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General guidelines for uploading images
The guidelines below will ensure maximum image quality while making uploading and processing as fast as possible:
- Images (stills and panos):
- Supported File Extensions: .jpg, .jpeg
- Use JPEG format with a maximum quality setting
- File Size: up to 1500MB
- Image Size: up to 60MP (megapixels) for stills and 65MP for panoramas
- Target your images to our preferred image sizes to minimize processing time and artifacts from our processing:
- Still Images/Floor Plans: 1920x1280 or greater (up to 4200x4200)
Print-Quality Images: Upload 2.4 Mega Pixel or better, and we retain the print quality size for 3 years from the date of publishing.
A Note About Print Quality Download Requirements
You must upload images at a minimum of 1920x1280 for Print Quality Downloads to be provided to your clients in the Client Panel.
- Cylindrical Panoramas: 7200x1200
Partial Panorama Detection: if the filename contains FOV 123x45, we will create a partial pano based on the horizontal FOV (123) and ignore the vertical FOV (45). We will also strip out the FOV 123x45 from the filename.
- Equirectangular/Spherical Panoramas: 4000x2000, exactly 2:1 aspect ratio
Partial Panorama Detection: We auto-detect solid black Nadir or Zenith regions, and the camera limits will be set automatically.
- Video:
- Supported File Extensions: .mov, .mp4
- Video Codec: H.264 @ 3Mb/s or more bit rate
- Audio Codec: AAC
- Size: 1920x1080, 1280x720 or 640x480
- File Size: up to 1500MB
Frequently asked questions and answers
If my client needs a specific MLS size, do I also need to upload images that size?
No, all you need to upload is your original image. Tourbuzz will take that image, and create 3 additional sizes for your clients: Large, Small, and MLS size. These sizes will be available to your clients in the download center. Learn how to add MLS sized photos for your clients HERE.
Can I do a partial panorama?
Yes. Upload the partial cylindrical panorama as usual. Before you process the images, change the FOV (Field of View) to match the image's actual length in degrees closely. (i.e., 180 for half, 270 for 3 qtrs., etc.)
See the screencast:
Does Tourbuzz have stitching software built into its system?
Rather than stitching images together on our platform, we let you stitch the panoramas and then upload the resulting JPEG. There are so many good stitching programs, and we want you to control the quality. Photographers using TourBuzz use PTGui and many others. We recommend Panorama Studio 2.
Can you incorporate 180 degrees (partial) panoramas instead of 360?
Yes. After uploading all of the images at one time through the bulk upload (drag and drop or select all), change the FOV (field of view) from 360 to whatever degrees match the partial panorama (180, 270, etc.). The FOV is under the thumbnail of the panorama.
Can the still images move? Do you support the “Ken Burns effect”?
Yes, we call this "Video Slide Show Mode." You can even customize the effect for a higher production value. You have full control over pan and zoom speed. You can turn ‘On' the Video Slide Show in the Tour Setup. You can customize the movement by clicking the edit link under the image on the Images tab.
Can I add images after my tour has been published?
Yes, you can add photos at any time, even after your tour has been published.
Over the years, we've been often asked how to get the best image quality out of TourBuzz. People will say, "I am uploading a high-resolution image, but it doesn't look good on TourBuzz."
This often stems from some confusion between File Size, DPI, and resolution; these are distinct concepts often used interchangeably when they shouldn't.
Can my client add images?
Your clients, or customers/agents, can add images in the Client Panel. To learn more about our Client Panel, head here.
Aspect Ratio
Aspect ratio is the term used to describe an image's dimensions by comparing the width to the height and expressing it in a ratio form (3:2, 4:3, etc.).
You can read more information about how aspect ratios here.
Size in Pixels is the only thing that Matters
The only meaningful definition of resolution is the actual image size -- digital images are stored one pixel at a time, and the true resolution is just the image size, say 400 x 300 pixels. That is the true measure of how much information, and thus image quality is in the image.
The only numbers you should ever look at when determining the quality of an image are the actual number of pixels in the image's width and height.
DPI is unrelated to image quality
DPI (dots-per-inch) is just a piece of metadata that image viewers use to help draw the image on an output device (a monitor or a printer). It has absolutely nothing to do with the underlying image size.
For instance, a 400 x 300 image drawn at 300dpi would be 1.33" x 1". The same image drawn at 72 DPI would be 5.5" x 4.1".
For more detailed information on this, you should read this excellent post on DPI vs. Resolution.
File Size is not related to image quality
Many people think that the larger a file, the better the quality. While that can be true in some cases, it isn't general, and file size should generally be ignored when talking about image quality.
There are many different compression algorithms out there, and most of them compress differently based on the image's actual content. So two files of equal file size may have 10x different resolution due to the differences in the compression system being used and the image content. For instance, pictures with large areas of solid color can compress much more than finely detailed images.