Tips

Producing reliable full 360° virtual reality content demands specialist cameras, lenses, tripods and software. While lots of companies can produce partial virtual reality tours, very few have the level of expertise and equipment that is provided by devonvr. We won't necessarily be the cheapest, but we're confident that we'll be the best.

There are methods of preparing virtual tours that require only two or three images but these are often of poor quality and have visible joins that are distracting and spoil the illusion. devonvr uses no less than twelve images, and frequently more, to achieve a true 360° degree spherical image.

Will your tour being to slowly rotate once it has fully loaded? Having an image auto-rotate is a great way of letting the viewer know that this is not just a simple image but is a full virtual reality tour. As standard, the devonvr images will automatically return to the horizon and continue to autorotate after a couple of seconds of inactivity too.

Not everyone knows how to control a virtual reality image. That's why buttons are provided on the Flash based tours if required. Want a different style of button or your logo above or beside the buttons? Just ask!

Make sure you know what you want your virtual reality tour to be used for: does it need to be very high resolution or relatively small; do you want it to run on a webpage amongst other content or as a pop-up; do you want it as a Flash file or a Quicktime file. Don't know the answers to these questions? Then talk to us- we'll assess the needs that you have and explain it to you in plain English.

Will other virtual tour providers give you both unlimited licence to use your virtual tour files, and give you the original image file too? We will, and you can download it all over the web allowing very rapid turnaround.

Do you know who may be using your virtual reality tour? It is possible for unscrupulous businesses to copy or link to your online tour. While this cyber-theft is difficult to prevent entirely, it can be discouraged by a range of means, for example placing your own company's logo on the "floor" or using a logo above the controller buttons (like we have done on this site). These methods makes it pretty apparent to viewers when a virtual reality tour has been taken without consent.

Will you be wanting to use the virtual reality tours both on- and off-line? If so, you need to be able to request a higher resolution tour specifically for this purpose. Though a high resolution tour would take too long to download for website use, it is perfect for use in an office environment or on a CD-ROM or Powerpoint presentation. devonvr will not charge for this additional service.

Finally, are you are one of the many who have invested in 360° equipment and found it's just too complicated to use? It may simply need setting up correctly. As an expert in 360° software and hardware setup, why not book a half or one day tutorial with Tom Hurley? This will represent superb value for both private individuals and businesses alike.