Copyright © 2001 - 2018 Virtual Terrain Tours   all right reserved.
Web design: Rick Wilborn  Revised May 19, 2018

 Q & A

Inquiries

Anticipated questions… Q.  Why is there no music on the Virtual Aerial Tours? A.  Sound takes up disc space otherwise needed for optimum visual quality. An included music genre may not please everyone. The added cost for licensed music does not add substance to the goal of the production, which is  purely  visual. Q.   The BD does not always run smoothly, or at all, when using external BD Drive with Laptop. A.   Make sure that the USB cable is connected to a good source of power, such as a powered hub.  If the disk drive has a second usb connector for power, use it also.  You can connect to a small cell phone type usb power supply.  This will improve performance immensely.  Q.  Cannot always see the trail on Sierra Tours.  Cannot see at all times the exact location of the trail. A.  The trail may not be visible due to terrain and foliage.  Keep in mind that the imagery has a limited resolution, so just getting closer to the ground with the viewpoint will not increase the sharpness, it will just get more fuzzy.   The trails were not marked with overlay lines because it would possibly distract from the overall appearance during the videos.  In addition, it was not possible to accurately mark the trails continuously with lines.  So having errors is less desirable than using the frequent arrows to denote the trail location.  The main goal of the presentations is to provide an interesting and informative portrayal of the trail route and the surrounding environment, landscape and geography.  Opted for an elevated scenic approach to capture the essence of the area covered with a minimum of clutter.   The continuous exact location of the trail was not the intent of using aerial vantage point views, nor was it a reasonable expectation with this visualization method.    The emphasis is on a REALISTIC SCENIC TOUR, not a topo map rendition. BD PLAYER REMOTE CONTROL Q.  How do I operate the remote control for a home entertainment system.  Have a Blu-ray player connected to a TV, but not always get the Navigation response that I expect.   Some people are new to using players for interactive video.. A.  The remote has several buttons, but only a very few are essential to navigation.
Virtual Terrain Tours

Thanks for visiting

will update as necessary
These buttons control the motion of any video. Play, pause, stop, fast forward and backward.
These are the Navigation controls.  Usually, the label or arrow on the screen will be highlighted when available to activate. To select which one to activate, press the arrow keys to illuminate, or highlight, the label/arrow you want. Then, Press the Center Plus Button to make that new page appear.   It is like navigation on a website, but using arrows instead of the mouse, and the center button like a left click, or ENTER key
DVD Players are identical in operation.
Watching the screen, Move around to the various link objects then pick where you want to go next. Press the center button to activate the link. That’s it!
Q.  Why does the forest color appear olive drab with deep red areas on the Sierra Tours? A.  That is the appearance from the air, or high angle.  Often the green trees seen from the ground look different from the air especially at higher elevations.   This may be due to the type of trees, the angle of light reflection and atmospheric effects, but it is realistic. Even ground based photos looking down upon a forest area shows the same coloration as the GIS aerial photos. Q.  What is “GIS”? A.  Specialized Mapping Software and methods that enable digital elevation data, aerial or satellite imagery, and any other types of information to be correlated for geospatial analysis.   Additionally, the imagery that is combined with the elevation data can produce 3D visualization renditions which can duplicate real earth views with traceable accuracy.  By adding text and or other images, the results  are realistic, educational and meaningful.
Q.  What is accuracy of distance measurements shown on tours? A.  Because of different sources of information and the mapping methods used, small discrepancies can be a result.  It is difficult to say what  percent accuracy is displayed for any given area, but huge errors should not be found.   Consider mileage to be relative, and the effects can be heavily influenced by trail condition, terrain difficulty, elevation gain, steepness, weather, and altitude. Best to figure that the actual amount of hiking that would be required might very well exceed that listed for a given trail or route.   At least your legs will suggest that after the hike! Your estimate of travel derived from topo maps, and other references may vary.  Remember… An old saying: “person with two watches never knows what time it is.”
Q.  Why are no “GPS” coordinates shown in the tours? A.  A GPS is great for actual on-location navigation, but seldom does anyone use coordinates for anything involving recreational ground references.   Maybe ocean treasure hunting would benefit from coordinates! Orientation can best be achieved by traditional intuitive identification of landmarks. In order to relate real world positions or “waypoints” to the Virtual Tour Imagery, simply view the relationship of nearby common landmarks with the location. I have located campsites that I visited many years ago, before GPS, just from remembering and recognizing the places.  The old slides taken on trips helps to refresh the details.
Copyright © 2001 - 2018 Virtual Terrain Tours all rights reserved

Thanks for visiting

 Q & A

Inquiries

Anticipated questions… Q.  Why is there no music on the Virtual Aerial Tours? A.  Sound takes up disc space otherwise needed for optimum visual quality. An included music genre may not please everyone. The added cost for licensed music does not add substance to the goal of the production, which is  purely  visual. Q.   The BD does not always run smoothly, or at all, when using external BD Drive with Laptop. A.   Make sure that the USB cable is connected to a good source of power, such as a powered hub.  If the disk drive has a second usb connector for power, use it also.  You can connect to a small cell phone type usb power supply.  This will improve performance immensely.  Q.  Cannot always see the trail on Sierra Tours.  Cannot see at all times the exact location of the trail. A.  The trail may not be visible due to terrain and foliage.  Keep in mind that the imagery has a limited resolution, so just getting closer to the ground with the viewpoint will not increase the sharpness, it will just get more fuzzy.   The trails were not marked with overlay lines because it would possibly distract from the overall appearance during the videos.  In addition, it was not possible to accurately mark the trails continuously with lines.  So having errors is less desirable than using the frequent arrows to denote the trail location.  The main goal of the presentations is to provide an interesting and informative portrayal of the trail route and the surrounding environment, landscape and geography.  Opted for an elevated scenic approach to capture the essence of the area covered with a minimum of clutter.   The continuous exact location of the trail was not the intent of using aerial vantage point views, nor was it a reasonable expectation with this visualization method.    The emphasis is on a REALISTIC SCENIC TOUR, not a topo map rendition. BD PLAYER REMOTE CONTROL Q.  How do I operate the remote control for a home entertainment system.  Have a Blu-ray player connected to a TV, but not always get the Navigation response that I expect.   Some people are new to using players for interactive video.. A.  The remote has several buttons, but only a very few are essential to navigation.
Virtual Terrain Tours
Web Design: Rick Wilborn   Revised  May 19, 2018
will update as necessary
Watching the screen, Move around to the various link objects then pick where you want to go next. Press the center button to activate the link.  That is it!
These are the Navigation controls.  Usually, the label or arrow on the screen will be highlighted when available to activate. To select which one to activate, press the arrow keys to illuminate, or highlight, the label/arrow you want. Then, Press the Center Plus Button to make that new page appear.   It is like navigation on a website, but using arrows instead of the mouse, and the center button like a left click., or ENTER key
These buttons control the motion of any video. Play, pause, stop, fast forward and backward.
DVD Players are identical in operation.
Q.  Why does the forest color appear olive drab with deep red areas on the Sierra Tours? A.  That is the appearance from the air.  Often the green trees seen from the ground look different from the air especially at higher elevations.   This may be due to type of trees, the angle of light reflection and atmospheric effects, but it is realistic. Even ground based photos looking down upon a forest area shows the same coloration as the GIS aerial photos.
Q.  What is “GIS”? A.  Specialized Mapping Software and methods that enable digital elevation data, aerial or satellite imagery, and any other types of information to be correlated for geospatial analysis.   Additionally, the imagery that is combined with the elevation data can produce 3D visualization renditions which can duplicate real earth views with traceable accuracy.  By adding text and or other images, the results  are realistic, educational and meaningful.
Q.  What is accuracy of distance measurements shown on tours? A.  Because of different sources of information and the mapping methods used, small discrepancies can be a result.  It is difficult to say what  percent accuracy is displayed for any given area, but huge errors should not be found.  Consider mileage to be relative, and the effects can be heavily influenced by trail condition, terrain difficulty, elevation gain, steepness, weather, and altitude.  Best to figure that the actual amount of hiking that would be required might very well exceed that listed for a given trail or route.  At least your legs will suggest that after the hike!   Your estimate of travel derived from topo maps, and other references may vary.    Remember… An old saying: “person with two watches never knows what time it is.”
Q.  Why are no “GPS” coordinates shown in the tours? A.  A GPS is great for actual on location navigation, but seldom does anyone use coordinates for anything involving recreational ground references. Maybe ocean treasure hunting would benefit from coordinates! Location reference and orientation can best be achieved by traditional intuitive identification of landmarks. In order to relate real world positions or “waypoints”  to the Virtual Tour Imagery, simply view the relationship of nearby common landmarks with the location. I have located campsites that I visited many years ago, before GPS just from remembering  and recognizing the places. The old slides taken on trips help to refresh the details.