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.
 

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. 

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

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. 

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.
 

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.

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.
 

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. 
 

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.
 

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. 

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. 

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. 

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. 
 

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. 

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, 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. 

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. 

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.

  
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. 
 

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.

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.