PRODUCTS: Virtual Reality
Take, for example, a reception hall. Still pictures are wonderful. Close-ups of the frescos and the ornate ice sculptures are wonderful, but they cannot give you a sense of space in the room. This is where our VR come into play.
Standard VR
High Dynamic Range (HDR) VR
Extended Dynamic Range (EDR) VR
Additional VR Features
Take, for example, a reception hall. Still pictures are wonderful. Close-ups of the frescos and the ornate ice sculptures are wonderful, but they cannot give you a sense of space in the room. This is where our VR come into play.
Standard VR
Our most basic and simple product, our standard VRs help a client to give a sense of space to a scene. Color balance set in-camera, exposure set to the best the scene can offer, our Standard VRs show off a scene well.
An inexpensive solution, our Standard VRs still are better than modern "one-shot" mirror ball systems. These one-shot systems are full of distortion and are rarely color balanced.
Our Standard VRs are well lit, color balanced overall and contain minimal distortion. We can also link these VRs together into one larger project, which typically costs extra.
Cost for this Standard VR is $75 per stop with a minimum of four stops or views. Most small homes and many businesses can be done in four stops. Click on the picture to the right to open a full-screen view of one of our standard VRs.
An inexpensive solution, our Standard VRs still are better than modern "one-shot" mirror ball systems. These one-shot systems are full of distortion and are rarely color balanced.
Our Standard VRs are well lit, color balanced overall and contain minimal distortion. We can also link these VRs together into one larger project, which typically costs extra.
Cost for this Standard VR is $75 per stop with a minimum of four stops or views. Most small homes and many businesses can be done in four stops. Click on the picture to the right to open a full-screen view of one of our standard VRs.
HDR VR
The cream of what WHd does, our HDR VRs meld the simplicity of the Standard VRs with the additional dynamic range of HDR photography.
For each exposure taken to create the VR, our technicians take three separate pictures. One exposed properly for the scene, one over and one under exposed. The computer then melds the different exposures together to form one picture, capturing all the bright details in the over-exposed scene (being able to see details in the shadows) and all the blown-out details in the under exposed areas (removing the "halos" around the windows).
The results are what you see here, a picture where the bright highlights of the sun reflecting off the cabin are in clear detail.
This is, by far, the most popular form of VR.
Costs for this range average about $150 per stop, which includes a full-screen view or an in-window view, at clients' request. We do request a four stop minimum per job.
For each exposure taken to create the VR, our technicians take three separate pictures. One exposed properly for the scene, one over and one under exposed. The computer then melds the different exposures together to form one picture, capturing all the bright details in the over-exposed scene (being able to see details in the shadows) and all the blown-out details in the under exposed areas (removing the "halos" around the windows).
The results are what you see here, a picture where the bright highlights of the sun reflecting off the cabin are in clear detail.
This is, by far, the most popular form of VR.
Costs for this range average about $150 per stop, which includes a full-screen view or an in-window view, at clients' request. We do request a four stop minimum per job.
EDR VR
Now let's say you want to actually be able to see outside of those windows. Take the porch scene used in these examples. In the standard version, the floor boards are pratically white. The side of the buiding ouside of the screen fades into the bright white sky. The milk jug in the corner is almost black. Now look at the EDR version to the right. The floor boards are a healthy brown color. The side of the building is defined against the blue sky. The milk jug is dark brown and has texture to it. EDR adds a lot of detail to a scene. Now look at the EDR VR and notice the difference in detail.
Let's take a different example. You have a country club setting with the golf course outside of floor-to-ceiling windows. The main point of the VR is to show the restaurant where people can dine: the cut crystal chandeliers, plush carpeting and ice sculpture in the middle of the room. But, you also have the fairway of hole seven outside the windows with green trees and a meticulously cared-for lawn.
With the EDR VRs, we take as much time and however many exposures are necessary to make the scene viewable, inside and out. We hand balance out the color so the exterior and interior match properly even with different light sources. Perfection is the goal, even if a return to the site is necessary.
Costs for this high level of perfection are approximately $300 per stop. A $500 minimum charge for each project is also required; if a client has two stops at one location, they have more than met the minimum requirement.
This type of VR photography is currently the best possible with today's technology.
Let's take a different example. You have a country club setting with the golf course outside of floor-to-ceiling windows. The main point of the VR is to show the restaurant where people can dine: the cut crystal chandeliers, plush carpeting and ice sculpture in the middle of the room. But, you also have the fairway of hole seven outside the windows with green trees and a meticulously cared-for lawn.
With the EDR VRs, we take as much time and however many exposures are necessary to make the scene viewable, inside and out. We hand balance out the color so the exterior and interior match properly even with different light sources. Perfection is the goal, even if a return to the site is necessary.
Costs for this high level of perfection are approximately $300 per stop. A $500 minimum charge for each project is also required; if a client has two stops at one location, they have more than met the minimum requirement.
This type of VR photography is currently the best possible with today's technology.
Additional VR Features
There are many different added features and bonuses that can be included in the virtual tours WHd produces.
- Multiple resolutions
(highly-detailed versions of your tour that load as a user zooms in or out) - Textual information
(clickable regions within the VR that bring up more information about an object or section of the stop) - Stereo sound
(add the dimension of sound to your VR: an orchestra playing, surf and seagulls on the beach, diners' glasses clinking) - Linked tours
(multiple stops are "linked" together and the user navigates between by clicking on "hotspot" areas within the stop) - Enhanced links
(clicking on a hotspot in the stop rotates and zooms the VR at a certain point, then displays the next VR in the series, and zooms out slightly; helps orient visitors as they navigate) - Maps
(a small custom map in the corner shows the user their location within the tour) - Radar
(shows the direction the user is facing in the tour and how wide of an angle is being viewed) - GoogleMaps integration
(the angle of view and position is presented with a small Google Map within the tour window) - CDROM based tours
(self-running CDs available for distributing your tour(s) for clients to run on their home computers)