Virtual Tour Software Updates – 1080 Adaptive Streaming, 360 Video Support, & More!

April 24, 2019

Spring is officially here and with it comes blue skies, green grass and for our customers & followers, it also comes with a LOT of virtual tour software updates.  We’ve been trying to find the time to get a change log, blog and software update video out but with so much going on it kept getting put on the back burner.  Here we are now with a larger than usual software update email for you all.  Let’s get started!

Those of you that would prefer to watch a video overview of this update feel free to watch the video below.

All others read on!

Adaptive 1080 Video Streaming: We’re beyond excited to officially announce the release of our 1080 Adaptive Video Streaming to our virtual tour software that just went live here in April. Customers that utilize our virtual tour hosting system for aerial drone photography and home walkthrough videos will LOVE this update the most! RTV’s adaptive streaming technology is like no other being used in our industry at this time. Not only is the video crisp and clear across all devices and tablets but it’s also very fast loading and streamed to you in 1080 quality.  This is a huge improvement over our older 720 technology that did not load as fast, play as smoothly, and autoplay on devices.

Users will notice right away that the videos will autoplay on devices without the need to press a “Play” button.  We have also introduced an innovative “Play Head” that allows users to interact, skip ahead, or go back to key locations in the video.  Locations within the video are identified by using preview thumbnails very similar to that of “Netflix” and other advanced streaming services. Those of you with a keen eye will also notice that we have added in a nice transition as you go to and from video scenes. I the previous version, our virtual tour player added in a black empty space that did not flow with the rest of the production.  The newly introduced transition will also be customizable soon with the release of our new Theming Update that is coming out next!

Finally, our customers can rest assured that anyone on a fast 3G and higher connection will be able to watch the video in 1080.  Those on slower connections will be served up a smaller 720 or 480 video size.  Our new Adaptive streaming technology allows us to serve up a video experience for everyone in every corner of the web! We look forward to hearing your feedback and seeing your beautiful productions come through here this summer in 1080!  Please note that video files uploaded to Fusion prior to this update will need to be removed and re-uploaded / re-encoded to take advantage of this streaming update.  If you see the small white “Gear” on your virtual tour to select a quality you can rest assured that your video is new enough to take advantage of our streaming technology.

See our adaptive streaming technology in action by viewing these virtual tours – https://tours.bluelavamedia.com/164406  and https://tours.robertharveyphoto.com/809285

New 360 Video Support: With the release of adaptive video streaming we thought we would surprise you all by adding in support for 360 videos.  360 video is an up and coming technology that is currently not being used as much as traditional video but has the potential to gain popularity as time goes on. We are anxiously waiting to see what our customers will do with this unique technology.  If you add 360 Video into your productions please be sure to send your creative work to us so we can take a look at how you’re utilizing 360 video in our virtual tour software.

New Email Traffic Reports: While we were not planning on overhauling the E-mail version of the Seller’s Report this last month we were forced to because of changes that Google made to their API.  We completely revamped how our weekly virtual tour traffic reports look as well as how they are sent out.  The new reports will send 25 times faster on an upgraded database and will show up in agents inboxes on time and with an entirely new look and feel.  We’re very happy with the new colors, stats, and layout.  Tell us what you think – https://fusion.realtourvision.com/report/trafficreport-email.php?tourid=881108

Faster Video & Image Processing: Those of you that upload videos or panoramas to our server have already been commenting on how fast the videos and panoramas are processing these days.  That’s because we’ve greatly improved the back end threading that handles these processes as well as migrated all of the “heavy lifting” to another server.  With this intense processing removed from the management server, you don’t feel the weight of hundreds of others creating virtual tours at the same time, and you’ll feel an overall boost in the virtual tour manager speed.

Lightning-Fast Media Deletion: Image processing is not the only thing that we’ve made super fast on the tour manager.  Now when you’re in your media manager and you want to remove a panorama, a still photo or a video you’ll notice that you can delete those unwanted scenes instantly.  We’re very happy to announce to you that there is no more waiting ten to twenty seconds to remove a batch of images or a video file.

Improved Spherical Panorama Playback: In preparation for taking the RTV system to a full-on “Walkthrough Virtual Tour” type system we were aware of some playback issues when loading a spherical panorama.  Those issues have been resolved and now the playback in both the Fusion Experience and Fusion Slim virtual tour players are seamless and without a black space or uncomfortable delay which was present in the previous build. Those of you that would like to see a Walkthrough Virtual Tour on RTV’s platform check out this winery virtual tour that we recently photographed – https://fusion.realtourvision.com/847718

New QR Code Generator: Our new QR code generator works much like our previous one did except now we have greatly extended the upper limit of the QR code generated to be several thousand pixels tall. We have made this change to allow for the printing of a QR code on larger signs and billboards.

Buttons Now Tour Options: By popular demand, we have made renamed and relocated the “Buttons” section of the tour manager.  This section is now called Tour Options and is located under the “Manage” section. We left the word “Buttons” next to it for the time being while you get used to its new name and new locations but please be advised that we will soon be calling this section “Tour Options”.

We live to program new virtual tour software features for you every few weeks. Stay tuned for more AMAZING updates to come in 2019!!  Thank you all for your dedication to our brand and loyalty.  You Stand Out with RTV!

Sincerely,

Team RTV

Order a virtual tour – 866-947-8687

https://www.RealTourVision.com

The FORMULA 84 – Virtual Staging with Tom

February 27, 2019

We are pleased to offer to the friends and followers of RTV, on March 12, 2019, at 7:00 PM, a one-hour training session dedicated to virtual staging. Over the last year, there have been significant advancements in virtual staging technology as well as the addition of hundreds of pieces of new furniture for you to choose. If you’re already offering virtual staging in your business or thinking about offering it, we recommend that you come to this live RTV webinar event. 

During the show, we will be interviewing Tom Feis from SharpEye Visuals on the virtual staging process. Late last year Tom became RTV’s new “Go To” and recommended service provider for Full-Service virtual staging. Tom has staged just over two hundred photos for dozens of real estate agents and photographers around the globe. He is now allowing us to hold a webinar with him and he will share his expertise, provide tips, shortcuts and overall know-how on virtual staging.  Come to this live event and learn how to get the most out of the virtual staging software.

Click on the following link to see examples of Toms virtual staging work – https://fusion.realtourvision.com/148372

During the show we will be covering some of the following topics and more:

Setting up a virtual staging account
How to purchase credits – how they are used
How to photograph and plan for virtual staging
What image size should you upload
The virtual staging process
How to place items on hard to reach areas such as shelves
The furniture removal process
What is a flare and how to use flares

With virtual staging requests on the rise, the time to get started with Virtual Staging is now. Please be sure to register for The FORMULA 84 and enjoy one hour of virtual staging training. We hope you can all make it to the show on March 12, at 7:00 PM!

Those of you that do not already have a virtual staging account set up please use the following link to set that up – https://stager.virtualhousestaging.com/signup

Sincerely,

Team RTV

Virtual Staging Software & National Photography Services

866-947-8687

RTV Announces HTTPS Secure Private Labeled Virtual Tours

January 31, 2019

We are very excited to give HTTPS Secure virtual tours to the entire network of virtual tour providers, aerial drone pilots and professional photographers using the RTV virtual tour software platform. While the RTV branded virtual tour links have been HTTPS secure for well over a year now, our MyBrand or “Private Labeled” virtual tour links have been HTTP.

HTTPS is vital in the virtual tour world not only when it comes to embedding a virtual tour into a secure website but it’s also vital when it comes to how our weekly virtual tour traffic reports track and record data from referral sites. See Example Tour – https://tours.bluelavamedia.com/322313  and corresponding virtual tour traffic report – https://fusion.realtourvision.com/report/trafficreport.php?tourid=322313 

We live to program new virtual tour software and features for you every few weeks. Stay tuned for some AMAZING updates to hit in February of 2019!  Thank you all for your dedication to our brand and loyalty.  You Stand Out with RTV!

 

Team RTV
RTV, Inc
Virtual Tour Software & National Photography Services
Order a virtual tour – 866-947-8687

 

Virtual Tour Software Updates – Final Push 2018

December 28, 2018

Happy New Year from Team RTV! This year we were able to release a record number of wonderful virtual tour software enhancements and time savers to our already robust system. Looking back, we made new virtual tour technology announcements every month of the year! We are wrapping up 2018 today by announcing several new updates to our system that are outlined for you below.

Virtual Tour System Updates

Please take a moment and watch a video overview of our virtual tour software updates here: https://youtu.be/aJmUa-mUImA  and you can also read about each update in detail below.

Fusion Virtual Tour Manager Updates:

• RTV says goodbye to Adobe Flash – While our virtual tours have been Flash-free for quite some time now, our back end (Fusion Manager) had some remaining Flash elements that simply had to go. We are happy to announce that as of December of 2018 we no longer have any Flash elements in the RTV system!

• All-in-one HTML 5 Scene Editor – Customers will notice a nice productivity boost the next time they use our new HTML 5 scene editor. The days of having to use the Still Photos Editor, followed by the Panorama Editor, followed by the Hot Spot Editor are over. Our new Scene Editor combines most of our editors into one, which allows you to do all of these things from one, easy to use, Editor. You can access the new Scene Editor from your Media Manager by double-clicking on any of your Still Photos, Video Clips, or Panoramic Photos. This double-click action will then open up new Scene Editor allowing you to quickly choose a video clip thumbnail, adjust Ken Burns and still photo calibration settings, add Hot Spots, and adjust panoramic settings. You will also like that we now allow you to quickly navigate back to the Media Manager from within the new Scene Editor.

• New HTML 5 Hot Spot Editor – For those of you that like to create “Walkthrough” style virtual tours and utilize Hot Spots, you’ll love our new and improved HTML 5 Hot Spot Editor. It’s not only faster and easier to use, but it’s also “Smart” and steps you through the process of adding Hot Spots to scenes. If you create panoramas for your virtual tours and do not use Hot Spots, we would like to encourage you to try out the new Hot Spot Editor. Just click the “Plus” symbol and let our New Hot Spot Editor guide you through the process. It’s fast and very easy to use bringing RTV one step closer to full virtual walkthrough creations.

• New HTML 5 Cloud Recorder – RTV’s Cloud Recorder is now 100% HTML 5. The Cloud Recorder allows your customers do their own voice overs on their virtual tours without the need for audio recording and editing software. If you’ve never used (or allowed your customers to use) the cloud recorder, we encourage you to give it a try. Reach out to RTV’s technical support team if you don’t know how to give your customers access to your tour manager, and we’ll step you through the process of granting user level access as well as using the Cloud Recorder.

• New HTML 5 Floor Plan Editor – We have been seeing an uptick in the number of floor plans stored on tour system which means that our customers like our new “3 Way” Floor Plans which we launched at the beginning of this year. You’ll all be happy to know that our Floor Plan Editor is now HTML 5 and will also one day soon be a part of the All-in-One Scene Editor.

• Fusion Navigation Changes – As you poke through the Fusion virtual tour system during your next build, you will likely take notice that some things have been moved around and relocated to places where they make a bit more sense and are more convenient throughout the tour creation process. As we continue to enhance the Fusion virtual tour system, you can expect much more organization such as this to occur, and we will always let you know when it does.

Log into your Fusion virtual tour system to take a peek at all the new enhancements – https://manage.realtourvision.com

Thank you once again for your support and we hope that you are as excited about the New Year as we are. Get ready for HTTPS tours as well as video streaming 2.0 as the New Year kicks off. See you next year!

Sincerely,

Team RTV

RTV, Inc

Virtual Tour Software & National Photography Services

Stand Out Today – 866-947-8687

www.RealTourVision.com

Feel free to browse some of our virtual tour software videos from the past:

Real Estate Virtual Tour Software by RTV, Inc – FREE TRIAL

Virtual Tour Hardware & Camera Setup

Free Virtual Software Trial by RTV, Inc

Virtual Tour Software Updates – Lots of Time Savers & What’s to Come

November 30, 2018

Latest Virtual Tour Software Updates for RTV

  • EasyMLS Updates – We have made EasyMLS even easier and faster for our users. Less buttons to click now for both USA and Canadian users.
  • Photographers Creating Orders – By popular demand, you can now permit your virtual tour photographers to place their own orders and create tours from within Fusion. When your virtual tour photographers create a tour, you are given a notification and can keep track of their activity.
  • Photographer Login – We’re very happy to let you know that you can now log directly into your virtual tour photographers account from your master virtual tour system account. This is a HUGE time saver for those of you with a large photography team.
  • Additional Agent / Owner Permissions – When you grant them permission, both agents and owners are now allowed to log into your private labeled login (http://login.BlueLaVaMedia.com) and delete tours. Remember that you will need to grant this permission and it is off by default!
  • Video Ripper Improvements – The video ripper that can be found under the “Video Promotion” section of your virtual tour manager now rips the videos with the audio tracks in the correct order. Consider using the video ripper to create short “Social” videos in addition to your longer YouTube versions. It’s easy and a great money maker!
  • Video Delivery Update – For those of you wishing that you could find a way to easily send your customers your drone video, or home walkthrough video directly through Fusion we are happy to tell you that you can! Check your deliverables section for both your created .mp4 video from our Video Ripper as well as the ability for you to send your customer any videos that you have added into your virtual tour production.
  • Image Delivery Engine Update – We are very happy to let you know that you can now send your virtual tour customers their images in a zip file named one of three ways! Our Image Delivery Engine will now allow you to deliver your images to your customer using your scene sort order, the name you gave your images or you can choose to use your own scene title. Choose your favorite and most convenient naming convention and keep things easy on your customers with these new improvements to the RTV Image Delivery Engine!

Virtual Tour Player Updates

  • Improved Tour SEO – We know that the better a tour ranks in the SERPS the more views it will get, so we stand committed to making sure that your tours will get noticed by the search engines. Our new improved Tour Tags and META should give you a noticeable boost in both MacroSEO site and virtual tour ranking. Remember that your tours MUST be linked onto a site with “Follow” tags for the search engine spiders to pick them up and index them. We encourage you all to use the MacroSEO site to help accomplish this and be sure to blog all of your tours. See www.TourGrandTraverse.com for pointers.

Thanks for your continued support!

Team RTV

Virtual Tour Software & National Photography Services

Order a Virtual Tour – 866-947-8687