Pricing

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Didn't find the answer here? Contact us, or check our Blog.

General Questions

What is a Snap?

A Snap is a combination of the main 360º image, flat image, 3D Model, Gaussian Splat etc, along with any Hotspots and associated audio and image files you attach to it. We think of it like a “Snapshot” of an experience or scene.

What is a Group?

A Group is simply a way for you to “Group” your Snaps. People use Groups for organizing Snaps by virtual tour, real estate property, client, time of year, company division, classroom, course, and some don't use Groups at all!

What is a Map?

Maps are optional flat images which allow you to link to other Snaps via Hotspots you place. Maps can be any type of image: an actual map, a floor plan, a directory listing, or anything else to help your users navigate around. Maps are uploaded to Groups, and are available to be shown in any Snap in that Group.

I'm hooked, how do I make my own panoramas?

You've started at a great time, there are many options available these days:

You can get any of the prosumer 360 cameras by the likes of Ricoh, Insta360 etc, which are one-shot cameras that do it all for you. If you're after poor quality on the cheap, you can use apps like Google Camera on Android, or Google Streetview on your iPhone or Android. Or you can dive in the professional deep end with a DSLR rig.

Why don't you have dedicated iOS/Android Apps?

Because we can deliver almost everything we want to via a web browser, which -everyone- has on their phones already.

We did have an iPhone app initially, but we scrapped it. We found that trying to get clients to install a custom app was way more hassle than just sending them to a webpage using a browser, which is already on every phone.

If you're doing a demo to a client, or want to show some content to somebody on the spot, getting them to download an app first is a pain. Depending on data plans and download limits, they may not even be able to download a larger sized app unless they're on WiFi!

A large percentage of people will simply move on if they're forced to install an app to do or view something. One less step in getting your content to them means lots more engagement for you.

Finally, people with strict corporate plan phones aren't actually able to install new apps, but they already have a browser, so there's another potential segment that you miss out on. A really big reason: everyone always gets the latest updates and features instantly, on any phone/desktop, without having to keep apps updated!

How can I try out SeekBeak if I don't have any 360 images?

If you want to try SeekBeak with some sample images, try search the web for “Equirectangular” and you'll find lots of panoramas and 360° images that other people have created. We also supply some test images when you first great a Group.

What Image Formats / Projections are supported?

We support 360º images in a 2:1 equirectangular format, as well as flat images, in JPEG and PNG formats. SeekBeak will also read the EXIF data and try and compensate for cropped panoramas that may be missing the top/bottom areas.

What does SeekBeak mean?

The name comes from the initial development of the app. We were testing it on the original Oculus Developer headset and Google Cardboard, and found that the focus point of the image we were looking at was wherever we were pointing our nose. When hunting for hotspots we were literally “seeking with our beaks”.

Unlimited Usage and Fair Use

SeekBeak wants all of our customers to get the best value and quality from our unlimited plans, and have a lenient Fair Usage Policy to prevent fraud and abuse of our Services. If we feel that an account is using our platform in an abusive and/or fraudulent manner, the account owner will be contacted and action will be taken on a case by case basis.

What is A 'Good' Resolution and File Type to Upload?

For 360º images, we've found that resolutions around 10000px x 5000px give a nice balance between file size and quality across most devices. Flat images have a maximum size of 4096px x 4096px as they are all sized to fit the viewers screen size, unlike the 360º equirectangular.

Technical Questions

My Embedded Snap doesn't move, record audio, or allow fullscreen / VR viewing on mobile.

Most likely the page you've embedded your Snap in is HTTP. SeekBeak uses secure HTTPS only, as there are some features which browsers will soon be allowing only over HTTPS connections, including device motion and fullscreen. The list of 'powerful features' features SeekBeak uses, as they're called by the Google Chrome security team are:

Device motion / orientation (Read motion data from phones etc.)
Fullscreen
getUserMedia (Allow SeekBeaks built in MP3 recorder to work)

If it's still not working with HTTPS, make sure you're using the preferred SeekBeak script embed code, instead of the iFrame embed code. Certain browsers and operating systems don't allow device motion events across domains. Our script embed has a workaround for this.

iOS 12 implemented an “Opt in” way of allowing access to the phone gyro. We posted a quick video on how to fix this here

iOS 13 completely changed the way that the user can allow browser access to the gyro. SeekBeak handles this natively when using our viewer, and also when using the script embed in other websites, raw iFrame embeds cannot access the gyro.

iOS doesn't support full screen viewing at all. iPadOS has limited support, and you can keep up with changes here.

My Snap image looks skewed / distorted!

SeekBeak works best with equirectangular images at a 2:1 ratio.For example: if your image is 5000 pixels wide, it will ideally be 2500 pixels high. If your image has been cropped, or is from a camera which doesn't export a 2:1 aspect ratio, SeekBeak will attempt to use any embedded EXIF data to correct the aspect ratio after you upload.

My Embed from a 3rd party site isn't working.

We're very heavy on security here, which means that all your SeekBeak content is delivered over HTTPS. If your embed code is just using insecure HTTP, it won't display. Change the HTTP to HTTPS inside the Embed code and it should display fine. If it still doesn't work, feel free to contact us with the Embed link in question and we'll give it a look.

My Embedded YouTube/Video Provider won't autoplay on mobile without tapping a button.

This is unfortunately out of our hands, and is by design to combat autoplaying ads on websites, and save mobile data.

From Apple: “In Safari on iOS (for all devices, including iPad), where the user may be on a cellular network and be charged per data unit, preload and autoplay are disabled. No data is loaded until the user initiates it.”.

Google has followed suit as well: “Android has disabled autoplay in versions 4.1+.”

I can't record any audio in the SeekBeak editor.

You must be using a recent desktop version of Google Chrome or Firefox to enable the SeekBeak audio encoder.

I am using Chrome or Firefox, but still can't record audio!

When you click the button in the file manager, your browser should pop up a window asking if you want SeekBeak to have access to your microphone. If you accidentally clicked “No”, or closed the popup, you can access the popup again by clicking the microphone / camera icon in the browsers address bar.

I don't get any audio in Windows using the Microsoft Edge browser.

If you're running an “N” or “KN” version of Windows, you won't have the necessary features to use/play audio. You'll have to install the Media Features Pack for your version of Windows and reboot the computer.

My GPS Location isn't working in the Geo Map.

Getting peoples GPS coordinates via the browser can involve jumping through a lot of hoops, let's see if these can help you out:

iOS Safari
- If you're on iOS using Safari, please go to Settings > Privacy > Location Services > Safari and make sure it is set to ON.
MacOS Browsers
- If you're using a browser on MacOS, go into System Preferences > Security & Privacy > Privacy, check "Enable Location Services,"and specify your browser as one of the apps that's allowed access.
Android (Chrome)
- Turn on Location Services: Settings > Location > "Turn On"
  - or Chrome > Settings > Site Setting > Location >select "Location access is turned off for this device" > select "On"
- Allow us to Collect Location Data: Chrome > Settings > Site Setting > Location > select "On"
- Unblock Instructions If Blocked Accidentally: Chrome > Settings > Site Setting > Location > Blocked >select website > Location Access > "Allow"
Android (Firefox)
- Turn on Location Services: Settings > Location > select "On"
- Allow us to Collect Location Data: Firefox > Page > Edit Site Settings > select "On"

I get strange behaviour when using Translation Software

Some browser translation software can cause issues with SeekBeak, and cause the platform to not function correctly. Please try disabling your translation software to see if it's causing the errors.

I get a 'Failed to Fetch' error when trying to upload an image.

This error can occur on certain hardware/software combinations if you try and copy a file from a remote network drive, shared folder, a linked Dropbox folder etc. It may also occur if you're behind an overzealous firewall or VPN. Please copy the files to your local drive first, disable the firewall/VPN, and then upload.

My Custom SVG Icons don't show up in certain browsers.

SVG's have a ton of things that can go wrong with them internally. Some browsers handle errors better than others. Try resaving the SVG in a different image editor, or use an online SVG optimizer. If the export is a 'wrapped' jpg/png file, try opening the SVG up in a plain text editor, search for, and change

xlink:href="data:img/

xlink:href="data:image/

and then re-upload it. Note the “img” vs “image”.

My PDF file embed sometimes shows up blank.

We use Googles PDF viewer in order to display PDFs inline, instead of launching an external viewer. If Google cannot fetch the file fast enough from the place where you are hosting the PDF, it may sometimes result in a blank page. Moving the PDF file location to a faster file host, like Google Drive, usually solves the issue.

Immersive Mode on my XR/VR Headset looks Different than on a Desktop or Mobile

SeekBeak is compatible with most mobile and desktop based VR headsets, i.e. Google Cardboard, Quest, Vive. For mobile based headsets, simply put the device into the headset and press the VR/XR headset icon in the SeekBeak Navbar. With mobile based headsets, you get full gaze based navigation, and all Hotspot interactivity where applicable.

Headsets using built in browsers like the Oculus Go/Quest/Quest 2 and Vive Focus Plus are supported and have full functionality in normal browsing mode. Their WebXR “Immersive mode” isn't able to display any HTML content however, only 3D graphics, so functionality is currently limited to basic Navigation via Point or Polygon “Jump To Snap” type Hotspots.

Will SeekBeak work on my very old iPhone?

Unfortunately, Safari on iOS versions before 13 does not support Pointer Events, which is the method browsers use to ‘tell' the software where a users finger is. Support for these events is critical for proper functionality of the platform.

I've embedded a Snap in my website, but there's no full screen icon on iPhones.

Apple has decided that iPhones should not have a full screen API unfortunately, (except for new iPads on iOS 13+, and even then there's an overlay button), and are unable to enter full screen mode from an iFrame.

Just to clarify: This is not just a SeekBeak issue, this is an 'everyone on the internet' issue unfortunately due to Apples decision. This also only applies to Snaps embedded in 3rd party websites, our viewer has no issue with displaying full screen on iPhone.

Some options available are to have a 'view full screen' link somewhere which will load our dedicated viewer in a separate page, or to use CSS/JavaScript to adjust the size of the embed in their website for iPhone users.

For devices that do support full screen, SeekBeak will detect if the device supports the full screen API and will show/hide the full screen button accordingly.

For up to date support on which devices/browsers support full screen from an iFrame, see https://caniuse.com