How do you view an iPIX image?

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iPIX images can be viewed by various means and can even be viewed while a user is on or off-line. When iPIX images are placed on a Web Site they are available in three formats: the high resolution iPIX Plug-In version, a low resolution Java-version, and the new Apple QuickTime 5 CubicVR version. The plug-in version requires the free iPIX Plug-In and the Java version simply requires a 4.0 Web browser. The QuickTime version requires Quicktime, available from Apple at their Quicktime Web site. The plug-in versions have a higher resolution and appear much larger onscreen. The Java versions have a lower resolution but can be downloaded and viewed almost immediately by nearly everyone.

While off-line, a user can view iPIX images stored on their hard drive or on a CD with the free iPIX Viewer software.

Real Estate Virtual Tours have the iPIX Viewer built-in and can be viewed off-line.

Are The Plug-In's safe to download?

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All of the various iPIX Plug-In's and the iPIX viewer are safe to download and will not harm your system in anyway. Just click on the free iPIX Plug-In link and select open. The Plug-In should automatically install itself in the correct folders on your system. If it does not automatically install, you may have to choose the Save option and place the download in a folder on your system. When it is finished downloading, simply goto that folder on your system and open the Plug-In.

What is a high resolution iPIX image?

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The unscaled Full 360° iPIX image format creates an image with the highest possible quality. Instead of sampling the image to fit a standard file size, like the low and medium-resolution image file formats, the unscaled format creates an image based on the original pixel size of the source files.

What is a low resolution iPIX image?

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A low resolution 360° iPIX image is a 512 x 1024 pixel image, which provides a small file size and lower image quality. This file format is generally used with our Java Viewer.

Do I need a particular version of a Web browser to view iPIX images?

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Although we recommend that you use the latest versions of Web browsers available, our range of virtual tours will display universally on all Internet browsers, including WebTV, and hand-held devices running Windows CE.

For PC users, it is recommended to upgrade your browser to at least Internet Explorer 4.01, Netscape 4.05 (or more recent versions) on Windows 95, 98, 2000, NT4 or higher. These provide the best support for the Java programming language used for our tours with full features. If your browser cannot view the full-featured tour, the basic version of the same tour will be served to your browser.

For Mac users, it is recommend to upgrade your browser to at least Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.5 on MAC OS 8.5. This provides the best support for the Java programming language used for our tours with full features. If your browser cannot view the full-featured tour, the basic version of the same tour will be served to your browser.

How do I navigate iPIX Images?

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What is the difference between iPIX images for Real Estate Virtual Tours
and iPIX images for other purposes?

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iPIX, the Internet Pictures Corporation, developed a special product for the real estate industry that uses the same technology as other 360° iPIX images. But because Realtors will only make use of a Virtual Tour for a matter of weeks, until a property is sold or leased, iPIX created the Real Estate Virtual Tour (REVT) built from special software that produces lower cost, Java-compatible images. REVTs are only available to the real estate industry. The images cannot be edited in the same manner as the high-resolution iPIX images and they also have a lower resolution.

There are many advantages of the REVTs for Realtors. Not only is the REVT less expensive, but the software that produces the tour does so in a way that it can quickly be uploaded to national real estate sites such as Realtor.com as well as many broker Web sites. This dramatically increases the exposure of the property and thus can affect the number of offers and the sale/lease price.

Can the Real Estate Virtual Tours be e-mailed to potential buyers
and other Realtors?

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Another great benefit of the REVT format is that the software that produces the completed tour also produces a self-contained program with all the virtual tour iPIX images plus the viewing software necessary to see the tour. The Realtor's contact information, photo, e-mail address link and a link to their Web Site are all included in one file that can easily be attached to an e-mail message and sent to multiple people all at once.

How long does it take for a Real Estate Virtual Tour to be completed ?

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Virtual Visuals can shoot the still images onsite with a high-end State-Of-The-Art digital camera, build the iPIX 360° virtual tour and have it up online within 24-48 hours.

How many iPIX images do the Real Estate Virtual Tours contain?

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You can include as many iPIX images in both a Real Estate Virtual Tour and other Virtual Tours as you like, but the minimum fee is for three images. Additional images are priced individually and can be added. Contact us at info@virtualvisuals.net for the latest pricing information or visit our Real Estate Virtual Tours section.

What is the Seam?

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After the initial images are taken onsite, they are uploaded into the computer and "stitched together" using iPIX software. Each raw, hemispherical image covers a 185° field of view. This leaves 10° overlap between the two images. The seam goes all the way around the image and is precisely aligned by the software.

The lighting in each hemisphere greatly affects the visibility of the seam. The seam is almost always visible as the extent of which is determined by the lighting conditions at the time the raw images are shot and the precise placement of the camera by the photographer.

What is stitching or seaming?

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Stitching, also called seaming, is the process of aligning and melding two hemispheres into a whole image and blending away the line where the two images are joined, thus removing the seam. The iPIX 360° virtual tour is comprised of two 180° images, otherwise known as hemispheres.

What is Tri-Pod Cap manipulation?

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Because the Virtual Tour is a true 360° image, the tri-pod gets captured. When available, Virtual Visuals can digitally remove the tri-pod through photo manipulation. The other option is to create a Tri-Pod Cap. This is an image that is placed over the tri-pod that can display any information. A picture, a logo, names and contact information or just about anything you can think of.

Why do I keep getting an error message that reads File format
no longer supported?"

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You should update your free iPIX Plug-In or Viewer to eliminate this problem.

When I clicked on a Full 360-degree image, the page said "Document Done,"
but I still can't see the image.

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Internet screens are sent in "packets" that are transmitted and arrive separately. Since Full 360° images may be larger than other screen content, it often takes 20-40 seconds to download an entire image, depending on the modem speed and Internet traffic at that time. Please allow enough time to download the whole image and let it decompress before trying to navigate within it.

On my Macintosh, when I first downloaded a 360° image, the screen went
blank and my system seemed to lock.

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You probably do not have enough memory allocated to the application. This is particularly true in the case of Macintosh computers using the Netscape browser. Simply raise the memory allocation for Netscape to at least 9MB (or more) and you should be able to view Full 360° images.

I used AOL to access your Web site and I'm having problems viewing
immersive images.

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There are two primary versions of AOL, the 16-bit version which was used primarily by computers running Windows 3.X, and the 32-bit version which runs on Windows 95, 98 and NT. AOL 32-bit version users will be able to see our full-featured virtual tour, while AOL 16-bit users will be able to see our basic virtual tour. If you wish to upgrade to the 32-bit version of AOL, type in the AOL keyword "Upgrade" from within AOL.

I think I downloaded the iPIX Plug-In but I can't find it on my system.
Where is it?

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Unless you interrupted the download process, then the Plug-In is most likely on your machine. During the download process if you did not note the folder that it was downloaded to, you'll need to use the search function of your operating system, which varies from system to system, to find it. You can then run it to install the iPIX Plug-In.

I ran the Plug-In installation program and it finished but I still can't
see 360° images in my web browser.

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First you can try the alternative Plug-in from iPIX. If this does not work, it is possible that the image you are attempting to view does not require the plug-in at all, but rather uses the java functionality of your browser. Please ensure that your browser's java functionality is turned on and working properly. For more information, you should go to www.netscape.com or www.microsoft.com and search the help page.

Internet Explorer warns of a security hazard and won't let me install
the iPIX Plug-In.

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There is no security hazard. Internet Explorer will refuse most ActiveX content when on High. You need to lower the security settings of your browser to Medium or Low. Look inside the Security Options area of your browser.

Will the iPIX Plug-In work with other Internet browsers, such as Mosaic or Opera?

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The iPIX Plug-In is only optimized for Netscape Navigator and Internet Explorer. That is not to say that it will not work with other browsers at this time.

What does it mean to "Check to see if the MRJ is properly installed?"

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Make sure that the Apple MRJ is installed on your machine. For more help with this, contact Apple.com and download the software in the discussion section if it is not on your computer.

When I am offline, why can't I view iPIX images?

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While off-line, a user can view iPIX images stored on their hard drive or on a CD with the free iPIX Viewer software.

When I am using Netscape, why do I need a Plug-In for the low
resolution images?

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The low resolution images are Java-compatible. If your browser is Java enabled, you might be missing the Java Run Time Environment (JRE) v1.3 Plug-in with Java 2 support. This is fairly common and to fix this problem, just click on the link, choose the correct Java 2 Plug-in and within seconds, Netscape should be updated. Note that this is a Netscape Plug-in and not related to the Virtual Tours. Click here to be taken to the Netscape Plug-in page.

What is Java?

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Java is a brand of general purpose programming language with a number of features that make it ideal for use on the World Wide Web. Small Java applications, called applets, can be downloaded and run using a Java-capable browser like Netscape Navigator or Microsoft Internet Explorer.

How do I enable Javascript?

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Netscape: go to edit-> preferences-> advanced-> check box for enable Javascript

Internet Explorer: go to options-> security> check box for enable Java programs