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Frequently Asked Questions

You will hopefully find the answers you are looking for here, but if you need further information or clarification on something, then please do not hesitate to Contact Us.

  • What is a "360º Virtual Tour"?
    A 360º Virtual Tour (also known as a "Virtual Tour", "Virtual Reality Tour" or "VR Tour") is a virtual reality simulation of an existing location (interior or exterior), which is primarily created from two dimensional (2D) panoramic images.

    The panoramic images are then processed into a 360º Virtual Tour which can then be viewed with a software "viewer" applications using Java, Flash, or Apple QuickTime technologies, which enables one to move around the virtual location itself, using the computer's mouse, enabling you to see a simulated 360º view.

    We currently produce our 360º Virtual Tours using Flash, as it compatible with the majority of web browsers, and can provide excellent quality, combined with speed of loading, and functionality.

    By standing in the centre of a room, and turning yourself around slowly 360º, you will obtain a similar effect that you will see with a 360º Virtual Tour.

    360º Virtual Tours can be easily linked into a webpage, to be presented to the world online, and can convey so much more than standard 2D photographs.

    Please refer to     http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_tour for additional information.

  • Who might use a "360º Virtual Tour"?
    For many years, 360º Virtual Tours have mainly been used as a marketing tool by Estate Agents and Hotels.

    However, 360º Virtual Tours are a versatile marketing tool, and can be used by anyone who wants to promote or market a property, location, business, or service online.

    Examples:

    • Estate Agents
    • Letting Agents
    • People who are self-selling or self-renting their properties
    • Property Auctioneers
    • Holiday Home Rentals
    • Hotels
    • Guest-houses and Bed & Breakfast establishments
    • Restaurants
    • Pubs
    • Clubs
    • Fitness Centres
    • Councils & Government
    • Property Developers
    • Kitchen and Bathroom Fitters
    • Builders
    • Shops
    • Showrooms
    • Conferences & Conventions
    • Schools & Universities
    • Museums & Places of Interest

    As you can see, whatever line of business you are in, if you have an online presence, a Virtual Tour could help you market that business.

    For instance, a Kitchen Fitter may want to use "before" and "after" Virtual Tours of a kitchen refurbishment that they have worked on, to show the quality and standard of their workmanship, and products.

    A Restaurant may want to show their "bar" and "dining" area, to provide customers visiting their website, the ability to see the environment where they will actually be having that romantic candle-lit meal for two.

    Letting Agents and Landlords may wish to backup their property inventory, by having a "Virtual Inventory" taken at the time of letting a property, as evidence of the state of the property fixture and fittings, which can help reduce disputes between landlords and tenants.

  • Why use a "360º Virtual Tour" on my website?
    • 360º Virtual Tours are a fantastic, cost effective way of helping you promote and market your property, location, service, or business.
    • You can breath new-life into an existing website, by including a Virtual Tour, without the need for a complete website design overhaul.
    • A Virtual Tour will add an "interactive" element to your website.
    • It is a recognised fact that potential customers will tend to stay longer on a website that has a Virtual Tour.
    • Virtual Tours allow a website visitor to feel that they are really viewing your location.
    • A website visitor can view your location at their leisure, in their own time, without the requirement of making time-costly appointments for viewing, and therefore reduce the number of viewings that may potentially lead nowhere.

    A survey taken in 2004 by Pew Internet & American Life Project discovered that 45% of American adults have taken Virtual Tours of another location online. At the time, they estimated that more than two million people were using the internet to take a Virtual Tour EVERY DAY!

    That was 2004... and remember that the report only focused on what was happening in the USA!

    Since 2004, we have seen the proliferation of faster and cheaper internet connections, alongside the tumbling price of laptops and desktop computers, and as a result, more and more households have gone online, and are actively using the world wide web on a daily basis. So one can only begin to imagine what those figures would equate to today.


  • Aren't there different types of 360º Virtual Tour?
    Yes there are...

    Virtual Tours can be created from either Cylindrical, Spherical, or Cubic Panoramic Images.

    Both Spherical and Cubic Panoramic Images are created by shooting multiple images in a set fashion, which include images for the "zenith" (ceiling/sky/overhead) and "nadir" (floor/ground/underfoot). All of the images are "stitched" together in post production. More image shots are required for this type of Virtual Tour, and the post production takes a little more time.

    Cylindrical Panoramic Images are created using either a "One-Shot" lens (a special type of lens that captures the whole 360º image in a single shot), or by shooting multiple images, that are stitched together in post production. These images do not contain a 100% complete representation of the subject area, as one can not fully view the "zenith" (celing/sky/overhead) or "nadir" (floor/ground/underfoot), but in practise for most property Virtual Tours, a complete zenith/nadir representation is not normally required.

    We use a mixture of different lenses to create our 360º Virtual Tours. For some instances, a "One-Shot" lens may be preferable. For High Definition we use specialist fish-eye lenses.

  • How do you produce a "360º Virtual Tour"?
    • We will contact you to discuss your requirements, and arrange a suitable date/time to visit your location.
    • Before coming along, we would advise you to "de-clutter" and tidy any areas that will be photographed, as this will create a better overall image.
    • On the pre-arranged date/time, we will visit your location, and take a number of high quality panoramic images.
    • The panoramic images will then be processed into 360º Virtual Tours, meeting your specifications, and requirements.
    • The completed 360º Virtual Tour will be hosted for one year (additional years hosting can be purchased), and you will be sent a link to the tour, so that it can be embedded on your website.
  • How long does it take to produce a "360º Virtual Tour"?
    It will normally take us between 1 and 2 hours onsite work to produce the photography required for the tour.

    We aim to process and deliver all 360º Virtual Tours within 72 hours of our location visit.

    In the unlikely event that we are unable to process and deliver within 72 hours (for whatever reason), we will contact you immediately, and will do our utmost to keep you informed of our progress.

  • How much does a "360º Virtual Tour" cost?
    This really depends on your actual requirements, which includes the number of photographs that need to be taken, and the complexity of the tour e.g. if you require floor plans, and "hot spots" to be included etc...

    It is always best to     Contact Us first to discuss your requirements, and we will supply you with a quotation for the total package.

    The current price list is available as a guide.

    Please see our     Prices page for more information.

  • Will you leave me a DVD?
    Unfortunately we can not leave you with a DVD at the time of a site visit.

    With 360º Virtual Tours, there is a lot of post-production work involved to produce the Virtual Tour itself, and it is not practical for us to do this on site, we also host the Virtual Tour for you, providing you with a link, and therefore there is no need to send you the Virtual Tour files.

    With our photography, we use a work-flow software package, and inspect each photograph that we take to ensure that it is suitable, and corrected for any colour, or exposure issues that may have arisen when the image was taken.

    We will endeavour to send you a DVD within 72 hours of our site visit, or make your images available for website download.
  • What is a website download?
    This is becoming a more popular way for you to receive your images from us, which saves the wait for DVD's to arrive in the post.

    We will provide you with a hidden website page (on our own website), and a username and password, to access your download. The "file" will be a zipped format file, which can be unzipped using a suitable software package on Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, or UNIX.

    Click on the "Download" link on the page, and you will receive your file into your download folder on your computer (this may take a little while due to the size of the file).

    The page will remain active for 48 hours, and will then be destroyed, as a security measure. If you have not downloaded your file(s) successfully within 48 hours, you will need to contact us to re-create the download page for you.

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