Garden Gnome Software

For my first attempt at creating a tablet-compatible HTML5 spherical pano I used Hopki's formula (quote block below). The results look fine (without zooming in) on an iPad 2g and 3g, an iPhone 4s and an iPod 3 (I tried it on as many IOS devices as I could find).

On a Google Nexus 7 it's a bust. The results look like a partially loaded spherical. See attached screen capture.

PROBLEMS/QUESTIONS ARE:

1. The fullscreen control does not work like it does in Flash, not even in Safari on a PC (verified that the HTML5 version was displayed). For Pano2VR's HTML5 output settings I selected the Simplex skin and enabled "Fullscreen" in HTML Template Parameters. Is it impossible with HTML 5 to display true "full screen" spherical panos (completely fill the screen, removing all evidence of the browser)??

2. I'd appreciate hearing the absolutely latest and best Screen size and Cube Face size settings for an iPad 3, to allow for zooming in.

Thank you!

Hopki wrote:HTML5 Output:
After much playing and until something better comes along this is where I have got too.

HTML5 output.
In the settings tab use 1440 cube face size.
I have found this displays nicely on computers and the iPad third generation.

In the mobile tab add:
Max Screen Size = 1024, Cube Face Size = 1024 at image quality 80.
Max Screen Size = 960, Cube Face Size = 700 at image quality 80.
Max Screen Size = 480, Cube Face Size = 416 at image quality 80.

The only drawback is that the second generation iPad will only get to display 1024 cube faces however it can display 1440 with ease.
The thing is the first and second generation both shire the same screen resolution of 1024, but the first generation iPad will crash out at 1440 due to far less memory.
In time you can then remove the 1024 setting and forget about the first generation iPad, but not quite yet as there are still plenty out there.

Found this information on the web:

The first generation iPad took 28 days to reach 1 million units sold.
1 million iPad 2's were sold on launch weekend last year.
3 million of the third generation iPads were sold over the launch weekend this year.

Hope you find this useful.
Regards
Hopki

Hi Timmy,
The HTML5 Fullscreen in beta 4 is true fullscreen and works on all the desk top browsers I test with: Safari, Chrome, Firefox.

As far as setting for the different Apple devices is concerned, I will stay with my settings for now.
Remembering that these devices will have to download the files over the mobile network, yes larger tiles will be better, but at what cost.
Of course you can change the settings, have a play and see what works best for you.
Regards,
Hopki

It's encouraging to hear that fullscreen works in those browsers with your new product beta. Is this on a PC or Mac, or does your testing include an iPad?

Any chance we could modify the XML or HTML in our current Pano2VR HTML5 output projects to accomplish the same trick with fullscreen?

Hopki wrote:Hi Timmy,
The HTML5 Fullscreen in beta 4 is true fullscreen and works on all the desk top browsers I test with: Safari, Chrome, Firefox.

As far as setting for the different Apple devices is concerned, I will stay with my settings for now.
Remembering that these devices will have to download the files over the mobile network, yes larger tiles will be better, but at what cost.
Of course you can change the settings, have a play and see what works best for you.
Regards,
Hopki

It is all about the device browser and version. The installed browser MUST be HTML 5 aware. IE 9 doesn't have a clue about HTMl 5.. so it will not work ! However, it has been written that with the release of Win 8 and IE 10... that will change because it will be [so said] HTML smart. Do a little bit of research.. is Firefox and Chrome HTML smart ? Only browser I am aware of that IS HTML5 aware is Desktop Safari. Your HTML 5 milage will vary with Safari on idevices.

WebKit 534.30 is a familiar browser installed on alot of Adroid smart phones and devices. So far we have learned that it is necessary to install Adobe Flash version 11 for android o/s. Do a bit of research about Webkit's heritage. Webkit browser is reported to be the base module for most current day browsers like IE, Chrome, Opera, Firefox and alot others.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WebKit

Just saying 'IT doesn't work' does not help trying to resolve issues.
Also we need to know IF you have ADOBE FLASH version ???? installed ?

To help clarify we need to know specifices

Your Device Manufacturer Name:
Operating System name and version:
Web Browser Name and version:
Internet connection type and speed:
Other Browsers used to test the sample html5 panorama page

Example
Device Name: Google Nexus 7 Tablet
Operating System name and version: Android 4.1 Jelly Bean; Android Ice Cream 4.0.3 [HTC and Sprint]; Gingerbread 2.3.4
Web Browser Name and version: Google .. version unknown AND browsers known ability to display HTML 5 content. You can find the browsers name in the Settings App. This information can be found by tapping your way down through 'Settings' About phone, Software information, More | Browser version like WebKit 534.30 or maybe Google Chrome etc

Other Browsers used to test the sample html5 panorama page: IE 9, Firefox 13.0.1, Google Chrome 21.0.1180.89 m
Internet connection type and speed: aDSL Down 5.5mbps Up 500 kbps

Please lets be more specific about issues. Only then can we get this sorted out.

Feel free to add more specifics needed to the list

Hi Timmy,
True fullscreen is a feature of the new version and tested on both platforms with compatible web browsers.
For the iPad and iPhone the fullscreen does not remover the browsers buttons or tabs, however this is down to the browser and not Pano2VR.
I understand that with IOS 6 there will be a true fullscreen feature however if you do a search in iTunes there are web browsers that support full screen mode if you do not want to wait.
Regards,
Hopki

THANK YOU! Very informative, and you provide hope for the future!

When a user is just getting started with Pano2VR's HTML5 feature it would be a real time-saver to know which features don't work on the various major platforms. When a feature doesn't work the new user is inclined to assume it's his or her fault.

Hopki wrote:Hi Timmy,
True fullscreen is a feature of the new version and tested on both platforms with compatible web browsers.
For the iPad and iPhone the fullscreen does not remover the browsers buttons or tabs, however this is down to the browser and not Pano2VR.
I understand that with IOS 6 there will be a true fullscreen feature however if you do a search in iTunes there are web browsers that support full screen mode if you do not want to wait.
Regards,
Hopki

Hi Timmy,
In the main the functions in Flash work with HTML5, with compatible browsers and on desktop computers.
Where this goes wrong is when you start looking at mobile devices such as Android, which at the moment is a mess IMO and the constantly changing IOS.
Regards,
Hopki

I feel your pain, Hopki.

So what is the benefit of outputting HTML5 spherical panos for desktops when Flash already works wonderfully there?

It sounds like if we put HTML5 versions of our work out there, while they may work fine on desktops, the results will vary on mobile devices -- sometimes to the point of a total failure like on the Google Nexus 7. For people doing museum or educational-quality work like this image by Judy Arndt wouldn't it make more sense to not even "go there", so as to protect the integrity of the photographer's work?

iPad users are accustomed to the failure of an occasional site or video to play due to Flash being missing, so they curse Apple and vow to look at it later on their desktop. (I email such links to myself.) To me it would be better to let them curse Apple than to compromise one's work.

Hopki wrote:Hi Timmy,
In the main the functions in Flash work with HTML5, with compatible browsers and on desktop computers.
Where this goes wrong is when you start looking at mobile devices such as Android, which at the moment is a mess IMO and the constantly changing IOS.
Regards,
Hopki

Hi Timmy,
Its no pain, as said theres not really any major differences between the HTML5 and Flash outputs now.
In fact with compatible desktop browsers the rotation is smoother and the pinned video is far better quality and it feels so much nicer without my CPU or Graphics getting a bashing. The missing things are Transitions and Multi-Resolution IMO, but all planed for the future.

Why would you use HTML5 over Flash, well the fact Windows 8 does not ship with Flash and all new Android devices will not ship with it either sort of suggests it may not be around for very much longer.

The other thing you must consider is look how long flash has been around compared to the HTML5 output and look how far its come in such a short time.
The speed of the development will mean that the HTML5 will supersede Flash in the not so distant future, of this I am sure.

As you say you are new to this, but do a bit of research as see how far the HTML5 output has come and how fast its done it.
Regards,
Hopki

Thank you for replying, Hopki. By "pain" I was referring to your statement: "Where this goes wrong is when you start looking at mobile devices such as Android, which at the moment is a mess IMO and the constantly changing IOS." While you may have success getting HTML5 output to work on the Desktop it sounds like mobile devices will remain a source of disappointment (and support requests) for a while.

Anyway, it's good to hear that eventually HTML5 will match and later exceed what Pano2VR can do with Flash. Meanwhile...

I tried running some of my html5 360vr images with a client a couple months ago and the only browser that we could get it to run on properly was Safari, so we went back to using flash with html5 backup. Chrome, Firefox and IE all had issues, or if they worked didn't across different versions of the browsers. Flash at the moment still appears to be the best option.

Peter Stephens wrote: Flash at the moment still appears to be the best option.

Absolutely!

Regards, Smooth