DINA's QTVR Primer

What is QTVR?

QuickTime Virtual Reality (QTVR) is a technology developed by Apple Computers. It enables the user to take a virtual tour of an area. There are many different ways a QTVR can be presented. A QTVR can rotate 360-degrees and contain multiple nodes which allow the user to explore multiple rooms and areas within the same QTVR.

What do I need and where can I get it?

You will need a version of Quicktime in order to see these movies. Quicktime is available free of charge from Apple Computers. If you do not have it, you can get it from http://www.apple.com/quicktime/.

How can I get the movies?

For most QTVR's on the DINA site, there are three different resolutions to choose from. The highest resolutions are of the best quality and hence have a larger file size.

You have three options from each resolution. The first option will allow you to download the QTVR for your browser plug-in. The other two options provide downloadable copies for stand-alone players on a Macintosh and on a Windows machine. These are provided in Binhexed (.hqx) for Macintosh and Zipped (.zip) for Windows.

For a complete list of QTVR's available from DINA, please check out our QTVR Gallery.

How can I move around?

There are three general controls for a QTVR which allow the user to rotate around and zoom in and out.

• Rotate: Mouse or Arrow Keys
• Zoom In: Shift (Option on Macintosh)
• Zoom Out: Control