Jorgen Poulsen
Posts: 27
Location:
Registered: 30 Apr 2008
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How to work with webhosting?
Posted: 10 May 2008 at 16:45 GMT
updated: 10 May 2008 at 16:49 GMT
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I would like to know how one place tours on a webserver and tell clients the link to them.
Some webhosting companies seem to have a Virtual Tour Hosting Option. Is it worth taking?
Thanks for all your help so far.
Jorgen
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rudders
Posts: 306
Location: North Yorkshire, United Kingdom
Registered: 21 Aug 2005
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Re: How to work with webhosting?
Posted: 10 May 2008 at 17:16 GMT
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Same as any other hosting.. Just upload your files to the server and give your client the URL..
or the long way..
Get your hosting package. get a domain name.
Design your web page(s)
upload the files to you host server
give your client the URL.
you don't need to get any 'extra' special virtual tour hosting. as long as the server accepts the files you uploading. ie some hosting companies don't allow certain file types such as java.
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Wayne Sclesky
Posts: 3
Location: Kansas City, United States
Registered: 1 Nov 2007
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Re: How to work with webhosting?
Posted: 10 May 2008 at 17:17 GMT
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For myself, I have created a simple java based template for my real estate virtual tours. I put each home in a separate folder on the page. For example my site is www.midwestvirtualtours.com I then upload the folder with a simple number. I started at 5000. So if you go to www.midwestvirtualtours.com/5050 It will take you to a home virtual tour. Currently I am up to 5087. So you can go to www.midwestvirtualtours.com/5087 to see the latest home that I shot.
I tell clients to link to www.midwestvirtualtours.com/XXXX To my knowledge, there is no need to use a virtual tour hosting option.
I have kept all of html pretty basic so it keeps things easy. However I am looking to start using flash more. It will make things flow more smoothly when going to each virtual tour scene in a home. As it is now I have to make a page for each scene...although it is very simple to do as well.
Wayne
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Doug Aurand
Posts: 252
Location: Albuquerque, NM, United States
Registered: 2 Jan 2008
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Re: How to work with webhosting?
Posted: 10 May 2008 at 17:26 GMT
updated: 10 May 2008 at 17:33 GMT
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Jorgen
One question to better answer you question?
What type of tours are these?
There are several real estate virtual tour hosting companies in the USA that will not only handle the hosting and provide you with a URL to give your customer, they will distribute the link to websites like Realtor.com, ColdwellBanker.com, etc, for an extra fee.
RealViz has or had a service called Host@RealViz that would host tours, providing a link. Its a copy of Host@iPIX which used to host and distribute both real estate and hotels tours.
Later
Doug Aurand
Albuquerque, NM
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Jorgen Poulsen
Posts: 27
Location:
Registered: 30 Apr 2008
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Re: How to work with webhosting?
Posted: 10 May 2008 at 17:47 GMT
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Well everybody knows I'm a novice so I need a bit more handholding. Sorry.
1) Do I need to have my own URL to use webhosting?
2) My VT will be Flash
3) What's the actual step by step to upload a Flash tour to a server?
4) Which files are uploaded to the server?
Sorry for these 'stupid' questions.
ps. Doug - virtual Nice, St tropez etc. will become a reality. Have just agreed 50/50 profit split. He does the website. I do the VT. Perhaps you should get some royalty 
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Peter Stark
Posts: 86
Location: Glasgow, United Kingdom
Registered: 12 Sep 2007
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Re: How to work with webhosting?
Posted: 10 May 2008 at 18:55 GMT
updated: 10 May 2008 at 19:02 GMT
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I am no expert by any stretch of the imagination, but here is my tuppence worth.
1) Nope; you can run your virtual tours and pano movies on a free web host. These tend to have adverts hovering around, but if you can put up with that is a good place to try things out. Also, a lot of Internet Service Providers have free web space included along with the email and broadband etc, Check to see if yours does.
2) I cant think of any reason why a Flash VR tour cannot be run on a free web host.
3) Depends on web building software used and the server (to a lesser extent) Some free web servers dont have FTP upload (as been a long time since I have looked at them though). Most web building programs will have FTP upload, with that you click on the files and upload. and there are free web building programs around to use and try.
4) All the files for your tour would be uploaded to the web server, the html page, the flash movies and any other buttons or graphics used on the page.
Finally: There is no such thing as a stupid question, only stupid answers 
Ped
P.S. To Wayne Sclesky
Have you tried to use IFRAMES for your tours? No need to reload the full page to swap the movie files on view (Is the method I used for my first tour attempt and it worked well and validates the html too).
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Doug Aurand
Posts: 252
Location: Albuquerque, NM, United States
Registered: 2 Jan 2008
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Re: How to work with webhosting?
Posted: 10 May 2008 at 19:11 GMT
updated: 10 May 2008 at 19:15 GMT
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Jorgen
1) You probably mean your own "Domain" because a URL is any web address like the one for this page. Yes you likely want one. Something like VirtualFrenchRiviera.com, VRNice.com, TourStTropez.com, etc
2) If you have a complete self contained tour, the technology won't likely matter. Like the tours that Tourweaver creates. (Flash users, jump in and correct me if I'm wrong)
3) Depends on the company that hosts your website. I suggest you use the FTP software they use or your website developer uses so you can have them walk you though it a couple of times
4) You upload all the files that make up the "tour".
This link is a Tourweaver tour an ex-iPIX user made a couple years ago with iPIX files he converted to Equirectangular Projections so they were compatable with it.
www.enviropix.com/optima/vrain.html
He uploads everything Tourweaver creates for each home tour.
It seems like you don't have a grasp on how websites work or are structured. Maybe you should buy "Building Websites for Dummies" (no disrespect) from Amazon.com or do what I did a few years ago and buy something like MS FrontPage or Adobe Dreamweaver and go through their respective training books. I bought an older version of FrontPage cheap on eBay and found the appropriate training book published by Microsoft on Amazon.com.
I still use that version of FrontPage 98 to make the tours I deliver to my customers who are going to host it themselves like www.do222.com/iPIXIndex.htm
It didn't make me a great webmaster, but I understand the concepts and can talk intelligently with my webmaster.
The deal I have with my web developer is he hosts, maintains and updates my 2 sites free, in exchange for the 28 real estate and builder websites I referred to him as well as we provide the content from VirtualAlbuquerque.com to them for a subscription fee and share the fee. I also act a little bit as a real estate agent website sales person for him
Doug Aurand
Albuquerque, NM
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Luisben
Posts: 7
Location: México, Mexico
Registered: 6 Apr 2007
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Re: How to work with webhosting?
Posted: 12 May 2008 at 16:57 GMT
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I visited your site (midwestvirtualtours) where you offer VT for Real State and for commercial use and I was astonished by the prices,  I think they are very low in comparison to the quality of your VT ¿How are you able to offer this low prices? I so that you took off the prices of the packages (...gold, premium,...) from your web page, this is good sign, it seems that you are reconsidering them. 
Is true that your templates are simple (and with a little work of design they could improve a lot), the work of transporting yourself to the location, use of photographic and VR equipment to take the photos, ensambling, retouching, etc. and publishing the VR's with the technology G2 of ImmerVision and after inserting the VR + still images in a simple web page in your server with free hosting (!!), in my opinion this is good effort for which you charge very low. ¿how do you do it to have utilities: is it for quantity; what is the secret?
Best regards
Luis
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Hamish Tear
Posts: 33
Location: Jackson, United States
Registered: 8 Nov 2007
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Re: How to work with webhosting?
Posted: 12 May 2008 at 20:01 GMT
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The first question realtors ask is...how much do you charge?
If there is competition, they will go with the lowest price. Advice to all VT photographers - don't kill the industry by under-bidding your competition - do good work, work out what you need to charge by the hour (for EVERYTHING YOU DO) and then charge it! Good photographers charge in the thousands per day, have assistants and charge for them too!
We all need to work on bringing these prices up into good recognition for the specialized and expensive (equipment) industry that it is. Don't let the turkeys bring you down!
Hamish.
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Hamish Tear
Posts: 33
Location: Jackson, United States
Registered: 8 Nov 2007
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Re: How to work with webhosting?
Posted: 12 May 2008 at 20:07 GMT
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Also see www.voyager360.com and www.kayyah.com
I don't necessarily recommend the camera kits he sells (I have the 2-shot system if anyone wants it cheap), but the Kayyah thing is quite ingenious, as is his real estate 'Back Office'.
Kayyah is the Navajo wind-talker's word for 'Land'.
If anyone gets in touch with Bart - please tell him I sent you.
Cheers,
Hamish.
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