Displaying Downloaded Files

To improve the user experience with data being downloaded from the Internet, version 2.1 of QuickTime VR allows the user to begin viewing and manipulating a panorama or object before it has been entirely loaded. Rather than forcing the user to wait until a panorama or object has been fully loaded before viewing or maniulating it, the application using QuickTime VR can now give the user several ways to interact with new movie data as it is being loaded.

Downloading Panoramas

The application can allow the user to interact with a downloading panorama in the following ways.

If the QuickTime VR panorama movie was saved using QuickTime version 2.1, the placeholder will be seen the whole time the movie is being downloaded, the same way it was done in QuickTime VR 1.0.x.
If the QuickTime VR panorama movie was saved using QuickTime version 2.5, then during the downloading of the panorama QuickTime VR 2.1 shows a black background with a grid showing the locations of the tiles. As each tile becomes available, the software updates the movie to the highest resolution of the tile. The user can manipulated the movie as normal while the movie is being loaded. The hotspots are not active while the movie is being downloaded.
The application also has the option to display a version of the panorama in a lower resolusion or with fewer colors so the user can see the whole picture. A multinode movie has active hotspots available while being downloaded.

Downloading Objects

The application can allow the user to interact with a downloading object in the following ways.

If the QuickTime VR object movie was saved using QuickTime version 2.1, the placeholder will be seen the whole time the movie is being downloaded , the same way it was done in QuickTime VR 1.0.x.
If the QuickTime VR 1.0 object movie was saved using QuickTime version 2.5, then after the poster frame is downloaded, the QuickTime place holder is replaced by the poster frame. The user can then manipulte the object movie with any data already downloaded. If the user tries to manipulate the object before the poster frame is available, the user will be able to do as much as can be done with the data available.
The application also has the option to include a version of each frame of the object in a lower resolution or with fewer colors so the user can have the full experience of the object before the full-resolution version is available. A multinode movie has active hotspots available while being downloaded.
The application also has the option to provide a mode of operation allowing each frame of the object when downloaded to be displayed on the screen as an autorotate version of the object. The user can then manipulate the object with the available data (with or without preview).