FAQ
1) How are you different than other "Virtual Tour" companies?
First, we are a technology company with proprietary patent pending technology. Panoramic photography is an appropriate medium today to incorporate our technology – but we are certainly not limited to that. We use our technology to create a level of interactivity that doesn’t exist with typical virtual tour content. We can insert almost any content into our images: graphics, logos, animated graphics, Flash content, videos, audio, etc. These assets can be designed to react to the users through either “mouse over” events or “click” events – and can be tracked as well. They can lead to other web pages, bring up new windows, etc – limited only by your imagination.
Second, we connect this embedded content to a dynamically updated database that can change based on a variety of external factors. Our goal is to provide a resource to your users that help them explore your world in an intuitive and informative way. User experience is very important to us. We strive to provide the tools that give them exactly what they need to experience everything you have to offer – online.
Third, our photography also happens to be world class. Our panoramic photography is high resolution, covers an ENTIRE 360 degree sphere, and can be taken from thousands of feet in the air, on the ground, or inside places. There’s nothing virtual about what we do – we put you there!
2) Is this video?
No – our content is interactive. When the user pushes, our content pushes back. Unlike video, our content is modular – so we can update our content quickly and easily as things change. Our content is directed by the user – so instead of “hitting play” and sitting back, the user guides their own way through the content. This provides entertaining interactivity, helps the user see exactly what they want to see – and offers some unique opportunities for you to engage with the user through embedded content (such as graphics, links, or even advertising).
3) So this “embedded content” can actually be used for advertising?
Yes! Any of the embedded assets can be tracked and even provide a link to additional web content. Since the embedded content is managed by an external database, this content can be updated regularly providing an opportunity for you to lease space – providing additional revenue to your organization. We can attach assets almost anywhere in the images: put them on any surface, add them in the sky, on the ground, etc – essentially anywhere.
4) Is your content Flash, Java, or what?
Our content is provided as a Flash asset that can be easily inserted into any existing website.
5) How big is it – and how long does it take to download?
We certainly recognize and agree that short loading times are important. We are actually in the process of migrating to ultra fast servers with redundancy for maximum performance. Most of our projects are only 2 to 5MB in size and take less than 15 seconds to load. For larger projects, we have the ability to continue loading visual assets in the background while the user begins their interactive experience.
6) Does INITinteractive host everything or do we?
We host the content on our servers. New and existing websites can be easily modified to insert our content into them without the need to open up a new webpage. The content we provide becomes an integral part of your website.
Our servers are SAS70/Type II compliant and are optimized to deliver your content as fast as possible. We utilize a dedicated 1Gbps uplink with multiple machines for redundancy and load sharing.
We are dedicated to providing visually intensive content, so your existing web infrastructure can remain intact without additional investment or maintenance.
7) How long does it take to complete a project?
Obviously, there is a wide range of complexity for the projects we do – but our goal is to complete our projects in a timely manner. For most projects, a 30 day turnaround is typical. For larger projects, the turnaround time can certainly be longer. For any project, we’ll certainly make every attempt to meet any specific schedule requirements that can be identified during the initial planning stages.
8) How many pictures do you have to take?
Typically, we’ll take anywhere from 4 to 8 shots for one panoramic photo.
9) How do you get those shots from the air?
We use a variety of proprietary tools developed specifically for this application that allow us to obtain shots from unique perspectives from almost any location.
10) What is the cost?
Unfortunately, due to the wide range of possibilities and complexity, it is almost impossible to quote one single number for pricing. We always try to use the most appropriate tool for the required view while working within your budget. Please contact someone from our sales team to discuss your specific needs.
For more information contact:
JD Huey – Principal / Sales – 205.370.2336– jdhuey@initinteractive.com
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