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Sacred Worlds requires QuickTime 3.0 and the
appropriate plug-in for your browser which is part of QT3.0
Get QuickTime 3.0 by clicking on the "Get 3" button below.

Help with QuickTimeVR

Apple QuickTimeVR main site

 

QTVR definitions and conventions

If you're not familiar with QuickTime and QuickTimeVR, it may be helpful to read through these basic concepts.
The QuickTime Media Layer "QTML" can be separated into at least four categories:

1) Panorama
2) Object
3) Movie
4) Sound / Audio

 

 

1) Panorama - Essentially a type of QuickTime movie. A panorama is a 360 degree view of a scene. Within a panorama movie, the cursor will become  And when moving about the scene will become 
Such a scene may contain 'hotspots' indicated by a change in the cursor from  to 
Hotspots, when clicked on, may transport you to additional media content, or perform an action of the artists intent. Additionally, you can zoom in and zoom out of a panorama with the option and control keys respectively [Mac]

Panorama specific terms: Nodes - a node is a single scene; a single 360 degree view. Nodes may be linked together via hotspots so that, if each node is a partial view of a larger scene (each one room in a house) clicking through each node can give the sense of traveling around inside the environment. NOTE: nodes need not be linked to other or similar nodes, they can be linked to any media content, even another page or URL.

2) Object - A type of QuickTime Movie. An object movie is a view of an object from many sides. When the artist provides enough angles of view, an object movie may give the sense of holding the object in your hand and being able to view it from all sides. When viewing an object movie, the cursor will change to  allowing you to 'grab' the object  and rotate it around.

 

3) Movie - A QuickTime movie. Simple put, digital video.
Usually indicated by the presence of a control bar  which allows you to start, stop, fast forward, rewind, and control the sound of the movie. NOTE: The author may reduce the control bar to just the start and stop indicator  or eliminate it entirely for design esthetics.

Movie specific terms: Frame rate - QuickTime movies, as do most dynamic imagery, create the illusion of motion by quickly displaying a series of slightly different images or 'frames' sequentially . The more frames, the higher the frame rate. Traditional video displays 60 frames per second (fps) to create fluid motion. However, unmodified desktop computers currently have difficulty playing 60 fps at any substantial window size. Therefore, most QuickTime movies use a lesser frame rate, typically, 30 fps, or even 15 fps. Lesser frame rates result in less fluidity, and at extremely low frame rates (10fps - 8fps) can result in a jittery visual effect.

 

4) Audio - Essentially, a movie without any picture. Such a movie may be digital audio, or MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) that generates synthesized musical sound via a plug-in, system extension, audio card or external MIDI tone module. This pictureless movie is often indicated by and can be controlled by a control bar, the same as a QuickTime movie.

Sound specific terms: Sample rate and bit resolution - Digital sound is a 'sampling' of a sound; Higher sample rates and bit resolution yield better quality sound.