The final Step: Creating the Panorama and exporting to QTVR

Maybe you would like to correct some minor flaws in your panorama. The last (and maybe best) option to do so is by using Pano2QTVR.

A starters tutorial for Pano2QTVR can be found on pano2qtvr.com.

Before we can convert the Panorama to Quicktime, we have to create a ready-to-use equirectangular Panorama with PTGui. We will do so at the tab [Create PAnorama].

  • We will use an output size of 4000x2000. This is a good compromise between Resolution for Fullscreen-Panoramas and filesize.

  • File format shall be TIFF. So we won't loose Quality of the panorama through compression.
    Also we won't create layers of the transformed source images. This is only useful if you want to further edit seams of the panorama.

  • The Stitcher will be PTGui with Panorama-Tools because the PTGui-Stitcher can't handle input images above 160°.

  • For blending the seams we will use Smartblend. If you want to blend higher resolutions of 8000x4000 and above i suggest using enblend or PTGui Blender because of a better memory usage:

 

Now click the [Create Panorama] button and take a small break. The generation of the panorama may take some time...
If everything went well, you will soon find the final image on your harddisk:

Now it is time for Pano2QTVR.
Create a new project and select our created panorama as source image. Click the [Convert to Cubic] and confirm the popup-window with [OK].

Now you have the panorama divided into 6 handy cube faces. This format will keep straight lines straight and therefore simplify your last editing steps of your panorama - like correcting stitching errors or inserting a logo on the floor cube (the so-called tripod-cap)

Here is an example of the bottom cubeface, opened in Gimp to add some text:

 

We are ready now to convert the Panorama to Quicktime.
Don't forget to enter a name for your Quicktime-Movie in the "Output Filename"-field and click the button [Create Movie]

After some calculation time, the Quicktime-Movie (QTVR) will be opened...

Maybe you are not happy with some default settings. They can be changed easily at the tab [Quicktime Settings].

  • "Quality" means "quality of the JPEG-conversion". Smaller values mean smaller filesize (but of course lower image quality).

  • "Window Size" will change the size of the initial Quicktime movie window. This will only apply if you open the panorama standalone or don't set a special window size (like fullscreen - see below) for the published panorama.

  • The "Viewing Parameters" can be assignet via GUI. You don't have to guess the values:

    After having found the correct initial view, click [Grab] and [OK]. Re-generate the Quicktime movie with the button [Create Movie].

If you want to integrate your panorama on your webpage:

At www.0-360.com you can also generate the needed code with the Online-Page.(Scroll down for Quicktime)

If you want to open your Panorama fullscreen, you can also use this simple code as template and adapt it for your needs:

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN">
<html>
<body style="margin:0; overflow:hidden; ">
  <object classid="clsid:02BF25D5-8C17-4B23-BC80-D3488ABDDC6B"
   codebase="http://www.apple.com/qtactivex/qtplugin.cab"
   height="100%" width="100%" border="0">
    <param name="SRC" value="tutorial.mov">
    <param name="SCALE" value="tofit">
    <param name="CONTROLLER" value="true">
    <embed src="tutorial.mov" controller="true" scale="tofit"
     pluginspage="http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download/"
     height="100%" width="100%" border="0">
  </object>
</body>
</html>

Happy "panographing" and take a look down the page to see what we have achieved today!

 

Some examples of QTVR-Panoramas can be found on my Panorama-page, on Austria-360, as well as on Panoramas.dk and VRMAG, two sites showcasing state-of-the art QTVRs and projects from various photographers.

Additional panorama-related Tutorials and a growing source of useful information can be found at the Panotools-Wiki.

 

Please send feedback and suggestions to salzamt@dativ.at