• The app is available in the Apple and Android Store and can be downloaded free of charge for iOS and Android devices
• Open the VRdirect app after installation
• Click on "Add project" (Plus button)
• Then enter the VR Project Code or scan the QR Code
• As soon as the project is found, confirm the addition by clicking on "Add VR Project"
• The project then appears in the app and can be downloaded via the download button
• Once the VR project has been downloaded, it can be viewed. For this purpose, it is recommended to turn the smartphone into landscape mode

You can download the app here: 

VRdirect App Apple Store: https://apps.apple.com/app/vrdirect/id1444601264

VRdirect App Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.vrdirect

For more information please check our User Guide. 

There are 4 types of extensions that are accepted: .mp4, .m3u8, .ism/manifest and .m3u8-aapl. If the link is invalid, it might affect the local preview of the whole VR project and the display in the web player (after the project is published). Sometimes the video that is streamed externally is blocked by the corresponding website – this might also affect the whole VR project (will load infinitely).

It must be provided by a publicly available web hosting server (this means that services such as Sharepoint, OneDrive or Dropbox will not work as they require an authorised login – content cannot be publicly streamed from these services and additionally, those are file sharing services instead of web hosting servers).

Please note that YouTube video links will not work as well, as they do not have the correct extension format and YouTube is also not a web hosting server. The external video must have the format 16:9 – otherwise it will be stretched into these dimensions. Please test this function thoroughly beforehand with the external video link. Further information on this topic in this blog article and this video.  

The tool bar is only shown in the Creation side of the Studio. Save your project, delete or duplicate scenes and objects. 

For more information please check our User Guide. 

You can jump from one scene to the next by using “connections“. Once you’ve added at least two scenes you can connect them with each other. To do so, hover over your start scene until the red dot appears, then drag a connection arrow with your mouse from the red dot to your destination scene. 
 

To add objects, select your scene and click on the red plus button (“Add Object”) in the lower left corner of your scene view. Move them around place them within your scene by simply dragging. Change the size of the object in the “Object Properties” of the sidebar and upload your media file in the drag and drop field below the name.
 

After finishing your VR project, as mentioned before, please save your project as a .vrprj file. Then click on “Publish” in the tab bar to switch to the second part of the Studio.
Upload and publish your project by clicking on the red plus button. The software will then ask you to provide a title for your project (e.g. “The Ultimate Guide”).
Furthermore, your new project entry will be opened in a new tab, allowing you to still navigate back and forth and switch between the tabs.
For your project entry, add some general information like author name, short description or a thumbnail image, then save the information and move on to the upload section. Here, upload your .vrprj file that you previously created and saved in the Creation tab.
 

Open your VRdirect Studio and click on the Publishing tab in your tab bar. Click on the big button "Upload and publish project" to create a new VR project entry. Please enter a project title first. After entering a project title, a new tab appears with the new project entry. Here you can edit parameters and additional information for the project (meta data), for example a project author and a description, as well as adding a preview image for the project.

After the information and the preview image have been created, the next step is to upload the VR project to the entry. 
To do this, select the project (.vrprj file) via the "Upload" button. All media files and assets are prepared for publication in this step. After uploading, the data is processed and made available for all devices. 

In the third step, the VR project can be published via the "Publish" button.
After a successful publication, the status of the project is changed and you have the possibility to "take back" the project at any time (i.e. cancel the publication). 
 
Now that it is published, it is available through the distribution links in the section below “Project sharing”. 
Project Code: Enter the 6-digit code into the search field of the VRdirect app (on smartphone and VR headset) and your VR project will start.
App Link: Click on the link that automatically opens the pre-installed VRdirect app and leads to your VR project (on smartphone).
Web Link: Click on the link that will open a Web Browser and show your interactive VR project in VRdirect’s Web Player.

For more information please read our User Guide. 

All external links that are valid: An external link is only considered valid when it starts with http://“, “https://“ or “mailto: 
e.g. your home page, an event booth, an amazon product, a landing page with an included tracking code. 

For more information please check our User Guide. 

Create an account by using this page and then you can contact us directly regarding a license at contact@vrdirect.com. 

Please log into the VRdirect Studio and make sure that the VR project is currently published. If this is the case, a blue info box on the screen should indicate "Project is published". If this is not the case (and you see a yellow info box), the project is probably only uploaded at the moment but not yet actively published – please press the publish button. 

If such a publication is not possible, please check at the same time whether the account has an active license.

The VR project can be started automatically in the web player (without having to click on the play button) by adding a part after the link: &autoplay=1. 
Example: https://player.vrdirect.app/?project-code=39d244&autoplay=1.

Please note that such an edited link does not work via the "Open Web Link" feature (in iOS and macOS), as the Apple system blocks an automatically starting link there. 

No, not yet. But we are working on creating this function. 

The processing time is needed by the studio to prepare the uploaded content for all devices – i.e. during this time the content is converted into different sizes (720p, HD, 2K, 4K, …) as there are some devices that cannot yet play out 4K. This way we make sure that the project works on every device. This process can take a while. Please check every now and then if the processing is finished or still in progress (reload page). Please DO NOT re-upload the project – this will start the processing again from the beginning. If the processing takes longer than 2 hours, please let us know via support@vrdirect.com. You will need the title of the project and the account that was used to upload the project.
 

The update from version 2.2 to 2.3/2.4  was a major update on VRdirect side. We have updated our entire backend system and framework. Therefore, your account might have not been moved to the new systems yet. 
Please try resetting your password via the Studio login. If that does not work, please create a new account via our create account page. You will automatically be assigned with a fresh free-trial license and will be able to use the Studio for free for the next 30 days. 

If you used to have a paid or other license for your "old" account, please contact us via support@vrdirect.com. 

When a VR project is opened in the VRdirect Studio and the Studio loads infinitely and does not respond, it most likely means that the VR project's media paths are missing. In that case the Studio cannot find the assets (360° material, images, videos, etc..) that were uploaded and loads for an infinite time. Is that the case, please make sure that the assets that your project originally had are restored or moved back to its original location. The infinite loading sometimes happens when an exported project was opened/sent.

If that is the case please follow these instructions:
After downloading the export ZIP file, please move it to a place where it can be stored long-term (e.g. a special folder on your laptop) and then unzip it. Unzipping creates the media paths for all graphics and assets used in the project, which means that if the files or folder are moved later, the VRdirect Studio can no longer find the file paths of the assets. The Studio then reports "File could not be found" or loads infinitely. Only in a compressed ZIP file the project has indirect media paths and can be moved. It is therefore advisable to first select a suitable storage location and then unpack the file.

As soon as the object has been added, the sidebar changes to the object properties. To return to the background scene with the time events, simply click on the 3rd tab in the sidebar again.

For more information please check our User Guide. 

Access restriction is not possible within a VR project at the moment. However, you can use a workaround via our "open web link" and "passcode" feature. 
Instead of restricting a dedicated scene, the user could jump to a new VR project via "open web link" in a new tab. That new VR project can consist only of the scene that should be restricted. Additionally, the new VR project can be restricted through passcodes.
To set a passcode protection, navigate to the publishing part of the VRdirect Studio and into your published project. Then, go down to the sharing section and click on the button "Set Project Passcode". Here, you can define and activate a 20-character passcode of your choice.

Yes, in principle tracking data can be integrated into a VR project. That is possible through our feature "post URL / webhook" which will send information to a dedicated source or data dashboard (or can be merged with existing processes). However, we strongly recommend involving a developer party into the setup of these post URLs / webhook as a lot of web development understanding is required. As soon as the post URL / webhook is setup and configured correctly, it can simply be added in the VRdirect Studio (through objects > interaction events).

Go to www.vrdirect.com and click on the „Try for free“ button. You can then choose the free trial version.
A registration form is opened which new users must fill out with their details.

The 3rd tab in the sidebar is the background scene tab. The background scene contains all objects, time events and interactions that are running in the background – for example background music.
By clicking on the 3rd tab, a scene opens in the scene view that looks a little different from your other scenes. Everything that is added within this scene is available and active throughout your entire VR project.
To insert background music, you have to add an object and upload some music (.mp3 file). Now add a time event to the background scene at second 0 that plays this audio object. If everything was done correctly, the audio plays in the background now while the user jumps from scene to scene. It is not affected by a scene change.
 

The VRdirect Studio can be downloaded again here: 
Windows: https://go.vrdirect.com/l/868011/2020-05-14/ghch6

Mac: https://go.vrdirect.com/l/868011/2020-05-14/ghch4

Please check the VRdirect Studio for the latest updates immediately after installation. If a new update is available, please update. 

The VRdirect Studio cannot be installed on a mobile phone, but the VRdirect App can be downloaded to view VR projects. In addition, VR projects can be viewed on a laptop or computer using the Web Player. 

For more information please check the User Guide. 

The project is saved in the location that the user selects when saving. This is usually locally on the computer, e.g. desktop.

With the Studio version 2.4 or higher processing large files is not an issue anymore. You can import files up to 16K.
Please note however, that large files can sometimes cause issues on the devices of your users. We therefore recommend an image and video size between 4K (4096 x 2048px) and 8K (8192 x 4096px). If possible the file size for images should not be above 10MB and for videos should not be above 50MB. 

For 360° images the projection type "equirectangular monoscopic" or "equirectangular stereoscopic (top-bottom/side-by-side)" is required. The files have to be of the JPG, JPEG or PNG format.

For 360° videos the projection type "equirectangular monoscopic" or "equirectangular stereoscopic (side-by-side)" is required. The files have to be of the MP4 format, H264 encoded, 30 fps and 12 mbps bitrate. Additionally we recommend not to include 360° video material over 4 minutes. 

Find further information in our Specifications One Pager.

There are free icons and buttons on the internet (e.g. at Flaticon or Pixabay). You can also download the VRdirect Standard Icon Set from the website .
This blog article shows some free programs for creating icons.

Another possibility is to create icons in PowerPoint with its integrated icon library or to create them in a graphic program using a professional designer.

The 360° content is enriched with interactivity via the VRdirect Studio. Unlike 360° videos or images, users can interact with the scenes and acquire knowledge, for example, through small games. In contrast to passive 360° consumption, the active participation of the user is required. The user is thus more immersed in the virtual 360° environments and has a more pronounced immersive feeling.

The resulting virtual projects can be consumed and viewed in different ways – both by "click interaction" via the web, but also by eye control in the VR glasses. In the latter case, the user enters the project in full immersion and is completely immersed in virtual reality. 

The possibility to consume via the VR glasses is possible at any time via all our playout channels: there is a VR mode for smartphones in the web player and in the app. This allows the smartphone to be plugged into a Cardboard or other mobile VR headset. In more professional VR glasses (such as Oculus Quest), the VR project can be opened directly via the web browser.  
 

This might be due to the fact that your license has run out. Please double check if this is the case on your account. Once you have a new active license you can simply re-upload (.vrprj file) and re-publish your VR projects. If your license is active and the list of projects is still empty, please check the following:

•Which version of the VRdirect Studio are you using?
•Are the links (web link and project code) to your VR projects still working?

If your links are still working, the empty list of projects might be related to the migration update from Studio version 2.2 to 2.4 or higher. In that case, please get in contact with us via support@vrdirect.com.

Resources such as sample material can be found on our support page. Graphic designers can help with the visual design of the scenes or you can simply contact VRdirect via contact@vrdirect.com. 

Yes, you can also embed your VR project into your website, just like a YouTube video, by using the embed code. When clicking the icon, the embed code generator will open and lets you generate the HTML snippet that you need to insert into the source code of your website. 
 

On a Windows computer, it can sometimes happen that the ZIP files that you save are not saved with the file extension ".zip". When the VRdirect Studio asks you where the export should be stored, please make sure that you add ".zip" at the end of your file name. This issue often occurs when transferring the export ZIP from Windows to Mac. View this video to know more about exporting a project.
 

When transferring your project to another computer we highly recommend exporting the project first.
By clicking on the “export” button (first icon in the side bar), the Studio packages a ZIP file that includes all assets. Then all media paths of the assets will be kept. You do not have to worry about re-adding them again on the new computer. Please note that as soon as the exported project is unzipped, the direct media paths will be created. This means that, when you move the .vrprj file or the folder to a different location later on, the Studio will again not find the media paths anymore. We therefore recommend un-zipping the Export ZIP in a location, where the project will stay long-term. View this video to know more about exporting a project.
 

Please log into the VRdirect Studio and make sure that the VR project is currently published. If this is the case, a blue info box on the screen should indicate "Project is published". If this is not the case (and you see a yellow info box), the project is probably only uploaded at the moment but not yet actively published – please press the publish button. If publishing is not possible, please double check whether your account has an active licence. 

If only the project code is working (in the app), but not the web link, please contact support@vrdirect.com.

If a user wants to move freely in VR, this is only possible in an environment that has been generated by a computer and rendered simultaneously in real time. The current positions of the user are recorded and the moving environment is adjusted based on this. Unfortunately, this is only possible if the VR environment has been modelled in 3D in advance and communicates with a programmed system. The same applies to the action of lifting and rotating any objects from the environment itself.

VRdirect is not a platform that works with such complicated setups. Here, the user is supposed to upload and expand his content himself – without needing a developer or a game engine. The focus is on user-friendliness and simplicity. Accordingly, it is not possible to move freely in a VRdirect project. Instead, users jump from place to place and click on interactive objects to learn more about them.
 

Please check whether the app has been updated to the latest version. If so, close the app again and open it again, or download the project again. Also, please check on a second test device. If these errors are reproducible, we would be very pleased if you could send a short message to support@vrdirect.com. Please be sure to include the details of the test device, project and app version. If 360° content is displayed in a strange way, please check in the VR project which 360° projection was selected and in which projection the 360° content was recorded (Equirectangular monoscopic? Stereoscopic? …etc.).   
 

If the quality of the 360° content looks suboptimal, it must first be checked whether this can be due to the content itself or to the device on which the content is currently being played. 
The following points and questions are important for this:

Check the quality of the 360° content itself 

• Is the content above 4K? 
• Does the content have a high resolution? 
• When you zoom into the content, do you see the same resolution as in the VR project? 
• How does the content look via another player – e.g. VLC?
• How does other content look in the VRdirect player? E.g. from other projects

Check playout device

• How does the VR project look on other devices? E.g. iPhone, Android Phone, other computer, VR glasses
• How does the VR project look on other browsers? E.g. Chrome Browser, Firefox Browser, Safari Browser
• Is my device capable of playing 4K and higher resolutions?
• How old is my device? –> Older devices can often only display reduced qualities. Therefore, please make sure to compare on another device. 
• How good is my internet connection? If the VR project is viewed via streaming, it may be that content is displayed in reduced or increased quality based on the internet connection.
• Is my device and browser up-to-date? Updates from playout systems can often cause differences in quality.  

The scene orientation is a feature inside the VRdirect Studio that lets you set the direction in which your user should look once they enter the 360° scene. Please consider from which way your user will enter the scene (from which scene are they coming? On which object are they clicking?) and use that as a base for the scene orientation. Please also make use of the coordinate system inside a scene, which helps to keep track of the directions and angles. It can be activated via the little lower right button inside the scene view (“world” icon). When checking how the user goes through the experience, please always use the project preview – it will let you view your current project from the eyes of a user.

To get a better understanding of how the scene orientation works, please view our video. 
 

After you signed up for a new account and you can automatically make use of the 30-day free trial period when choosing your license. You can cancel anytime during these 30 days to ensure that you won’t be upgraded to a paid license.
 

Here you can switch between the Creation and Publishing tab. You can also find notifications and your profile options here. 
 

This window shows the inside of a scene. Here you can add objects and look around in the scene (360° environment) by dragging with your mouse cursor.
 

All scenes are displayed and managed here. New Scenes and connections ca be added here as well.  
 

A scene represents a 360° environment that the user stands in. Scenes are filled with 360° images or videos. To add a Scene, you can either click on the plus button „Add Scene” or you can add 360° content per drag and drop by clicking into the field. To keep the project organized change the scene´s name in the properties sidebar to something descriptive and arrange them with a logical layout structure in the storyboard (drag the small scenes around to move and place them accordingly).
 

360° content can be:

• Monoscopic / stereoscopic side-by-side / stereoscopic top-bottom images or videos that were captured with a 360° camera
• Monoscopic / stereoscopic side-by-side / stereoscopic top-bottom stock footage from the internet
• Monoscopic / stereoscopic side-by-side / stereoscopic top-bottom CGI images or videos that were rendered out of a 3D program (this is how you can also work with CAD data)

In order to add interactivity, you must add objects first. Objects trigger the connections and are added to a scene. Depending on what content you upload to your object – they can be images (PNG and JPG), videos (MP4), audio (MP3) and spatial audio (TBE).
 

To make this object interactive, add a so-called “interaction event” at the bottom of the sidebar. Once added, you can choose how the user triggers the interaction: By selecting the object (Select), by gazing/hovering over the object (Gaze in) or by gazing away/leaving the object (Gaze out). After the trigger, choose what type of interaction happens (e.g. connect scenes, start video or sound, hide object, …) and last but not least, what the target of the interaction is. This can either be another object or a scene that the user wants to jump into. ​​​​​​

"Time events” are an additional way of triggering an action, besides interaction events. They are based on the time of a scene. For instance, you can use time events to let the user enter a scene and have an image or a sound appear after a set time.

To do so, select the scene where you would like to set the time event. In the property’s sidebar on the bottom, click on “Add Event”. Then, set the seconds after which the action should happen and afterwards choose your desired action. The action will start automatically after this time.
For instance, add a time event with 15 seconds -> Connect scenes -> Your second scene.
 

To do a preview you have to go to the first sidebar-tab. Here, you find options for your entire project: Start a new project, open an existing project, export your current project, select the scene that starts off your project – and of course the preview.
Start a preview by simply clicking on the obvious “Start Preview” button. A new window will open on top of the VRdirect Studio that enables you to check your project by navigating through it. Before making any changes on your existing project, make sure to close the preview window again. Please make sure to save your project once in a while by clicking on “Save Project” in the tool bar at the top.
 

Yes, once it is successfully uploaded, you are able to preview it one last time with links that you can also open on your mobile device or your VR headset. To view the links, please download and install the VRdirect App onto your devices. Download the VRdirect App from the App Store (for iOS), Google Play Store (for Android) or the Oculus Store. It is of course free of charge and easily findable by searching for “VRdirect”.
 

If this message appears, open the System Preferences, go to “Security & Privacy”, then click on “Open anyway”. The message can appear on Mac because the VRdirect Studio is not yet available in the App Store. However, the VRdirect Studio is an officially certified software, validated by macOS and Windows operating systems.
 

When adding a time event with “Open Web Link” and the users have a pop-up blocker enabled in their browser, the external web site will not open (Not the same with interaction events, only time events). 

There are 3 types of extensions which are accepted: .mp4 / .m3u8 / .ism/manifest / .m3u8-aapl.
When the streaming link is invalid it will affect the local preview of the entire project and it will affect the viewing on the web player. Sometimes the web player streaming video can be blocked by the streaming website – this affects the entire VR project too (will load indefinitely). The streaming video MUST have the dimensions 16:9 – otherwise, it will be stretched in those dimensions. 

The length of time a user stays in a VR project depends very much on the type of VR project and the end device. If it is a simple tour of a flat, which is viewed on a laptop, the length of stay can be much shorter than with a complex, interactive storyline. However, experience shows, that consumers/users stay in a VR project for up to 10-15 minutes on average. This duration is further enhanced by interactions.  

• Start the VR project via the Play button (in the middle) 
• Activate the full-screen mode in the bottom right corner to see the VR project in full screen 
• Switch the sound of the VR project on or off at any time (bottom left)
• Switch to Virtual Reality mode on your smartphone by clicking the VR symbol at the bottom left  
• Navigation within the VR project: 
• Look around in the 360° environment to the left and right by dragging the mouse (mouse drag) 
• Zoom in or out in the 360° scene with the mouse 
• Click on an icon or object to activate it 

This can be due to 2 reasons: 
1. the end device on which the VR project is viewed – older smartphone models can sometimes not play back more than 4K or even HD quality. Other devices (for example, new smartphones or VR glasses) can play much higher quality content.

2. the given internet network (if the project is viewed via the web). There are also streaming differences that can lead to different quality levels.

The VRdirect platform tries to play out the highest content possible at any given time.

After a project has been successfully uploaded, the uploaded content must first be processed. Before that, publication is not possible. After processing is complete, please actively publish the project – only then will it be available via the distribution links.

The processing time is needed by the studio to prepare the uploaded content for all devices – i.e. during this time the content is converted into different sizes (720p, HD, 2K, 4K, …) as there are some devices that cannot yet play out 4K. This way we make sure that the project works on every device.
This process can take a few minutes. Please check every now and then if the processing is finished or still in progress (reload page).
Please DO NOT re-upload the project – this will start the processing again from the beginning.
If the processing takes longer than 2 hours, please let us know via support@vrdirect.com. You will need the title of the project and the account that was used to upload the project.
 

In the Studio´s sidebar section you will find some other scene properties. For example, the scene orientation. When changing the orientation through the slider control, your 360° content will shift its focus on the X-axsis. That means: When entering this scene in VR the user will look into the shifted direction.

In order to update a project you do not have to create a new project entry. You can use your old one and simply replace your previous version. Just go back to the “Creation” tab, do your updates on your existing project and then save it again (as .vrprj file). Then, switch to the “Publishing” tab and from your list of uploaded projects, choose your old project entry by clicking on the little edit icon on the right side. Your old project entry will open again with your old links. Then, simply click on the “Upload” button again and upload your new project file. After it is done uploading, the new version is attached to the project entry but it did not yet replace your previous version. Only when you click on “Publish” again, the version will be replaced by your new one.
 

The login window that opens when you start the VRdirect Studio requires a functioning internet connection. Please ensure that this is established when logging in. After logging in, the creation part of the studio can be used offline.

If you use a company internet connection, it could also be that the internal WLAN blocks the connection to the VRdirect Studio. This is sometimes the case in larger companies due to special firewalls. In this case, please contact the internal IT department. 

After downloading the export ZIP file, please move it to a place where it can be stored long-term (e.g. a special folder on your laptop) and then unzip it. Unzipping creates the media paths for all graphics and assets used in the project, which means that if the files or folder are moved later, the VRdirect Studio can no longer find the file paths of the assets. The Studio then reports "File could not be found". 
Only if it is a ZIP file does the project have indirect media paths and can be moved. It is therefore advisable to first select a suitable storage location and then unpack the file. 

Please click on the "Profile" icon in the top menu bar in the VRdirect Studio and check "About VRdirect Studio" for new updates. If there are new updates, please install them and restart the Studio. 

At present, the web player does not yet distinguish whether an object has interactions or not. This means that even with image objects, the mouse cursor implies that the object is clickable. This behaviour will be corrected in the coming Web Player updates. A current workaround is to set the objects in the Studio to "deactivated", which do not have any interactions. Thus, for example, a picture on the wall behaves like an inactive picture.

At present, the App Player does not yet distinguish whether an object has interactions or not. This means that even with image objects, the crosshairs (control in the middle) imply that the object is clickable. This behaviour will be corrected in the coming platform updates. A current workaround is to set the objects in the studio to "deactivated", which have no interactions. This means that a picture on the wall, for example, behaves like an inactive picture.

No, this function is currently not possible. The objects must be moved individually. 

No, not yet. But we are working on it. At the moment, the scenes have to be recreated. 

Um Objekte hinzuzufügen, muss man die Szene markieren und auf den magentafarbenen Plus-Button ("Objekt hinzufügen") in der linken unteren Ecke der Szenenansicht klicken. Durch einfaches Ziehen innerhalb der Szene lässt sich ein Objekt verschieben. Die Größe des Objekts kann in den "Objekteigenschaften" der Seitenleiste verändert werden und die Mediendatei im Drag-and-Drop-Feld unterhalb des Namens hochgeladen werden. 

The VRdirect Studio is the software that is used to create and publish Virtual Reality projects. The Studio runs on macOS and Windows. 

Computer & Access

• Which computer are you using? (Operating system and version)
• Are you storing the files on your local machine or on an online server? (Sometimes when files are imported from an online storage the VRdirect Studio is blocked by internal firewalls)
• Which internet connection are you using when uploading and publishing the project? Is it a company network or a private network? (Sometimes certain networks are blocking the VRdirect Studio due to firewalls)
• Have you already tried the whole process on a different computer and with a different internet connection? If no, please do so. 
• Have you already tried de-installing and re-installing the VRdirect Studio? If no, please do so.
• Have you updated the VRdirect Studio to its newest version? Or are new updates available? If yes, please update via the “About” page of the VRdirect Studio.
• What is your account? (Email address)
• Could you please double check that your account is running on an active license?

VR Project & Assets

• How large and complex is your project?
• Could you please make sure that your assets and files have a valid format and match the VRdirect specifications? (JPEG, JPG, PNG, MP4, MP3)
• Is your 360° content in the equirectangular monoscopic format?
• Did you include sound files? If yes, can you please remove them from your project and do another test run to see if the problems are related to your sound files?
• Did you include large 2D video files?
• Have you verified that your project is working via the Studio's preview? (Located in the “home” tab)

Upload & Publishing

• When uploading a project (.vrprj file) is it going through successfully? Or does the upload stop on any specific asset?
• Do you see a blue “content processing” note with a rotating arrow icon on your project entry?
• Do you receive an error message when clicking the “Publish” button? If yes, please send us a screenshot and double check that you have an active license.

Any information, as well as screenshots or screencasts help to identify what seems to be the issue on your side.

Please feel free to contact support@vrdirect.com if the problem persists.
​
 

When you click on the third icon, you are in the background scene. Since no object has been created in this scene or it has not been selected (clicked), the second icon in the sidebar appears grey. 

The object is probably in the background scene and is therefore not visible in normal scenes in edit mode. It is recommended to check in the preview whether the object is present. 

This is currently a bug that will be fixed in the coming releases. Please do not drag the objects completely into the nadir/zenit, but always drag them a few millimetres further up or down. 
 

The so-called nadir refers to the base point opposite the zenit, in this case the position of the camera tripod. Because the entire room is photographed in a 360° panorama, the tripod is also photographed. Thus, in a 360° scene, nadir is the point at the bottom and zenit is the point at the top. 

Select any scene in the storyboard and change back to the scene properties of this scene and out of the background scene. Alternatively, you can select the first tab of the sidebar (home tab) and continue from there.

Clicking on the 3rd tab opens the background scene in the scene view. 

To insert background music, please add an object in the background scene and upload music (.mp3 file). Then add a time event in the background scene at second 0 that plays this audio object. If everything has been done correctly, the music will now play in the background while the user jumps from scene to scene. It is not affected by a scene change.

Here is a video on how to add background music. 

The feature external web links enables you to integrate 3rd objects from any webpage, making it possible for users to communicate with “the outside world” – in this case: external web browsers.
The web link can be an URL or also start with „mailto:“ and will open up the user’s mail client. 

Here is a video how to link an email address. 

Graphic designers and media agencies can help with the design of VR projects. VRdirect has a large network of partner agencies that can be contacted if required. Please contact support@vrdirect.com. 

• Use as much natural / artificial light as possible
• Use a stable tripod to ensure the camera is centred and steady
• Set the camera at the eye level of a person (approx. 1.60m)
• Do not position the camera too far or too close to the subject
• Clear the space around the camera and make sure that people in the background are not visible during the shot

For more information please use the "360° Production" One Pager. 

If you add a time event with "Open Web Link" and the users have a pop-up blocker enabled in their browser, the external website will not open. (This does not apply to interaction events, only to time events).
If the link does not open (even with an interaction event), it is probably related to an iOS mobile device limitation. When the VR project is displayed on iPhone or iPad, the iOS system blocks opening new websites. When displayed on Android or on a laptop, there should be no problems with interaction events and the use of the Open Web Link function. 

Yes, it is on the cloud – we ensure that the content is displayed correctly on all devices and is available globally. However, no one who is not authorised has access to the data in the cloud. 
The project can only be "seen" (viewed) by those who have access to it. The published project can only be viewed by people who also have the distribution links to it.  

Yes, professional photographers can take single images with SLR and nodal point adapter, but they have to stitch them manually in a software afterwards. This process is very time-consuming. 

One possible camera we recommend is the Ricoh Theta V. It has a 3K video resolution, has a battery life of 80 minutes and can take 24-megapixel pictures. It also has a dual lens and costs around 350-400€. 

Stitching softwares include the following: Mistika VR, PTGui, Adobe After Effects, Autopano Giga (Kolor). 

For more information, please check our "Hardware" One Pager. 

The finished and published project can be shared via the generated links and the project code. Please always export the project file as a zip file. All project assets are automatically combined in a folder and compressed into a zip file. This makes it easier to share the VR project with others when exporting it.

Here is a video how to export a project. 

No, at the moment this function does not work and you have to edit the music with audio editing software beforehand. However, we are working on a solution. 

No, currently the text must be embedded as an image (previous creation e.g. in PowerPoint or Photoshop). However, this function is being planned and will be included in future Studio versions. 

After finishing up the registration process, you will automatically get to a download page. Download the VRdirect Studio and install it on your Mac or Windows. Open the installed VRdirect Studio and login with your account details. After the login, the Studio opens immediately in the „Creation“ environment. 
 

The sidebar shows properties of the selected object or scene. As well as the overall project options and the background scene. 
 

All external web links that are valid: An external weblink is only considered valid if it starts with "http://", "https://" or "mailto": e.g. the homepage, an event stand, an Amazon product, a landing page with embedded tracking code.

Please note that this web link must point to a publicly accessible website. Otherwise, users will not be able to access the website.

More information on this topic in this blog article. 

• Use as much lightning as possible 
• Use as much equal lightning as possible (from left, right and top) to reduce shadows 
• Use a stable tripod to make sure the camera is centred and very steady (you will see tilting in 360° very easily) 
• Adjust the height of the camera to a person’s eye-level 
• Position the camera not too far from and not too close to your object of interest  
• Make sure to also take “neutral” 360° images – e.g. in the middle of the room 
  (those images can serve later in the experience as menu background or intro image) 
• Rather take more photos than too few 
• Clean the room around the camera – make sure everything looks symmetrical and tidy
  (as this is a 360° picture you will see every little detail in the room – every trashcan, every paper on the floor, …) 
• Make sure the people in the back are not visible or stage them on purpose 
• You can, for example, take 1 photo of the object without people and 1 photo of the object (same camera position) with people – this way it will look like the object “came to life”
  (same goes not only for people but also for settings/position of the machine)  

For more information please read our "Recommendations for taking 360° photos" One Pager. 
 
 

Yes, space can be saved by integrating 2D videos (not 360° videos) through an external web source – instead of uploading them as a media file. To do so, simply add an object and then insert the relating web link in the tab “external video”. 
 

This way, the VR project does not load or store the files of the 2D videos – making the project effectively much lighter and saving space. Furthermore, please make sure not to integrate too heavy files in general. Try to reduce the file size of all your media assets (360° photos, 360° videos, images, icons, …) as much as possible beforehand.

For more information please check our video and guide.

It can happen that the Web Player takes longer to load. This will be fixed in the next releases. Please also check the internet connection. 

  
First comes the creation of a concept for the VR project, followed by the 360° production where the content is recorded. Afterwards, the VR project can be created in the VRdirect Studio. There is a video about this topic. 

Our "Guide to creating a VR project" One Pager helps with the steps. 
 

You can record content with 360° cameras. Here we recommend some cameras for this purpose. 

You can also record 360° content with an SLR camera with a nodal point adapter or use existing stock images on the internet (e.g. Shutterstock, Bigstock, POND 5).

Please make sure to update the VRdirect Studio to its newest version.In older versions, when uploading a lot of VR projects or when uploading a lot of new versions (making the project entry more “heavy”) the system – based on your internet connection – is loading the “Publishing” section for a very long time.

After roughly 5 minutes of loading the “Publishing” section, the system “times out” – causing an error message: “Projects could not be loaded”. One workaround, if this issue appears, could be splitting projects over different accounts. 

When media assets (such as images, videos, sounds, etc.) suddenly disappear in the VRdirect Studio, it is often related to where the media path has its origin.

Every media asset, that was added in the Studio, has a relating media path that points to the place where the file is stored – e.g. Computer > Desktop > Folder1 > Folder 2 …

This is the reason why it is very important to not move files around after creating in the VRdirect Studio. Otherwise, the system cannot find the file anymore because the relating path has changed. If this problem occurs, please make sure to try the following:

•After creating the VR project, have you moved any of the assets (or folder) to a different location on your computer? If yes, please try to move it back to its original location.

•After creating the VR project, have you moved the project file (.vrprj) to a different location on your computer? If yes, please try to move it back to its original location.
•Please try opening the VR project on two different internet networks (e.g. personal Hotspot and private network).
•Are your assets stored on an online server or on your local computer? Please try opening the VR project on a different computer.
•Please try restarting your computer.
•Please try uninstalling and reinstalling the VRdirect Studio on your computer.
•Please try exporting the VR project to see if all assets are exported correctly.
•Please try uploading the VR project (.vrprj) in the Publishing part. If it does not work, which error message do you see?
•Please try creating a small test VR project with different assets.
•Please update the VRdirect Studio to its latest version.

In the old VRdirect app, the swirling was due to Apple making an update to gyroscope mode (when iOS 14 came out). Apple changed the gyroscope mode, so all apps developed for the previous gyroscope mode had a problem. Meanwhile, the problem is no longer present in the new VRdirect app. Please update to the new VRdirect app as this problem comes from the old iOS app version. 

Note: the problem has only occurred on iOS devices running on iOS 14 or higher.

If the preview of the Studio is not working anymore it might be related to the following scenarios:

• Are you creating a very complex and large VR project? If that is the case, please do a test where you remove several scenes from your project and try the preview again.
• In rare cases it could be related to an asset which is miscoded or in a wrong format. Please double check your files.
• When using external video links for your objects, please make sure that they follow the VRdirect format requirements.  Here is a video and a blog article on how to integrate external videos. 
• Do your objects or scenes have unfinished interactions? E.g. when you created an object, added the interaction “Connect scenes” but accidentally never chose a scene to connect to. In that case the interaction is not finished and therefore causes the preview not to work.
• Please make sure to also check the background scene when going through your interactions.
• Please also try uploading and publishing your project, to see if the project still works when published.