Panotour - FAQ - Livepano

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Is there a demo for Livepano? Where is the download link?

Livepano is directly integrated into Panotour Pro, so you don't need to install it! To Launch Livepano, press Ctrl+L or go to File > Import > Livepano. See this page to register.
Livepano is also available to use in the demo version of Panotour Pro. Simply launch it from Panotour Pro to try it out!

I use different stitching software, if I want to do LivePano, besides Panotour Pro 2.0 and LivePano, do I still need to buy Autopano stitching software ?

Yes. Livepano uses the .pano project files created in Autopano Pro or Giga to know where and in what position to place your video, and how to blend it in to the panorama. There is no workaround, Livepano will not work with the project files of other stitching software, you need Autopano Pro or Giga.

Input

What kind of panorama do I need to use Livepano?

To use livepano, you must use an equirectangular panorama, which means a full spherical 360x180° panorama, with a ratio of 2:1.

You can force your panorama to be a full 360x180° by:

1. In Autopano Pro/Giga using the Crop tool and click on Full sphere. It will widen your crop zone, do not modify it.
2. Render your panorama. When you render the panorama the extra space will take the form of black bands.
3. You can hide the black bands in Panotour Pro by using the virtual Crop tool in the hotspot editor.

Can I use an already stitched panorama in Autopano to add a Livepano to?

Autopano does not support ready-rendered and projected panoramas in input, so you would need to do the entire stitching process of the panorama (including the movie frame) through Autopano for it to work.
So it's not possible to add a Livepano to panoramas shot with the Ricoh Theta, Nikon KeyMission, etc..

How do I import several LivePanos into the same panorama?

Import your LivePanos one by one, following the 5 steps described in Import LivePano section. A Livepano can not be larger than a cube face, and they must not overlap.

Troubleshooting Livepano

I'm trying to import a Livepano, but I keep getting an error message "You need an equirectangular panorama loaded before importing a Livepano"

A Livepano can only be imported on a full spherical 360x180° panorama, with a ratio of 2:1.
If your panorama does not have any/enough content on the zenith or nadir to cover the full sphere, you will find a workaround to use when stitching your panorama in Autopano here.

I've started importing my Livepano in Panotour Pro, but when it comes to selecting the frame, I can't find it!

Make sure that you properly followed the first steps (first video) of creating your Livepano in Autopano Pro/Giga.
You have to detect your panorama with the frame, and save the project (to get a .pano) with the frame still in it. You can then remove or hide the frame from the Layers Editor to stitch the panorama with optimum quality.

I've imported my Livepano into Panotour Pro, but the video doesn't seem to align correctly with the panorama.

There are two possible reasons for this problem:

• The Livepano was not shot correctly: After/before shooting your 360° scene, you changed camera to shoot the video, or were no longer at the NPP, so the two will not align correctly. The solution for this is either to reshoot the content and scene using only one camera at the NPP (best option) or try to compensate for the parallax in Autopano Giga by adding/removing control points and optimising the viewpoint scopes.
• The Livepano was not stitched correctly: In this case it is the stitching that is not allowing the correct alignment. You have to back to Autopano Pro/Giga and make sure that your frame and the panorama are perfectly aligned. You can easily see the misalignment if you go into move mode, and scroll above the area where you frame is. If the image looks jumpy, it's not aligned correctly. You can realign the frame by adding/removing the control points of the frame and optimising, until it is correctly aligned, as you would do when stitching any panorama.

I've imported my Livepano into Panotour Pro, but the video is rotated to the side.

After extracting the frame from your video, you mustn't rotate the frame. Autopano will do that for you when detecting and stitching the panorama.
Panotour Pro uses that information to know where and how to place the video. If you have rotated the frame beforehand, Panotour Pro will not be given the correct information concerning your video's orientation.

My Livepano is not playing correctly

LivePano technology is supported by most of computers but if troubles during playing appear, the following lines explain some problems issues:

• Windows Decoding: LivePano can decode .mp4 videos encoded in H.264 (video flow) and AAC (audio flow). For all other formats, this software relies on system ability. In theory, if a video is playable with Windows Media Player, LivePano should also be able to play it. Components capable of playing videos are often numerous and some may perform better than others. These components are part of DirectShow filters. Here is a list of tools that will identify and modify components used by default:
  • http://codecguide.com/windows7_preferred _filter_tweaker.htm
  • http://code.google.com/p/graph-studio-next/
• Windows 7 Example: For example, with Windows 7, the default H.264 decoder is from Microsoft. It won’t decode videos with resolution higher than HD. GoPro cameras let you go beyond this resolution. You’ll need to use the Tweaker Filter to tell the system not to use Microsoft decoders by default.
• Mac Decoding: LivePano can decode .mp4 videos encoded in H.264 (video flow) and AAC (audio flow). The 32-bit version is theoretically able to decode all videos that QuickTime can play. If the video preview doesn't display in LivePano, it is necessary to check if the video plays via Quicktime. If the playing works, it is necessary to switch LivePano in 32-bit mode, otherwise, it requires to check the system to let it play the video. For now, the 64-bit version only supports H.264 format.
• Concatenate video files without re-encoding: Certain cameras (like GoPros) create several files for the same shot sequence depending on the recording time. In order to manage the entire sequence in LivePano, you’ll need to have previously concatenated files end-to-end. One possibility is to use ffmpeg software. It will let you stitch videos together without having to recompress them: ffmpeg
• Viewing LivePano on iPhone:
  • PTP 2.0 to 2.5.2 - On iPhones only, LivePano will be displayed in fullscreen mode and not seamlessly integrated into the sphere.
  • PTP 2.5.3 - On iPhones only, LivePano is now integrated in the sphere, but does not have any sound. You can add a separate soundtrack that will be played only iPhones by editing the xml, see KrPano's documentation.
  • PTP 2.5.4 - On iPhones only, you need to specify a soundtrack file in the video spot properties.
• Autoplay on mobile: A Livepano video is still a video, restricted by the same limitations as videos on mobiles: they require a physical user input (touching the screen) to play.

Color or quality issues or the border of the mask is visible with different results in different browsers

• The mask will always be visible to some extent, this is especially true for the HTML5 player.
  • When you "mask", you define which part of the generated video will contain the original video (the moving area). Outside of the mask, the video will contain the panorama, because a video always has to be a rectangle.
  • The mask may be more or less visible (slight colour or brightness differences) depending on the browser, as browsers all have their own codecs and decode videos in HTML5 differently. There is currently no standard for these codecs, and Kolor & Panotour do not have any control over this.
  • In the Flash player, which is a much older technology than HTML5, which is less and less supported as a whole by browsers and different devices, but was able to offer a more harmonious blend between video and the scene because it was a much older and widely supported technology using the same codecs across browsers.

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