So you’re thinking of getting a virtual tour – congratulations. The technology offers a huge array of benefits to business but now you have to decide on the best form of implementation. We have a Matterport camera but only use it in certain situations (its perfect for low-mid end real estate).
Below are the main reasons we generally recommend high-quality photography and custom tours for our clients instead of Matterport:
A virtual tour will portray the best of your business – you therefore want the best imagery possible. With Matterports latest Pro2 3D camera you can export images up to 8092px x 4552px.
Our virtual tours images start at 18000px x 9000px and can go higher – we optimise for web performance. All those extra pixels mean better quality, better zoom and more detail for a better representation of your company. In addition, one-shot cameras use at least 2 x very wide lenses. This causes lens flare in bright conditions and reduces the ability to pull through window views in HDR.
We shoot with leading-edge, DSLR Sony cameras we don’t experience any of these issues ensuring amazing views and no lens flare every time.
Matterport uses a unique combination of a google click through tour and a 3D model. Ask just one question – is this the best navigation for your user? A bespoke tour enables you to use a wealth of additional options to fit your brand, existing site and users. Using a combination of drop down menus, thumbnails, maps and hotspots ensures the best user experience without the restrictions of set templates and styles.
Things change and when they do you may want to update or adapt your tour. Using our unique content management system you can add hotspots, change text, adapt menus and much, much more. Matterport is fixed with little or no editing options.
One of the most spectacular elements of a bespoke virtual tour is a drone or pole shot (many pole shots reaching up to 6m). A matterport is strictly limited to ground level reducing the flexibility to integrate these eye catching angles. Drone shots not only look great but they are the quickest way to communicate the layout of a resort or site.
Live guided 360° tours are the future for web chats. Sharing a tour in real-time and answering client questions is the future of web conferencing. Our unique web platform offers huge advantages over Matterports Agent Relay including:
- No restrictions. Matterport limits 2 users on its $60 per month entry-level platform with a max of 20 call per month
- Screen share & use conference facilities. Matterport doesn’t allow you to share your screen – only the tour
- Presenter & Group mode. Unlike matterport you can switch modes depending on your audience
- Backed by world-class conferencing software. Our performance is optimised through our conference partner – agora.com
- More affordable. Our rates knock the socks off Matterport with no lenghty tie ins.
If you want to get some stunning outdoor shots then a nice sunny day is imperative. Professional virtual tour photographers will use a variety of techniques to block any direct sunlight from “flaring” in their shots. As an “all in one” solution Matterport doesn’t allow this level of control so sun flare and blown out windows are a common issue in bright conditions – great views matter.
We are proud to lead the industry with our accessibility widget and static site options. Our tours are WCAG 2.1 compliant and ensure your tour can be accessed by all users.
Every Matterport tour displays the “powered by Matterport” branding prominently. Our bespoke tours are truly white label, enabling you to only display the content that is relevant to you and your users. This results in a simplified experience for your users and a better branded product for you.
A Matterport tour scans the room to generate its images. This means clearing the room of all people at all times for the duration of the shoot. A bespoke tour can work around people and with post editing can also remove those in shot – allowing far more flexibility in shooting and co-ordination.
Matterport photographers have their images processed by the Matterport team (based in …. somewhere!). We process our own images to maintain control of quality and content. If there is a mark on the carpet, an old logo or any other image element you want adjusted we fix it in the process ensuring the perfect marketing results without compromise.
We provide all images formatted and ready to go on social media. Just upload to Facebook and you can enjoy excellent engagement and results with one of the most exciting mediums available. All this is at no extra cost but for many clients these images are their most successful posts on social media.
Whilst we use 360s for 90% of our shots sometimes there are elements you don’t want clients to see. Whether that’s a tired wall, a stack of chairs or an unkempt area the ability to restrict views is an enormous advantage of a bespoke tour over Matterport. Matterport is a one-size-fits-all without the flexibility to display selected views.
