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Multimedia Tools Assignment #1

The Panorama Factory V5.2: QVTR Stitching Software

The Panorama Factory V5.2 (also known as PFactory) is an incredibly intuitive and user-friendly QVTR creation software program. QVTR stands for QuickTime Virtual Reality and you can read more about it at Apple.com. PFactory can be used to connect a series of still images and create a full 360 degree panoramic image that can be navigated by a user.

PFactory proved to be much easier to use than I expected. I am fairly confident when I say I believe anyone with a digital camera should be able to put together their own virtual panaromic tour. Without having used PFactory, I thought it was necessary to first open Photoshop and connect the edges of my eight pictures. However, with PFactory, I found out this is not only unnecessary, it is unwise due to the sophistication of the software and the extrememly easy to use "Wizard Interface." There is no need to manipulate your series of images in any way. The software can not only automatically overlap the images correctly, it matches the color and shading as well. The QTVR panoramic image above were made up of a series of eight pictures like the four seen below. As you can see from the example of the unaltered pictures, PFactory can create a seemless connection between different pictures.

Example of unaltered still images

I highly recommend PFactory and consider it to be very much worth the money if you would like to try your hand at making QTVR images.

    The most important things I learned about creating a QTVR images:
  1. Mount your camera on a tripod when taking your pictures.
  2. Try to overlap your pictures at least 20%; PFactory recommends 20-80% overlap.
  3. The default settings of the Wizard Interface are mostly fine as is, but it may be necessary to click "semi-automatic" under select stitching points, especially if there is not enough overlap in your pictures.
  4. The html code for embedding QVTR images in a web page can be found here: Panoramas.dk or through a simple search engine search for "QTVR HTML code."