Roger Hughes
Posts: 4
Location: United States
Registered: 20 Jul 2008
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PTViewer over PURE?
Posted: 22 Jul 2008 at 21:56 GMT
updated: 22 Jul 2008 at 21:59 GMT
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I would like to ask experienced users what they consider the principal advantage of PURE, over Dr. Dersch’s PTViewer for projecting .jpg panos with JAVA. I do panoramas for websites using PTViewer, but I decided to find out if there was a better, more up to date JAVA viewer. I bought the PURE tools package to see how it performed, and by the way, I only work with cylindrical .jpg images and never above 150kb - for quick website download. It seems to me that having to convert a ready made stitched .jpg pano into .ivp is just an additional operation, when PT viewer uses the original .jpg image. The same panoramas I converted into PURE viewer is also not as sharp as the same PT viewer image, (having changed the param “quality” to 300), and there is some distortion of straight lines which PT viewer does not show. I also sometimes wish to make changes to the applet, of an existing panorama – change the starting point or alter the FOV, etc. which can be done on the actual applet with Dersch, but if I am not mistaken I need to format a new pano.ivp with PURE. I would like to use larger images for greater impact, so does the PURE applet work faster than PTViewer, which is somewhat slow for larger images above say 250kb. Am I no doing something correctly, or are the small images I work with not showing well in PURE?
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michael medina
Posts: 384
Location: portland, oregon, United States
Registered: 27 Jan 2008
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Re: PTViewer over PURE?
Posted: 22 Jul 2008 at 23:10 GMT
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roger,
i believe i answered you in another thread already, you don't need to author another ivp file, it can all be done with a separate xml file where you set your parameters such as quality 500 (to remove the wavy lines) and pan tilt and zoom
most of the vr's i server with java are 1mb to 3mb pdxvr.com so you shouldn't have any issues.
i'm not sure how to answer your question without a more specific question or perhaps if you sent me a link, i could help you debug it.
mmm
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Forest42
Posts: 2
Location: Tallahassee, Florida, United States
Registered: 22 Jul 2008
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Re: PTViewer over PURE?
Posted: 22 Jul 2008 at 23:52 GMT
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Michael, What Java applet are you using on your site? I have looked into the Pure product but I am also not so keen on having to convert my files from PTgui to .ipv format.
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Ken Warner
Posts: 643
Location: Mammoth Lakes, United States
Registered: 14 Aug 2004
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Re: PTViewer over PURE?
Posted: 22 Jul 2008 at 23:58 GMT
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If you only do cylindrical panos, take a look at my PanCyl viewer. Let me build a page for you to your specs and see if you like it. Then you can compare all three viewers for image quality and speed.
Small example:
pancyl.com/Crowley3.htm
Email me a link to the pano you'd like to see; a splash image and tell me where you would like to link the attribution.
Couldn't hurt...
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michael medina
Posts: 384
Location: portland, oregon, United States
Registered: 27 Jan 2008
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Re: PTViewer over PURE?
Posted: 23 Jul 2008 at 1:15 GMT
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i use the free version of pure player with equirectangular jpgs. as does this site. the only reason i ended up having a java version at all, was because i went through the effort to make equirectangulars for iphone i.e. pangeavr.
you can use cylindrical panos with it too
the free documentation is available at this link (immervision's site)
tinyurl.com/67c6ud
you need to register (free) to get to the download area.
there is a tutorial on this site (as in this one you are looking at) also
www.panoguide.com/howto/display/web.jsp
where i believe it shows you can use javascript instead of xml or ivp too.
so one equi jpg and javascript or xml and that should be it.
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Roger Hughes
Posts: 4
Location: United States
Registered: 20 Jul 2008
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Re: PTViewer over PURE?
Posted: 23 Jul 2008 at 1:16 GMT
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Trouble is I don't know what an XML file is, or how to make it. How can you possible project 1 - 3mb panos on a web page?
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michael medina
Posts: 384
Location: portland, oregon, United States
Registered: 27 Jan 2008
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Re: PTViewer over PURE?
Posted: 23 Jul 2008 at 5:35 GMT
updated: 23 Jul 2008 at 5:42 GMT
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an xml file is a plain text file named with an extension .xml is all
have you read the documentation it explains what xml is and where you put it and how you use it with pureplayer?
i have 8 mb panos on my site, the java ones are the smallest ones i offer.
if you read the tutorial i linked to also, it shows it can be done without xml i believe.
edit, you still need a minimal xml file even with javascript
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marcus newey
Posts: 127
Location: somerset, United Kingdom
Registered: 23 Oct 2005
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Re: PTViewer over PURE?
Posted: 23 Jul 2008 at 13:05 GMT
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As mentioned the .xml file is a plain text file that defines the parameters for the player. You just need to include the .xml file provided in the same directory as your html page.
You can open the xml file with any text editor, such as notepad or similar, to change the parameters, as per your needs and following the instructions provided in the documentation.
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Doug Aurand
Posts: 1798
Location: Albuquerque, NM, United States
Registered: 2 Jan 2008
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Re: PTViewer over PURE?
Posted: 23 Jul 2008 at 14:24 GMT
updated: 23 Jul 2008 at 14:25 GMT
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Roger
This is what a complete webpage looks like using the PTViewer
<html>
<head>
<title>PTViewer Web Page</title>
</head>
<body>
<h1>PTViewer Web Page</h1>
<p>
<applet code="ptviewer.class" archive="ptviewer.jar" width="320" height="240">
<param name="file" value="images/LivingEQ.jpg">
<param name="cursor" value="MOVE">
<param name="fov" value="85">
<param name="showToolbar" value="true">
<param name="imgLoadFeedback" value="false">
<param name="auto" value="0.25">
<param name="autoTime" value="60">
<param name="bgcolor" value="FFFFFF">
</applet>
</p>
<p>REM param name for panmin panmax tiltmin tiltmax fovmin fovmax </p>
</body>
</html>
Its pretty simple, even for a non-webmaster like me
Also, the PTViewer is used by Picturepath.com (Realtor.com's "inhouse" hosting servive, Marriott.com, Starwood Hotels (Westin & Sheraton), Radisson.com's exclusive virtual tour provider and 2 of the 3 big hotel virtual tour services; VFM and ICEPortal.
So its very popular and free too
Doug Aurand
Albuquerque, NM
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Vilmer
Posts: 267
Location: Argentina
Registered: 23 May 2007
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Re: PTViewer over PURE?
Posted: 26 Jul 2008 at 17:41 GMT
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As far as I know ptviewer is not really suitable for fullscreen display, where pure player is..
About a year ago I played with pure player for a few weeks, the result can be seen here: dewachter.nl/2pages/Virtuele%20tour.htm I managed to create an interface with as extra feature that it loads in the normal view a panorama of 1500*750, and after clicking the fullscreen button on the top right it loads the big panorama, using the small pano as preview. The only thing I used the (payed version of)pure tools for, is to create the splash screen. After this I decided to quit with pure tools untill they have a good gui, comparable with 3dvista or easypano. I spend wayyyy to much hours on xml/javascript coding. I just can't be bothered with that! Besides that, I have the idea that java is obsolete, so I switched to flash tours.
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Doug Aurand
Posts: 1798
Location: Albuquerque, NM, United States
Registered: 2 Jan 2008
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Re: PTViewer over PURE?
Posted: 27 Jul 2008 at 15:33 GMT
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Vilmer
You're correct the PTViewer has problems displaying large files at, or near, Full Screen
But Full Screen display has little practical application in commercial websites that use virtual imaging.
None of the major travel, hotel and real estate websites in the USA have full screen display because they don't want the virtual image to cover their site. And those are the biggest buyers of virtual photography work.
Take note, most of major travel, hotel and real estate websites use the PTViewer
PTViewer has limitations, but doesn't require "hours on xml/javascript coding"
Java is as strong as ever. We made a surprising discovery about the status of Java in browsers at the near end of this thread www.panoguide.com/forums/qna/5029/ which indicated that Google Analytics, that several of us use, is likely reporting +95% Java installation by our visitors correctly
Later
Doug Aurand
Albuquerque, NM
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Ken Warner
Posts: 643
Location: Mammoth Lakes, United States
Registered: 14 Aug 2004
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Re: PTViewer over PURE?
Posted: 27 Jul 2008 at 20:22 GMT
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Java is alive and well. The new plugin soon to be released will fix a lot of the complaints we've all had.
In the 10 years I've been a Java programmer, I've never seen such focus buy SUN on Java. They are really pouring the man hours into it. The next release is not going to fix everything and has a few things that will annoy everybody but it's really getting a lot better.
And SUN is working with Apple for a change to make sure that the new plugin gets ported to Apple machines sooner rather than later.
Keep the faith -- in Java...
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Bradford Bohonus
Posts: 129
Location: United States
Registered: 29 Jan 2008
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Re: PTViewer over PURE?
Posted: 28 Jul 2008 at 2:55 GMT
updated: 28 Jul 2008 at 3:04 GMT
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Doug Aurand said: But Full Screen display has little practical application in commercial websites that use virtual imaging.
Please do not make such blanket statements like this. It is untrue, misleading and you are qualifying it with literally nothing.
Doug Aurand said: None of the major travel, hotel and real estate websites in the USA have full screen display because they don't want the virtual image to cover their site.
None? You spoke to and discussed this with the people responsible for such decisions at every major site in the USA? I highly doubt that.
Perhaps you could more accurately say that a large number of the VR images used on the sites you speak of are not of a quality that holds up to being displayed at fullscreen.
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Doug Aurand
Posts: 1798
Location: Albuquerque, NM, United States
Registered: 2 Jan 2008
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Re: PTViewer over PURE?
Posted: 28 Jul 2008 at 3:34 GMT
updated: 28 Jul 2008 at 3:38 GMT
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di19026
I didn't have to "speak to and discuss" what size images Hilton.com, Marriott.com, StarwoodHotels.com (Sheraton/Westin), Radisson.com and other hotel sites use...I went to and looked a their sites.
I didn't have to speak to anyone at Expedia, Travelocity and Orbitz, I just looked at the virtual tours thay have on their websites.
I don't have to speak to anyone at Realtor.com, ColdwellBanker.com, Century21.com, ERA.com, PrudentialRealEstate.com, REMAX.com and other, because I provide yours to all these real estate websites and they do have some larger image options, but none allow a Full-Screen image that covers the whole webpage.
Oh, by the way, I did speak to a few of them, like Marriott and Hilton when I provided a tour for the Residence Inn North in Albuquerque and the former Hilton in Las Cruces, NM and to the hosting company that handles all of Starwood Hotel's tours when I did the tour for the former Sheraton Old Town.
ICEPortal is the one who told me Travelocity, Orbitz and Starwood didn't like the full-screen PURE Player tour they experimented with because it covered up the whole page. So they changed to what they call a Super-Size image (about 700x330). This is a link to one of their many tours
iceportal.com/brochures/ice/Brochure.aspx?did=0&brochureid=ICE3831
And the owner of PhotoWebUSA, the exclusive virtual tour supplier to Radission Hotels, told me pretty much the same as you can see from this tour of theirs www.photowebusa.com/midtownLA/
Just so you know, Marriott's virtual tour specification is a 2048 x 1024 pixel image, no larger than 400KB. So its the hotel company specs that preclude "full-screen" images, not the poor quality of the images
Also, ICEPortal, PhotoWebUSA and Marriott use the PTViewer
I hope that "qualifies" it all for you
Doug Aurand
Albuquerque, NM
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tturner
Posts: 154
Location: Dallas,TX, United States
Registered: 28 May 2006
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Re: PTViewer over PURE?
Posted: 28 Jul 2008 at 3:54 GMT
updated: 28 Jul 2008 at 3:56 GMT
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I agree with Doug on the commercial aspects of fullscreen panos. My clients when offered fullscreen do not want something to cover up there website. It was not a choice made by poor quality images but they do not want their viewers to forget where they are. It is all about the company branding. I love fullscreen and have it on my website. If there are commercial sites using fullscreen then someone please post a link. I would like to know what companies are using it so I can add them to my marketing efforts.
That has been my business experience but I am sure others have different situations.
TTurner
perhaps this fullscreen topic should move
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