Slideshows and Multimedia 

About Slideshows 

The 360° media linked by HotSpots represent the Locations in the virtual world you are building. This world is further enhanced when you add multimedia content including photographs, videos, sound files, 3D objects, reports and other documents as .pdf files. It is even possible to create multiple choice quizzes and add them to specific Locations in your project. This content is displayed as Slideshows associated with specific Locations and accessed by the user via InfoSpots.

VR-Suite includes a user-friendly process to import both 360° media and the content for Slideshows. You can define Slideshows when you first create a project or anytime later to enhance your project with more details. Slideshows can also be set up externally using the Advanced Import method. While this method can be very fast, it requires the user to follow strict rules regarding file and folder name conventions.

Follow: Add Slideshows and Multimedia

Mediatypes Overview 

Slideshow Folder can contain the following media types (even mixed):

Images, including stereoscopic images (transparency will be obeyed with .png’s)
Video, including stereoscopic images
Audio, stereo or 3D format
3D Objects
Documents in .pdf

Special Formats

Overlay Media, include perspective media files
Quiz, inlcude single and multiple choice quizzes and surveys

See also Codecs: Codecs and File Formats

Opening and Closing of Slideshows 

Slideshows appear in the project as clickable “Infospots” that are labeled by the Editor.

In VR Mode:

To open a Slideshow, use a VR click on the InfoSpot.
To close a Slideshow, rotate your head by 90 degrees to the side.

In non-VR Mode:

To open a Slideshow, click the left-mouse button on the InfoSpot.
To close a Slideshow, click the X button in the upper-right corner of the Slideshow window.

Using Videos in Slideshows 

A video played in a Slideshow has the standard controls for play, pause, restart, and a timeline. To advance the video forward, click onto the desired position in the timeline.

Duration Setting for Slideshows 

For Slideshows with multiple images or documents, you can adjust the length of time the files are displayed.

Editor Start Mode
Launch the iMenu
Select the Settings tab
Scroll down to Slide Duration
Choose the number of seconds you want each file to be displayed

For advanced users: To use the Individual setting, you can set individual durations for each Slideshow in the media.xml.

Related link to the settings: Slide Duration.

Videos run until the end, then switch to the next content.

Add Slideshows and Multimedia 

There are two ways to import media files into your project and create a Slideshow:

Use the Step-by-Step Import process from the iMenu (in VR-Suite’s Editor Mode) and create Slideshows for each Location
Use the external, Advanced Import process to copy media files into the correct folder structure using Windows Explorer (file manager) and import the entire folder structure at once

Both methods require use of Windows Explorer to select files. This must be done when not using VR goggles.

Step by Step Import 

The first steps are to open your project, start Editor Mode, open the iMenu, and select the desired Location where you want to add a Slideshow:

Editor Start Mode
Launch the iMenu
Highlight the name of the Location where you wish to create a Slideshow.
Select the Arrow in a Circle icon to the right of the name. This causes the selected Location to be loaded.

Choose the tab Media from the top of the dialog box.
- Choose from the options on the bottom of the dialog box to add that type of media files to your project.
Choose the Slideshow icon to make files available to the user by clicking an Infospot. This causes Windows File Explorer to open so you can select the desired files.
- Browse to the desired Location on your hard disk and select the media files to be inserted into this Slideshow. Choose one or more files to open with the following extensions: Image files such as .jpg, .png, Acrobat documents in .pdf, or video .mp4 files.
- Enter the name to be used for the Infospot for this Slideshow (the file name of the first item is the default name). See also: Multimedia Types and Dimensions
Choose the Sound icon to add a looping sound effect or a Sound Button to the Location.
- Follow the steps described above for Slideshows, except choose a .mp3 file to play.
- The sound loops continuously as long as the Location is displayed.
- If you add two sound effects, they play simultaneously.
- Sound added with this feature will also continue to play even if a video file is added that also has sound.
- As option you can configure Audio as looping 3D Sound or Button with Autoplay
- See also: Audio Files / Sounds
Select the POI icon to add a label to the Location.
- The label consists of a headline and an optional sub-headline.
- Click the green check mark or press the Enter key to complete the label.
- You can add multiple POI labels and drag them to any position.
- (Also available in VR edit mode)
Select the Quiz icon to create a multiple choice quiz and enter the name for the quiz slideshow button.
- Read more about the Quiz
Choose the 3D icon to add a view of a 3D object to your project.
- Follow the steps described above for Slideshows, except choose the folder that contains all the files for the 3D object, including textures.
- A view of the 3D object is opened in a circular window where it can be rotated in 360°. See the section, below on 3D Objects for more information. See also 3D Object Viewer
Choose the Website icon to add a Link to a Website or YouTube video

On MAC or PC
The link will be opened in your standard browser outside the VR-Suite.

In VR Headsets
The link will be opened in your standard browser outside the VR-Suite.

In HTML WebExport
The link will be opened inside a Slideshow Frame.

Advanced Import 

Experienced users who are already knowledgeable with the VR-Suite folder structure may want to save time by gathering all their slideshows and other multimedia content together externally. In this case, you manually create subfolders under the folder for the desired Location. When you open the project in VR-Suite, it automatically adds the multimedia content to each Location.

Follow the chapter Import - Advanced

Multimedia Types and Dimensions 

Tip

Import Assistant

The Import Assistant gives feedback when the user imports media files that are not optimal for VR usage.

Pixel size
Aspect ratio
File format

All issues will be logged in the file MediaError.txt which you find inside the folder data_xxx-xxx.

Images and Videos 

For best fit for Slideshow images and videos use images with a 16:9 ratio of width to height.

Normal Content

Maximum Dimensions: 1920 x 1080 pixels
Recommended Dimensions: 1280 x 720 pixels

Warning

Using larger formats may result in poor image quality.

Stereoscopic Content

Maximum Dimensions: 1920 x 2160 pixel
Recommended Dimensions: 1280 x 1440 pixelss
Format Convention Top / Bottom Format: The left image needs to be on top
Name Convention: The name must contain “stereo”. Example: mypicture-stereo.jpg

Warning

Using larger formats may result in poor image quality.

3D Directional Sound

Sounds are stored as 3D directional sounds.

In VR mode, the position of the sound is acoustically located in the 360° image and moves with the head rotation.

The sounds can be moved like HotSpots by dragging the speaker icon in the 360° view.

Sound Button

Choose how the Audiofile should be used: Audio as looping 3D Sound or Button with Autoplay

Background Sounds - Advanced

Using the Advanced Import process it is possible to define a background sound like this:

Any audio file with a name that ends in _bg will be used as background sounds.

Background sounds are played in stereo, like for example a piano playing in the background.

For example:

If the filename is piano_bg.wav, the sound will be played in stereo

If the filename is piano.wav, the sound can be positioned in 3D

Global Background Sound - Advanced

Using the Advanced Import process it is possible to define a sound that play throughout the whole project. For more information, see: Global Background Sound

3D Object Viewer 

3D Objects Overview

Similar to a Slideshow, it is possible to add a view of a 3D object to your project. Each 3D Object view can only contain a single 3D object and these files cannot be mixed with other media files.

In VR mode, you rotate the 3D object by moving your head. To close the 3D view, our head to the side. In non-VR mode, rotate the 3D object by dragging it with your left-mouse button.

Size of 3D Objects

Please note that 3D models are preloaded when changing the Location. Since 3D models may have a large amount of data, it may slow down the performance, especially with mobile devices. To avoid performance issues, it is recommended that you do not add several large 3D models to any one Location.

3D objects are created with a large number of small surfaces, called polygons. The maximum number of allowable polygons in 3D objects placed in a VR-Suite presentation depends on the hardware that will be used to view the project.

Rough Guidelines

To be viewed on smartphones or other mobile devices

Use a maximum of 150,000 polygons per model
Use less tan 70 different Materials if possible
File size preferably below 50 mb (but can be more under certain circumstances)
Format: .obj

To be viewed with an Oculus headset

Use a maximum of 15 million polygons per model

Supported 3D Formats

VR-Suite supports 22 different 3D formats including 3DS, OBJ and BLEND:

List with 22 supported 3D formats

3D - PARTIAL SUPPORT

3DS

3MF

AC

AMF

ASE

ASSBIN

ASSXML

B3D

BLEND

BSP (Q3D)

BVH

COB - PARTIAL SUPPORT

CSM - PARTIAL SUPPORT

DAE

DXF - PARTIAL SUPPORT

FBX - PARTIAL SUPPORT

GLTF

HMP

IFC - PARTIAL SUPPORT

IRR - PARTIAL SUPPORT

IRRMESH

LWO

LWS

MD2

MD3

MD5 - PARTIAL SUPPORT

MDC - PARTIAL SUPPORT

MDL

MS3D

NDO

NFF

OBJ

OFF

OGEX - PARTIAL SUPPORT

PLY

Q3D

Q3S

RAW

SCN - PARTIAL SUPPORT

SIB

SMD - PARTIAL SUPPORT

STL

TER

VTA - PARTIAL SUPPORT

X - PARTIAL SUPPORT

X3D

XGL

ZGL - PARTIAL SUPPORT

Full list please see: http://assimp.sourceforge.net/main_features_formats.html

Options in media.xml for Working With 3D Objects

Distance in 3D: distance="2"
Area in which you can look at the 3d model without rotating: lookRadius="15"
How much you can “tilt” your head until the object rotates: tiltRadius="15"
Define how fast does the object rotate: rotationSpeed="0.15"
Distance angle until the element fades out: closeRadius="40"
Path to the 3D Model: modelURL="\1_1\Muro Man\muro.fbx"
Shader: : Works best for most cases: shader="0" - Standard Shader (0) - Wireframe (1) - Wireframe (2)
Mobile Unlit (3): Has the best performance. No Lighting.
Restrict rotation: - allowXRotation="true" - allowYRotation="true" - allowZRotation="true"
Initial rotation: - rotX - rotY - rotZ
Scaling the icon: be carefully with scaling the icon. Currently the 3D object will also be scaled. Only possibility to counteract this please change the value distance: <rotatable3DObject distance="6" ....

3D Objects & Conference Restriction

Mirror via Network mode: A current Restriction of this feature is that a maximum of two devices can be connected at the same time. For example, you can connect an Oculus Go and an iPad.

Quiz 

A VR-Suite Quiz is a single - or multiple choice test done with the build-in Quiz Editor.

Follow the chapter Quiz

Overlay Media 

With “Overlay Media” you can insert videos or images into a 360° media files in the correct perspective. This allows you to project a video onto a TV for example.

Follow the chapter in options advanced: Overlay Media Display

Screensaver 

Place a folder screensaver with a .mp4 video file inside the folder data_myproject.

The screensaver currently works only with Oculus Rift or in webmirror mode with Oculus Go /Samsung GearVR.

Restriction: Confernce & Webmirror Mode: The screensaver will not end if more than two devices are connected to each other.

Functions and Settings 

How to find the Settings for Multimedia 

The iMenu displays options you can use to change how Slideshows and multimedia files are presented in your projects. To access these settings:

Editor Start Mode
Launch the iMenu
Highlight the name of the desired Location.
Select the Arrow in a Circle icon to the right of the name. This causes the selected Location to be loaded.
choose the tab Multimedia

1. Slideshow Icon Visibility 

How to find the Settings for Multimedia

Click the eye icon to the right of any listed media to change when it is displayed.

It is often desirable to change how InfoSpots are displayed. For example, if a project has a large number of InfoSpots, you many not want them all to be visible at once so they do not detract from other items in the project. The visibility settings of InfoSpots are controlled on the iMenu using the eye icon.

There are four possible visibility settings:

Always visible (the default setting)
Only visible when nearby
Always invisible
Visible at the end of a video (only available at 360° Video locations)

Change the visibility:

With the Multimedia tab displayed on the iMenu, follow these steps to change the visibility of an InfoSpot icon:

Load the desired Location to display its InfoSpots (use the Arrow in a Circle icon).
Select the eye icon to change it to an eye with an arrow in it. This InfoSpot will only be seen when the user looks close to it.
Select the eye icon again to change it to a “Stop at End” icon that signifies the InfoSpot is visible at the end of the 360° Video.
Select the eye icon again to change it to a “grayed-out” icon that signifies the InfoSpot is now invisible to the user.

Warning

Restriction: If the distance is set very near, icons should not be set to fade in on mouse over.

1. Deactivate Play/Pause 

How to find the Settings for Multimedia

Icon Play/Pause The Play/Pause key can be deactivated in the editor. The slideshow starts paused then. This is useful, when you integrate text-charts.

3. Open Folder 

How to find the Settings for Multimedia

Icon Folder opens the selected folder so you can add, delete or rearange the contents. All content will be loaded in real time so you do not need to save or restart VR-Suite.

4. Delete a Slideshow or Other File 

How to find the Settings for Multimedia

Use the Recycle Bin icon to delete the highlighted Slideshow, POI, or other file.

Warning

The folder and files will pe placed in the Recycle Bin of your operating system (Windows or Mac OSX).

5. Change Slideshow Name 

How to find the Settings for Multimedia

To change the name of a Slideshow, POI or other media, select the pencil icon. Backspace over the current name and type in the new name. Click the green check mark to complete it, or press the Enter key.

6. Audio Volume 

How to find the Settings for Multimedia

Sound files have a speaker slider bar. To adjust the volume, point to a Location on the white line. The volume will jump there and a preview plays.

Advanced HotSpot and Sideshow Settings 

Codecs and File Formats 

.mp4 preferred Format (using Windows 7 and 8 you need to install the included LAWFilter Codec)
.mp3 (new in V 2.3)
.wmv
.jpg
.png
.wav
.pdf

PDF Quality Settings 

It is possible to adjust the quality of PDF documents by adding a suffix __ssX__ to the document name. A to high value can lead to edge flickering in the PDF, so it makes no sense to always choose a huge value.

standard quality mydocument.pdf

less quality mydocument__ss1__.pdf
standard quality mydocument__ss2__.pdf
better quality mydocument__ss3__.pdf

wav or mp3?

The .wav format has the advantage that it is compatible with most devices. Since V 2.3 it is also possible to use .mp3. The mp3 files are played natively on mobile devices. On PC and Mac they are automatically converted into .wav files for technical reasons. So if you do not use mobile devices, you can use .wav directly.

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