Photogrouch
Posts: 7
Location: Mendocino Coast of California,
Registered: 1 Feb 2006
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What is your favorite viewer
Posted: 1 Feb 2006 at 23:19 GMT
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I am shopping around for a new web site viewer, Java or Flash. I'd like one that doesn't force me to advertise the viewer producers URL to my competition. Have any suggestions?
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Christopher Lewis
Posts: 1
Location: Llandrindod Wells, United Kingdom
Registered: 6 Feb 2006
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Re: What is your favorite viewer
Posted: 6 Feb 2006 at 9:26 GMT
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Flash I find is the better regards file sizes and versatility. I use primarily for the internet.
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rickdrew
Posts: 215
Location: Oak Lawn, United States
Registered: 18 Aug 2004
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Re: What is your favorite viewer
Posted: 6 Feb 2006 at 18:34 GMT
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Still PanoTools. I am playing a bit with 3D Vista, only because a client wanted a custom branded skin.
RIck Drew
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Pano Tom
[Stitch Fisheye]
Posts: 13
Location: London, United Kingdom
Registered: 18 Jun 2005
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zxcvbnm
Posts: 412
Location:
Registered: 3 May 2005
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Re: What is your favorite viewer
Posted: 7 Feb 2006 at 15:25 GMT
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If I could guarantee the user had it installed quicktime would still be my favorite its the only one which is always smooth and reliable almost regardless of image size. Even pages with half a dozen little quicktime windows all seem to work just fine without bringing my browser to a stall. Only trouble I have ever had is with firefox on panos extra large, ie 10mb.
That said in the real world not being able to guarantee what the client has installed I'd go with immervision. It works and is constantly updated and can do a big image quite well and smoothly. Plus its free though you have to do things manually.
stitchfisheye I do like how it looks and the way go can see panos preloading and still skip ahead of the order and radar but I'm against it purely on the unscientific fact that I have found it flakely at times. I also am dubious about the slickness of the company which looks very smart but you put you tour together manually with templates and the three fisheye stitching options have been mere weeks away for six months now. Not to mention when I tried the demo I did not find the two shot images came out as miraculously as they claimed they could automatically ( yes I know 2 shot never works well but they say they have a secret trick). Whole thing strikes me as paying extra for a more slicker but more limited version of ptgui. Not to mention their hardware bundles with a fc-e8 cost as much as a d50 sigma 8mm mrotatorc and a copy of ptgui combinedjust about. None of this is criminal of course I just personally find it irritating which rather colours my bad tempered opinion.
Easypanos' tourweaver again I just find a bit flakey on some computers, in some winds. Too many times if things are not quite right I have found clicking on something and just nothing happens, they do tend to look nice though. I like it I just don't trust it...
3dvista I have made some panos with show but have had some complaints that people can't see them without the right java version, ah well. A little slow but does basically work.
Ptviewer is definitly one of the most reliable ones and without immervision the best for a simple small pano. But with larger pano's I find it confusing exactly what the tradeoffs are as you bodge up larger image display.
If money was not an issue I would definitly use flashvr.de as a backup for my panos for those without java. Almost anyone can see flash and they make the best job of mostly looking ok. I have some doubts of how much strain demands from a computer but basically seems to work.
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Photogrouch
Posts: 7
Location: Mendocino Coast of California,
Registered: 1 Feb 2006
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Re: What is your favorite viewer
Posted: 8 Feb 2006 at 0:57 GMT
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Thank you for the very complete answer you gave me. Had not seen Flashvr.de before and I tried it out. The spin was jerky and the one thing I wanted to avoid was a splash screen with the viewer developers name all over the place. I'd like to get a viewer that I can use professionally and I really don't want to pay for someone else's advertising. My favorite is iseemedia's pano viewer but it again has their advertising all over it and not just in a splash screen! I'll check out some of the others you recommended. Thanks
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Photogrouch
Posts: 7
Location: Mendocino Coast of California,
Registered: 1 Feb 2006
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Re: What is your favorite viewer
Posted: 8 Feb 2006 at 0:58 GMT
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Thanks for the answer. Do you develop your own flash viewers?
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Pano Tom
[Stitch Fisheye]
Posts: 13
Location: London, United Kingdom
Registered: 18 Jun 2005
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Re: What is your favorite viewer
Posted: 8 Feb 2006 at 12:00 GMT
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Hi, im an interested to know what you think is "flakey" about our viewer. We are always interested to know if you find any bugs in our viewer, as we havnt had any reported in over a 8 months. Its the quickest and most stable java viewer out there at the moment.
Regarding price, today we have just reduced it to $79. Making it the lowest priced viewer with decent features, such as interactive floor plans, and smart preloading of images.
Tom
www.stitch-fisheye.com
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VistaGrande
Posts: 281
Location: San Antonio, Texas, United States
Registered: 12 May 2004
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Re: What is your favorite viewer
Posted: 8 Feb 2006 at 13:45 GMT
updated: 8 Feb 2006 at 13:47 GMT
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although I use immervision for my java viewer, and since no one has stated the obvious yet, (other than a quick mention from ZX....) have you not considered PTViewer yet? It is completely customizable and I think it's what you're looking for.
david
www.virtualbigbend.com
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michael przewrocki
Posts: 939
Location: basel, Switzerland
Registered: 19 Nov 2004
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Re: What is your favorite viewer
Posted: 8 Feb 2006 at 15:20 GMT
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shockwave can be loaded in a restriced account(IE only). but people say a powerful videocard is needed. devalvr can be loaded as user(no restricted account) but is not yet? working on macs. qtvr needs administrators rights.
i will use at least three versions: devalvr, immervision and www.absolutelyandy.com/demo/360s/viewer2/
devalvr is genious.
www.devalvr.com
try it out and go to the forum.
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Smooth
Posts: 3773
Location: Mount Panorama, Australia
Registered: 21 Jul 2004
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Re: What is your favorite viewer
Posted: 8 Feb 2006 at 15:46 GMT
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About the Smart Viewer from Stitch-Fisheye.
Tom, you say it is now $79.00 (How? your website states $179.00 and the checkout states $149.00). I also find that the rotation speed is not adjustable to my mouse control (at least it is not fast enough when I want it to be) based on your on-site samples. I assume you CAN remove the Stitch-Fisheye logo as you mention that "Everything" can be customised on the viewer.
About which viewer I prefer:
Quicktime (but I hate the download and the fact Apple do upgrades that effect older versions)
PTViewer (Java) Is still the best most customisable viewer for small viewer windows and it's FREE.
Immervision G2 is the best Java viewer for Fullscreen no question.
Regards, Smooth 
www.smooth360.com
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zxcvbnm
Posts: 412
Location:
Registered: 3 May 2005
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Re: What is your favorite viewer
Posted: 8 Feb 2006 at 19:27 GMT
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Just to clarify my opinons have no technical merit or knowledge lieing behind them. It's just while looking into panoramas I have browsed through a fair amount of examples and observed how well I found they worked so its purely an observational opinion from a users perspective.
As to stitch fisheyes viewer I couldn't pin down exactly what I didn't like but sometimes when I looked at the example it didn't quite work or it froze for a while. I don't know why I have had the similar problems with tourweaver panos. Mostly they work but sometimes it just doesn't or kludges somehow and you have to wait a minute before it starts again. Perhaps java still just can't reliably cope as things get more elaborate. At least my computer no longer takes thirty seconds of grinding to start it up, I dread to think whats happening to people with older computers though.
If immervision has any flaws its that the full screen version is scary if you don't know what is going on. Even with broadband you have serveral seconds staring at the screen wondering whats gone wrong.
I should have mentioned spi and delvar as viewers that have been reliable and fun but I'm not going to use them due to the plugins. I would offer delvars quicktime viewing plugin as an alternative download perhaps.
Flashvr.de as I said is just a backup choice not because I like it but because some people if they can't see something straight away will leave and not bother with plugins and flash makes sure almost certainly see something.
It's worth noting my neigbour whom I'm helping with panorama's vistited two business's a weeks ago and tried to show off his lovely panoramas of houses he rented. Neither could view them and neither was prepared to install anything, regardless of what, on their office computers. I think windows xp no longer comes with java or quicktime preinstalled. Some pc suppliers will install them and most adventourous users will pick them up from software sooner or later but cautious users will not. I think internet explorer does come with flash.
My best page would autodetect the users plugins and forward user to first quicktime, then java immervision and then flash with links to java and quicktime downloads and perhaps delvars quicktime plugin. 90% of people should see at least something.
Its far from ideal but life is not fair and we can just do the best we can.
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michael przewrocki
Posts: 939
Location: basel, Switzerland
Registered: 19 Nov 2004
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Re: What is your favorite viewer
Posted: 8 Feb 2006 at 22:38 GMT
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if the devalvr-website is properly prepaired people are guided to devalvr and the plugin will be loaded. but not as user in restricted mode.bur as user only. then one has to restart the browser. you will be guided. its perfect. at least in fieros(devalvr-inventor)websites. as i said: i will use devalvr, immervision and www.absolutelyandy.com/demo/360s/viewer2/
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Pano Tom
[Stitch Fisheye]
Posts: 13
Location: London, United Kingdom
Registered: 18 Jun 2005
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Re: What is your favorite viewer
Posted: 20 Feb 2006 at 14:39 GMT
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Smooth, thx for the info, we had a few wrong links up for part of the site. All "buy now" links are now corrected to $79.
Yes you can change the logo to your own, on the only viewer with intelligent preloading 
Tom
www.stitch-fisheye.com
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Mark Schuster
Posts: 1321
Location: Welwyn Garden City, United Kingdom
Registered: 25 Jan 2006
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Re: What is your favorite viewer
Posted: 20 Feb 2006 at 18:26 GMT
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Photogrouch,
Don't you think developers are entitled to plug their wares, especially if they are free? Would that put your clients off?
If so, PTViewer, from Helmut Dersch, doesn't advertize itself, but sometimes, on start-up, the Java logo is displayed for the briefest fraction of a second before being replaced by a countdown text while the VR is loading.
Mark.
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