The following definitions
will help make the information on this page much more understandable.
QTVR panorama - A QuickTime movie that allows the
viewer to pan to the right or to the left to get a full 360 degree
view of the area displayed. Sometimes the movies are created to
allow you to tilt up and down to see what is outside the frame
in those directions as well.
QTVR object movie - A QuickTime movie that allows
the viewer to rotate an object (usually a museum piece) in front
of them to look at if from all sides.
How to Look Around in a QTVR Panorama
Place your mouse cursor inside
the movie window. While holding
down the mouse button drag to the right or to the left to see the
rest of the scene. In some cases dragging up or down will show
more of the scene as well. Notice that the farther you drag the
cursor the faster the movie pans. The first time around a panorama
is usually a bit jerky as the image is being decompressed as you
go. Subsequent times around will be smoother.
How to Turn an Object in an Object Movie
There are two ways to rotate an object in an object movie.
1. Place your mouse cursor on the object and the cursor turns
into a hand. You may now press the mouse button and drag the object
left or right to make it turn. When you stop moving the object
stops in the new position.
2. Place your mouse cursor
inside the movie window near the edge of the window. You will
notice that it turns into an arrow. Holding
your mouse button drag in the direction of the arrow and the object
starts spinning. The farther you drag, the faster it spins.
The creator of QuickTime movie pages on the Web has
the choice of including a control bar on the bottom of the movie,
or omitting it. All QuickTime Virtual Reality (QTVR) panoramas
and object movies on this site include the control bar. The following
still image of a QuickTime movie window has the control bar tools
labelled and explained.
Panoramas and object movies have the same control
bar on the bottom left of the movie window. As labelled above,
the following describes the function of each button.
Drag Zoomed Object - This button
is used to reposition an object movie within the movie window after
you have zoomed in on it. It will not be needed for panoramas as
you can pan within a panoramic movie whether you are zoomed in
or not. (Using the Control and Alt keys will have the same effect.)
Show Hot Spots - Some panoramas
are linked to other panoramas in the same vicinity to give you
a feel for the location viewed from several angles. Press and hold
the 'Show Hot Spots' button to make the hot spots temporarily visible.
Double-click on it to make the hot spots visible full-time. You
can turn them off again by double-clicking once again on the button.
Zoom In - Pressing this button will
zoom toward the center of the image currently in the movie window.
Since the panoramas and object movies on this site are highly compressed
to make them small enough for reasonable download speeds over the
Internet, they will appear blurry or pixelated if you zoom in too
far. (Using the Shift key will have the same effect.)
Zoom Out - This button will do what
its name implies. Some QTVR panoramas are partially 'zoomed in'
when they appear on your screen. The 'Zoom Out' button allows you
to back up to get a more full view of the scene. It also allows
you to reverse a 'zoom in' action you may have taken. (Using the
Control key will have the same effect.)
Back - This button will not be needed
to navigate the panoramas or object movies on this site. |
