3D Tours, Virtual Tours, Slideshows and Video Tours. What's the difference?12074
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 iGuideSales Team Kitchener, Canada |
andriystrebkov private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Hello everybody! This question is always confusing everybody, we see people using these terms interchangeably and putting different meanings into them. I talked to many different people in the industry, done some deeper research into the meanings of these words and how they've changed, and wrote a blog about the definitions. I am curious to hear what your thoughts are  ----- Selling a property online? Everything you need to know about virtual tours. 3D Tour, Virtual Tour, 3D Virtual Tour, Virtual Walkthrough. We constantly see photographers and real estate agents juggling with these terms and applying them to different solutions and technologies. The real estate industry is embracing technology and now is the best time to try and clearly define these terms to avoid confusion. “The difference between Virtual Tour, Virtual Walkthrough, 3D Tour, 24/7 Open House Virtual Tour, Digital Twin, True 3D, 360 Tour is clear as mud!” says Dan Smigrod, the founder of We Get Around Network, a popular portal connecting the 3D/360º community world-wide. “One of the challenges in our ‘space’ – yet another name for a 3D tour – is that even those in the industry cannot agree on what to call the various iterations. Ask 10 people to describe “it” and you are likely to get 15 different descriptions”, says Dan. However, technology companies like iGUIDE, Matterport, or Asteroom and their users typically draw a clear line between a slide-show or a video call and a real 3D Tour. So, what is the difference between all these terms? Let’s try to “clear the mud”.  What is a Virtual Tour? Over the years, the term “virtual tour” has been gradually evolving and changing its meaning. Before the emergence of the abovementioned innovative solutions, a slideshow or a series of panoramic images was legitimately called a “virtual tour”. However, nowadays, the meaning of this term is rapidly shifting towards something much more sophisticated and advanced. Interestingly enough, the same thing happened to the term “virtual reality”, which used to be widely applied to the same 360-degree photographs. “Even before there was virtual reality, the International Virtual Reality Photography Association (IVRPA) used the term Virtual Reality to describe 360ºs photos”, says Dan Smigrod. Simply put, you cannot use panoramic images and call them “virtual reality” anymore if you want to be properly understood because the meaning has changed drastically. We are witnessing the same process for the words “virtual tour” and “virtual walkthrough”. So, let’s take a look at the most up-to-date meaning of these terms. Virtual Tour is a general term used for a variety of tools and solutions ranging from slideshows, photos, and websites to 3D Tours and Virtual Reality experiences. We can see that this is rather an umbrella term that might have multiple meanings due to the meaning of the words “virtual” and “tour”, which basically may encompass any representation of the property done with some sort of computer device. At the same time, 3D Tour (or 3D Virtual Tour) is a series of 360° images, also called photospheres, panoramas, or panos, where a user can navigate from one 360° image to another. This is a more specific term used for platforms like iGUIDE, Matterport, or Asteroom. More can be read about this definition in the White Paper, prepared by Alexander Likholyot, CEO of Planitar Inc, the maker of iGUIDE.  Slideshows and Live Video Tours We all know somebody who takes still pictures, delivers them in the form of a slideshow and calls it a “virtual tour” We see a growing number of people, lately, using FaceTime or other video call apps to show a house to homebuyers live and call this process a “virtual walkthrough”. So after discussing the most up-to-date sense of what “virtual tour” actually is, let’s define some other solutions which might be labeled in this way. A slideshow is “a presentation of photographic slides projected on a surface or displayed on a screen one after another”, this definition is taken from Merriam-Webster Dictionary and seems to be quite accurate. It can be added that, sometimes, these slides are shown one after another automatically. An example of a slideshow platform is Smilebox. Another solution that is widely used today is a live video stream (or live video tours) which means “to stream digital data (such as audio or video material) that is delivered continuously and is usually intended for immediate processing or playback.” – another W-M definition. Thus, whenever agents are using their smartphone apps like FaceTime, Skype, Whatsapp, etc. and are walking through the property showing the homebuyers the house and answering questions, they are doing a live video streaming or live video tour. The words and their meanings are in constant flux, especially if they are technology-related. 3D Tours, slideshows, live video tours, and regular video are different solutions all of which can be rightfully called a “virtual tour”. Even if the industry itself cannot agree on what each term means, using specific and consistent terminology when marketing to your own clients is a better approach for avoiding confusion, boosting efficiency, and promoting your personal brand. Source: iGUIDE Blog What are your thoughts? |
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bryanhscott private msg quote post Address this user | |
| @andriystrebkov From my perspective, anything with the words, "Virtual Tour," is confusing and should not be used at the same time as 3D anything. Despite the fact that 3D tours are absolutely "Virtual," this term denotes the old still photo virtual tours that some even call "video" walk-throughs, when clearly all they are is a string of still photos that move up/down and side to side for no apparent reason and are packaged together as a slide show. And, for the most part, the old guard of real estate agents still regard them as "have to's," along with the still photos that built them. No, when we are talking panos, or photospheres, or anything resembling these, when assembled together in a tour, are called "3D Tours." The only reason I can't adopt the term, "Digital Twin," is because that term was (I believe) originally conjured up by Matterport. |
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iGuide Sales Team Kitchener, Canada |
andriystrebkov private msg quote post Address this user | |
| @bryanhscott , I agree, in my opinion the term "Virtual Tour" should be abandoned, especially in the marketing and sales process since it's just confusing and too generic, it might mean "virtually" anything Not sure about the term "Digital Twin", I thought it was rather introduced by companies like IBM, Siemens, SAP, etc. and then Matterport just jumped on that train later on, but, again, I haven't really looked into it. |
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 WGAN ForumFounder & WGAN-TV Podcast Host Atlanta, Georgia |
DanSmigrod private msg quote post Address this user | |
   eBlast received Thursday, 11 June 2020 Hi All, @andriystrebkov Despite the use of "3D Virtual Reality" and "Virtual Home Tours" ... I could not find what I was expecting in terms of a "3D" experience. So, add to the confusion, a real estate agent/broker using traditional video and calling it 3D Virtual Reality  Dan |
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iGuide Sales Team Kitchener, Canada |
andriystrebkov private msg quote post Address this user | |
@DanSmigrod , yeah, that's funny, I can somewhat understand the use of "virtual tour" word (even thought it's very confusing), but "3D experience" is not really right word here for sure  I just had a similar experience yesterday with one of the local wineries here, in Ontario, I wanted to schedule a wine tasting tour but accidentally came across their "virtual tour" option, which, for obvious reasons, caught my attention. What I found inside were 7 different videos about the winery  |
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WGAN Forum Founder & WGAN-TV Podcast Host Atlanta, Georgia |
DanSmigrod private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Hi All, Related WGAN Forum discussion: ✓ Why are walk-through videos called virtual tours on the MLS? Dan |
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WGAN Forum Founder & WGAN-TV Podcast Host Atlanta, Georgia |
DanSmigrod private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Hi All, A related WGAN Forum discussion: ✓ Someone Please Define 360 Tour vs 3D Tour Dan |
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homefinders3d private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Lol I searched before I posted and didn’t see this thread | ||
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