Questions and Answers
Is Columbia Mortgage Virtual Tours and NWPixs the same Company ?
WHAT IS A VIRTUAL TOUR ?
- the Technology
- the Tour
- the Processing
Why does my listing need a Virtual Tour?
- what can a Virtual Tour do for me ?
the NWPixs Advantage
- Testimonials
Pricing
Placing an Order
Needed Software & Downloads
Support and Contact Information
Photographers
Home Page
A Virtual Tour is an
online interactive tour that simulates a real-life open house tour. It
can be anything from a video recording to several still shot pictures merged
together. A Virtual Tour is far more effective than still shot photos because
it can give the viewer the feeling of actually being at the tour location
without ever leaving the comfort of their home. In real estate, this can prove
to be a very effective marketing tool, as it enables consumers to actively view
many different properties efficiently and accurately. A virtual tour should not
be used as a substitute for a real tour, though it is a great tool for
perspective consumers to narrow down their purchase options. Columbia Mortgage
Virtual Tours uses the most premier single shot 360-degree technology to create
the highest quality virtual tour available.
At NWPixs we use the
most up-to-date technology to create a product that best represents the homes
we photograph. To do this, we use an EGG lens that incorporates sophisticated
360° imaging optics and powerful unwrapping software for our Digital Cameras.
This combination of hardware and software allows us to capture a high
resolution donut shaped image which is then unwrapped using software into a
full 360° panoramic image. These images can then be navigated on the web or
within new media applications with the click of a mouse. Pan, tilt, links, and
digital zoom capabilities are built right into the tour software, which is at
your fingertips for easy use. On the right you can see what one of these
donut-like photographs looks like before our software unwraps it. Click on the
image to enlarge it. Click on the link below it to see what the image looks
like using our virtual tour software to view it.
Along with our EGG lens and digital camera
we always bring a tripod stand with us. This is because we like to shoot our
tours without anyone visible, so that we can truly capture what the house looks
like. Our cameras have a timer on them so that the photographer can get out of sight
before the picture is taken. Occasionally, if there is nowhere for our
photographer to hide, you may see him crouched underneath the tripod so that he
doesn't’t end up in the picture. Often times our photographers will take
more than one picture of the same thing. This is done so that our processors
may choose the best photograph of the two, depending on lighting and other
adjustments. Our photographers are trained to do all of these things so that in
the end we can provide our customers with a superior product that will be
helpful in the sale of their listing.
After we have photographed your house, we
have to process the pictures using the EGG software. During this period our
processors will adjust each picture individually for lighting and coloration
accordingly. The final stage involves giving each picture a title, ordering
them and then compiling them into a Virtual Tour. Once the tours are processed
they are then uploaded onto a web-server and ready to be viewed.
So
why does my listing deserve a Virtual Tour?
The Internet has become one of the easiest
ways for Realtors to market their listings to potential buyers both affordably
and productively. With the development of new technologies has come the Online
Virtual Tour, a tool that is taking the Real Estate industry to a whole new
level of marketing.
According to data collected by the National
Association of Realtors, 72 percent of 3,000 recent buyers responding to a
survey drove by or viewed a house as a result of an Internet search. Of these
3,000 buyers surveyed, only 15 percent did not use virtual tours.* This staggering statistic shows that the Internet and
virtual tours are not becoming the norm in real estate, they are the norm.
*National Association of Realtors 2003
What
can a virtual tour do for me?
Virtual tours possess the ability to market your listing to potential buyers
all over the world 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It is this kind of marketing
that allows those with geographical restraints to still be capable of viewing
listings. Columbia Mortgage Virtual Tours extends your customer pool from local
to worldwide. Furthermore, virtual tours are so effective that they all
together break down potential language barriers that may arise. Remember, a
virtual tour is a detailed 360 degree video-like interactive tour that is so descriptive
the viewer needs almost no other information to understand it.
A Virtual Tour can also save a realtor both time and money, and it is
for this reason that so many agents are using them.
NWPixs brings to the Portland Metropolitan
area and surrounding communities an indispensable product that is unsurpassable
in quality, experience, professionalism and affordability. Our highly qualified
photographers have the resources it takes to create the most effective tours
that will help you sell your listings.
Some
of The many advantages of choosing NWPixs for Virtual