The VR Enhancement Suite, a bundle of QuickTime VR (QTVR) post production tools, is now available from Squamish Media Group. The suite includes SoundSaVR, NodeSaVR, MapsaVR, and revolVR.
soundsaVR is an authoring tool available that provides the embedding of directional stereo sound into photographic or rendered single node and multi node QuickTime VR panorama movies using Apple’s new “wired sprite” technology. You can assign multiple sounds to each node, set the direction and volume of each sound individually, or make the sound ambient on selected nodes. Each node can be optionally set to auto play, and sounds can be continuously looped, or looped with random length delays.
NodeSaVR offers a way to improve multinode QTVR delivery on the Web by letting you separate all nodes in a multinode movie, save each node as a single node movie, and convert all link hotspots into URL hotspots. NodeSaVR is designed to create an HTML file from any template you choose; QTVR HTML tags are embedded directly into the movie to make it load into the current Web page, or into multiple HTML files.
When QTVR object and pano movies land on the desktops of people with limited understanding of interactivity, these movies become GIFs. When a VR movie auto-rotates on opening, the concept of 360 degrees is immediately understood, and interactivity becomes less of a barrier, according to Doug DeRusha, CEO of Squamish Media Group.
mapsaVR provides a way to add clickable node markers, 3D direction/location indicators, and overhead maps to single node and multinode QTVR panorama movies, reducing the time, effort, and expertise needed to create interactive QTVR movies using wired sprites. With it, you can import overhead maps, custom marker sets, and movie backgrounds in any image file format supported by QT3.0, or select a specific background color. The program lets you assign multiple maps to each multinode movie, set the directional offset of each node pointer to align with the current map, and position clickable node markers that jump the viewer to the corresponding node on the map.
RevolVR is a wired sprite utility that allows content creators to customize QuickTime VR panoramas so that they’ll automatically pan when the movie opens, a feature previously unavailable in QTVR. In addition, revolVR allows the user to interactively auto-rotate panoramas and object movies in either direction at variable rotation speeds, just by dragging in the movie window. Its Auto Level feature can be helpful when navigating in cubic VR, returning the user to the default view, DeRusha said.
The bundle represents a savings of US$114 over the cost of purchasing the products individually. It’s available on the SMG Web site. All of the VR Enhancement Suite tools are compatible with QT5 and Cubic VR, and SoundSaVR 2.0 was specifically optimized for embedding sound in cubic panos.