubt it - I was just showing people that this is possible really.

[@sascenturion]

What a neat idea 💡...especially for folks wondering about head tracking without the expense! 👍

[@jonbeckett]

Right?!

[@mikecoffee100]

what cheeky little program and as usual another Spot on Video

[@jonbeckett]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@51im]

Great video Been using AITrack and opentrack with an old GoPro style sj4000 camera, which can be used as a webcam. Works pretty well with similar results to what you have demonstrated The bonus is I can still make a phonecall 👍

[@jonbeckett]

Yep - I'll get around to trying a webcam with AITrack soon.

[@dusty6816]

Bruh im using the exact same and the experience isnt good 😊

[@51im]

@@dusty6816 what problems are you having

[@canberroo2509]

Tobii 5 is the bomb...!!! It's awesome. Accurate, a breeze to set up, calibrate and then set your preferences in MSFS. Supports precise eye tracking on top of head tracking. No head gear required. Minimal footprint, just a tiny rig attached under your monitor. Quality construction. I love it! A great investment for simmers who enjoy the immersion head tracking brings to the party. (Note you'll need to deep uninstall - using Revo or similar - any Track IR apps to avoid potential conflicts in MSFS). 10/10 for me. So impressed with this product.. and they're not paying me to say this.

[@canberroo2509]

And doesn't care if you are wearing glasses... Still tracks your eye movements incredibly well..

[@jonbeckett]

Thanks for the info!

[@robertoricardo182]

Only one problem, mandatory mount on botton off the screen (top screen mount not work well). Big problem for sim racers which have lots of stuff under the screen.

[@captainzeppos]

Yeah well, there are lots of downsides too apart from it being super expensive (almost 300 EUR). For starters you absolutely have to mount it at the bottom of your screen, and it won't work if you have all sorts of crap between the screen and your face (e.g. racing wheel, yokes, tablets, button boxes, stream decks, sitting low on racing buckets etc). Also eye tracking may not always work as well in ultrawide 40"+ screens.

[@captainzeppos]

@@robertoricardo182 exceptionally well said. ALL serious flight/racing simmers have lots of stuff under the screen and/or tend to sit a bit lower than usual because they 're using pedals so their body needs to be a bit reclined.

[@Blairvoyach]

Thanks

[@jonbeckett]

Cheers!

[@christophbewt8023]

Can you use both front or back camera of your phone with the smooth track app?

[@jonbeckett]

Not tried.

[@ranger2083]

Only on pc?

[@adamgunn2885]

yes

[@jonbeckett]

Yep

[@kumpfj]

Great vid! OpenTrack now has the ability to do head tracking without needing the separate phone app. It's selectable as the "neuralnet tracker" as an input in OpenTrack.

[@jonbeckett]

There are various apps that do the same trick - but you need a good webcam.