FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

  1. How does it work ?
  2. What is the site visit procedure ?
  3. How long does it take ?
  4. How much does it cost ?
  5. What are the advantages of e-propertyview ?
  6. How will people find my tour ?
  7. Do I need a web site ?
  8. How do I protect my privacy ?
  9. Can a tour be added to my exisiting web site ?
  10. What are the technical requirements ?

ANSWERS

  1. How does it work ? The creation of a tour begins with capturing a series of digital images of the target site. These are then digitally retouched by hand, to ensure that your property is shown off to its best advantage. The processed images are then linked together using our unique navigation system, and rendered into web pages suitable for viewing on the internet or other digital media. [Return to FAQ List]
  2. What is the site visit procedure ? Once an order has been placed, an appointment is arranged for a site visit. In preparation for the photography, the client may wish to arrange the site/property in order to maximise its appeal. (For example, in a 'Property For Sale' application, the client may wish to tidy and de-clutter the property as one would for a normal viewing.) Upon arrival, our representative will explain the process, and make a visual survey of the area in order to plan a the tour layout. The client may wish to be involved in the design stage, and always has full editorial control over which areas are included in the tour.Photographs are then taken of the relevant areas. Finally, the photographer will review the images for quality, and then transfer them from the camera to secure storage before leaving the premises.The duration of the visit naturally depends on the size and layout of the site. As an example, a typical 3-bedroomed semi-detached property would require approximately 2 hours. [Return to FAQ List]
  3. How long does it take ? It depends very much on the nature of the tour subject. One critical factor is the number of images required to give a natural and intuitive virtual experience. Too few images can result in a tour which fails to portray the layout effectively. Too many images can result in a tour which feels clumsy and disjointed. As a rough guide, for a typical 3-bedroom semi-detached property, the site visit would take approximately 2 hours, and the tour would be 'live' on the internet within 7 days of the shoot. For large sites such as a garden centre or entertainment complex, a preliminary site visit may be required in order to arrive at a quotation. [Return to FAQ List]
  4. How much does it cost ? The cost elements for any tour are made up from 3 components:
    The cost of the site visit (travel expenses from our base in the northwest area of the UK.

    The cost of designing and creating the tour.

    The cost of promoting the tour via your chosen media (Internet, CD-Rom, etc.)
    Please contact us for a quotation. [Return to FAQ List]
  5. What are the advantages of the e-propertyview system ? The most significant advantage of e-propertyview™ is the ability to present an experience which, whilst thoroughly virtual, nevertheless feels completely 'natural' to the visitor. The method of stepping from one point to the next most closely simulates the way we move in real life, when viewing a property. Other systems often employ 360° panoramic views, which are fine for viewing a single room, but generally fail to portray an impression of the layout. The 360° experience is also very artificial - in the real world, when did you last stand in one spot and spin yourself slowly around? The e-propertyview™ system is both simple and intuitive, and that is what makes it so effective. A significant additional benefit arises from the fact that all e-propertyview™ tours are custom made. Each individual digital image is inspected and hand-retouched so that the property can present its 'best face' to the world. Furthermore, the results are not stitched together by automatic software programs, but manually assembled and fully tested to ensure that the tour 'feels' right to the visitor.Technically, e-propertyview™ has the advantage that the tour requires no downloads, and no special software. Tours can easily be integrated into other web sites, and will run quickly and smoothly on most modern computers, requiring only a standard internet browsing program such as Microsoft Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox. [Return to FAQ List]
  6. How will people find my tour ? The tour can be linked or included as part of an exisiting web site, or, we can create a stand-alone micro web site to promote your tour. We will optimise the site and submit it to all the major search engines such Google and Yahoo. The tour address can be included in all your advertising media / literature. On the other hand, if you are selling a property privately, you may wish the tour to be seen only by persons that you have already "filtered" for suitability. We can make the tour invisible to the search engines. In this case the tour will only be seen by people to whom you personally provide the address / access code. [Return to FAQ List]
  7. Do I need a website ? A pre-existing web site is not essential. There are various options for hosting your tour on the internet, and we can easily create a micro web site for you. Tours can also be distrubuted on a CD-Rom disc, for viewing on a computer which does not have internet access. (Some companies operate "firewalls" which severely restrict employees' access to the internet.) [Return to FAQ List]
  8. How do I protect my privacy ? If you wish to grant access to only those people you select, then we will create your tour so that it is hidden from the internet directories and search engines. The web site address will contain an 8-digit security code, so that only those people to whom you give the code will know how to access the site. [Return to FAQ List]
  9. Can a tour be added to my existing web site ? If you already have an internet site, and wish to add one or more tours to it, then we can simply supply a few pieces of information to your current web-master / hosting company so that they may create the requisite link. All you need to do is decide where on the existing pages the link to the tour will be situated. You can even host the tour on your own site if preferred - in this case we will simply send the requisite files to your web-master in a standard format for inclusion. [Return to FAQ List]
  10. What are the technical requirements ? The system is technically very simple. It uses only standard HTML, JPEG & GIF images, and Javascript. There is no requirement for ActiveX, no need to wait for downloads or "plug-ins" to be installed. The Javascript functions are not essential to viewing the tour. A small proportion of browsers which do not have Javascript enabled will render a slightly less informative version of the basic tour.The "information-rich" version of the tour requires javascript to be enabled. [Return to FAQ List]

Contact Us today for more information.