Adobe Flash Player 10 is released

Time to update the panorama player. :)  
If you hasn’t Flash Player 10 installed, get it here: http://www.adobe.com/products/flashplayer/

You need the Flash Player to view this content.

Why Flash 10 is good for panoramas?
So, at first, Flash 10 has UVT-mapping support. This means that old problem of all Flash panoramas (”waving” effect or “segmentation” effect) can be forgotten now. In addition Flash 10 has advanced antialiasing engine with hardware support. I.e. Flash 10 renderer should be faster with antialiased image (quality=”medium”) than Flash 9 renderer with non-smoothed image (quality=”low”). Both these features ensure the absence of image quality degradation in Flash 10 panoramas. Now we can talk that Flash panoramas is the same as good or even better than QuickTime panoramas. :)

This is a “silent” update
You do not need to update plugins and XML files with parameters. You do not need to ask your site’s visitors to update Flash player immediately. It works gently: if the user has only Flash 9, the panorama player will use old good Flash 9 renderer (no changes), if the one has Flash 10, the player will enable new Flash 10 renderer (quality up).

Additional notes
The advanced hardware support in Flash 10 promises the increased performance (speed smoothness for panorama motion), but it’s totally true if the user has a modern and powerful graphic card. It can be even a bit slower for old and weak hardware. It requires more tests here…
Flash 10 has the keyboard support in fullscreen mode, but only arrows are working for me, zoom (shift/ctrl) is not working, maybe we should use another keys for zoom in fullscreen mode.

How to update
As usual, the update is free for all customers. This time you can download the update manually from Flashpanoramas Group (http://groups.google.com/group/flashpanoramas/). This is a private group, if you bought the player, but you never got the invitation to the group, contact me at flashpanoramas@gmail.com, we will fix it. Only one file to update (pano.swf), replace the old file with new pano.swf (or rename it if you has used a custom name like myPano.swf). That’s all, as I told already, the player has the full back compatibility and it works fine for Flash 9 and Flash 10. Current version of the player is “2.3″.

New features
No new features except including native Flash 10 features and hardware support. All new features will be included to the next big update or some of them will be released with minor version releases.
Actually I added 2 new parameters “qualityStatic2″ and “qualityMotion2″. Use them to set the quality of the panorama image for Flash 10 users (this is useful if you want to set different setting for Flash 9 and Flash 10 users). By default these parameters are equal to “medium”. And another small thing: you can set now zoom_min=0.04 (equivalent to about 177° FOV), for extreme panorama geeks only.

Apologies
Sorry for the long period without updates. I’m not the good blog keeper… Some time ago I planned the new grandiose update for the player (v2.4 as I can see it now). And there is no rest for me since that time. I wrote the player with totally new architecture. But believe me, it’s a lot harder than Flash 10 support… But when I’ll finish it, it will be a really beautiful and useful product (several major feature was never be implemented in other panorama systems). ;)
Incidentally, I can say, I don’t know how it works, but the panorama community collects only all the best people from the whole world. I found a lot of new friends. Some of them are famous, some of them are really genius. I have no chance to meet them without my small player’s work. I participated in several interesting projects based on FPP this year. It was great. And every day I’m answering 30-40 incoming e-mails. It takes a lot of time, but I believe that this my “invisible” work benefits to the panorama community too. :)

By the way
If you are tired of writing XML for Flash Panorama Player manually, check Flashificator (http://flashificator.com/). This is a GUI (graphic user interface) for FPP. This was created by my friend Trausti. And note, he’s updating it’s product often then me. :)

So, check this small update and tell me what you think. I’m still going to write some lines of code today and answer the accumulated correspondence.

See you,
Denis.

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 16th, 2008 at 7:41 pm and is filed under Flash, Flash Panorama Player, Panoramas. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

55 Comments so far

  1. I have to say I am excited about the release as well at the flashificator announcement.
    Best Regards,
    Terry Montague
    http://www.Regal360.com

  2. Sorry Denis but it does not work.
    You say it is full back compatibility but that did not work.
    I just updated all Panoramas.dk and checked it on my Mac G5 which I updated with Flash 10.

    I then checked it on my MacBook both in Windows and on Mac and it does not work. I just get a black page,
    I had to reverse very fast again.

    Hans

  3. I have also checked this page and I just get a white page, No panorama

    Hans

  4. I’m also seeing a blank white area on the current page where the pano should be displayed above. This occurs with the latest versions of Flash 9 in Firefox 3.0 (Ubuntu 8.04 as well as WinXP-SP3), IE6.0, IE7.0, IE8.0beta, and Google Chrome. I assume this is because Denis didn’t bother to set up the current page so it would fall back to Flash 9? If this isn’t the correct explanation, then something is seriously broken! For what it’s worth, the debug version of Flash 9 reports two errors on the current page:

    An ActionScript error has occurred:
    VerifyError: Error #1033: Cpool entry 269 is wrong type.

    An ActionScript error has occurred:
    ReferenceError: Error #1065: Variable PanoController is not defined.

    BBB

  5. Thanks Hans and Bob.
    “Cpool error” is fixed now. Check this page again.

  6. Thanks Denis

    I have now upgraded http://www.panoramas.dk to Flash 10.
    Enjoy,

    Hans

  7. This was a very nice update, and it’s nice to see no more wavy lines. What I had hoped for (from Adobe’s side) was that they had dropped the image size limit they introduced last December… but I guess that we will just have to accept them taking one step back and two forward from time to time.

    Also, this required no major rewriting of Flashificator, and that is a tremendous relief…. but I understand that 2.4 will require quite some rewriting… but that pain to that time. :)
    Thank you for this update Denis, and may the gods of coding be on your side.

  8. Thanks Dennis,
    a small step for man a big step for panorama-fanboy mankind!

  9. Denis
    I am not so happy with the fact that you changed the qualityMotion and static parameters.
    Flash 10 does not mean that low end computers get better performance in speed.

    This means I will probably need to change all xml files also and thats a lot of extra work.

    I understand now why my Mac 2.0 dualcore G5 exploded in processor use.
    It now uses 150% when panning which means I get performance degradation if I for example have my digital TV running as it needs around 30-40% also.

    Hans

  10. Hans, I’m ready to compile the version with other default values for you, if you prefer to use qualityMotion=low, no problem. Write me an e-mail.

    Actually for big panorama resources like yours I offered to write a plugin to store user defined defaults. This plugin can load with every panorama on the site and it can read users settings (cookies or server variables) to set quality and speed (segments, qualityMotion, qualityStatic, sensitivity, keySensitivity, autorotation speed and so on). The possibility to set wished settings for all panoramas on the site looks most interesting in terms of the user. Anyway some people prefer the best quality even for slow computer, others like high rotation speed. This is the way to please all of them. :)

  11. After reading that blog post its time to buy for me.

  12. Hello Denis,

    Updated to flash player 10, but the above pano not showing the completely in colour only part is highres and color the other parts are in b&w and lowres preview only.
    What could be wrong?

    Same thing happened before updating to FP10( that is with FP9 also)
    This is on IE, I will try on fire fox and get back to you,
    Thanks
    KVS Setty

  13. Denis,

    Please check your email.

    Thanks.

  14. Thanks for being so quick on getting this update out, Denis. However, is anyone else seeing a very unpleasant shift between areas of the panorama when it’s in motion? It’s particularly noticeable on my own indoor panos, but you can see it in the one here if you right click and choose “Go Full Screen”. Look to the right of the island on the horizon beyond the group of people, and the handrail behind them, just to the left of the corner. It’s barely noticeable in the web page, but very clear at full screen. It’s also far more pronounced as you zoom in.

    It seems that Flash is breaking the image into large triangular segments, and they’re shifting in relation to one another as you pan. It’s a bit like the “jumping buttons” issue with hotspots. If the problem is inherent to Flash then presumably there’s nothing Denis can do, which would be a big shame. I’m using Flash Player 10.0.12.36 in Safari and Firefox 2 on a MacBook Pro with OS 10.5.4.

  15. Update - the problem definitely doesn’t seem to affect the Windows version, either in IE or Firefox. This means that the bug must lie in the Flash Player code, and should be fixable.

    Denis - can you submit this as a bug report to Adobe? I can send you images of the problem if you don’t have access to an Intel Mac and need some supporting material.

    Thanks again.

  16. Thanks, Richard! I will test it on Mac again. Maybe I can find some trick to suppress these effects. Or Adobe will fix it in the next updates.

  17. I have checked the flash10 output from pano2VR and it does not show this bug. Also it does not show up in FPP flash 9 viewed with the Flash10 plugin.
    However after checking out where the edges are on the KRpano flash 10 demo I could see it even if the movement was very small.

    Hans

  18. Flash 10 looks great. Finally antialiasing is possible in Flash. This was the main reason I preferred Java in the past, however now I am convinced Flash Panorama Player is the way to go. Thanks Denis!

    http://www.360sa.co.za

  19. Hi,
    Serious problems with Flash 10!
    Is it just me or are a no. of plugins failing with this upgrade? The DropDown Menu Plugin v3.0, and the free Carousel v0.1a, just the ones I’ve tested so far. The common theme being that the onclick or action function does not respond - pretty vital for a dropdown list and an animated menu!
    I realise these plugins are not part of the official FPP, but any FPP panoramas with such plugins are plain screwed! It doesn’t bode well for FPP!!! Can anyone tell me if there is a fix for this- preferably (I know its unlikely) one that does not require uploading a whole new set of panoramas!

    Cheers

    Yaz

  20. Actually this appears to be a problem with my own code.
    Sorry!

  21. [...] excellente nouvelle. Denis, le créateur de Flash Panorama Player, vient de sortir la version 2.3 de son logiciel. De quoi regarder des visites virtuelles en plein écran de façon bien plus fluide [...]

  22. i had wabbles especially on this pano:
    http://www.ti360.org/panorama/locarno/gridone/capanna_al_legn_flash.php

    they are gone!! nice!

    http://www.ti360.org

  23. Denis,

    I updated my Flash to version 10 and now I am unable to see every page with FPP that I published until today (using the code provided by the documentation). Could you *please* help me with this issue? I’m loosing my mind here.

    This is one of the pages that doesn’t work anymore:

    http://www.fabiobustamante.com.br/cimitarra/

    Do you have any idea of what’s going wrong? They used to work perfectly.

  24. to Fabio: Yes, v2.2 works wrong in Flash 10 if you didn’t set XML file. You can fix it using update 2.3 or set empty xml_file:
    pano.swf?xml_file=

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  26. Hey! I like your page ;-)
    If you r looking for Paid Surveys this is the place 4 u.
    Start advancing your paychecks on http://tinyurl.com/8eysyc

  27. Мог бы долго с вами спорить на эту тему :)

  28. I only just spotted this update for Flash 10 and although I haven’t tried it on a slow connection yet I think the quality difference is excellent! I just need to go through and update all my hosted tours now.

    Thanks Denis!

  29. Working on Apple Macbook Air using Apple Safari 4 (developer beta browser).

  30. Flashpanoramas is like DUKE NUKEM FOREVER….waiting for it…waiting for it….waiting for it…..waiting for it….waiting for it

  31. hi dennis how is it going?, I bought your flash panorama player but my computer was stolen and I don’t have any back up of the file I do have my receipt and my order, but the link is not longer valid, what do I have to do in order to get a copy of the player that I bought?
    If you want I can send a copy of this order, just send me a mail to do so, or tellme where I should mail it

    I really need to keep on working with this great tool!

    Have a great day!
    Antonio Villalpando

  32. Need help:
    I have adobe flash player 10,0,22,87 on my Vista machine. I had turned off the sound by accident. Now I do not know how to enable the sound. Can you help?
    My sound system works if using the Windows Media Player.

    Thanks

    Respectfully

    Percival

  33. I’ve found a nice panorama from World Tallest Tower in Dubai !

    See it !

  34. pentimo.com/after.php

  35. Hi… I bougt FPP 2.2.1 some days ago. But it does not work on Flash 10, just get a dark screen. Never got any invite to the FPP group so I can’t get hold of the 2.3 update. Tried to embed a xml fil containing: pano.swf?xml_file= Now I get a red screen with “Loading: failed”

    Registrated at the forum, but still awaiting activation :(

  36. Problem solved! :)

  37. Hello Sir,

    I hope you will be fine. I want to appreciate you did a great work. I am going to purchase your component but i have some question.

    1. did your component create fla?

    2. did i able to at hotspots.

    3. and which action script support

    please send your answers on my email

    Thanks

  38. Hello. Do you would be able to create Flashpanorama Player, which show that 2 or 3 layers of panoramas as a whole?
    So, for example,
    1. The background is a panorama of the main (mountains, sky, stars ect).
    2. The middle part is a layer of *. png on which to place the image in half (trees, birds, aeroplane ect.).
    3. On the last inner layer can be placed *. png image with the nadir (buildings, land, ect).

    I am sure that this form would be of great panorama effect. Greetings from Polish. Hoyecky

  39. is it possible to use flash pano on a iphone?

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  41. It does not work with large pano.
    Bad software! Seem’s, that it is crapware.

    John

  42. Adobe Flash CS5 New Feature Notes

  43. Hi Dennis,

    we have successfully used your software in our panos and are experiencing problems with 2.23, very much like KVS Setty described before his site became host to malware. The new pano.swf loads the preview image and then simply stops loading any other images, leaving us with a low-res black-and-white panorama. This is on Firefox 3.5.2 on Windows XP SP3, locally run via XAMPP. If you could please get back to me regarding this problem, I’d very much appreciate either an email or a comment. We have not altered the paramters.xml or any other file, only swapped the pano from the previous version (March 29 2007).

    Sincerely,
    Berthold

  44. Wow, I forgot to upgrade my flash player, thanks for reminding.

  45. Hello Denis,

    Since there’s no reaction on my email and my registration on the forum still has to be activated, I’ll ask here…

    We’ve purchases FPP a while ago, but I’d like to have the update ( Which is in the private Google Group )… How can I get a member of that group?
    ( I didn’t get any invite when purchasing it… Or I overlooked it =) )

    Regards,
    Dennis

  46. I understand that with this program you can perform PHOTOGRAPHY 360 DEGREE or PANORAMIC.
    MY QUESTION IS do I NEED a special hardware, special lenses? ALSO, THE PROGRAM brings INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO TAKE THE PICTURES to CONVERTIBLE. THANKS

  47. Hi Dennis,

    My name is Tony, I purchased your program: Flash Panorama Player, from Digit River affiliate program. I just have a quick question regarding to the software. I want to use my own pictures and input into the program. What type of CAMERA would you recommend for me to use to take pictures so that I can get the quality of images and same result as some of the preview works that you have. Please let me know as soon as possible.

    - Best Regards,

  48. Thank you,
    very interesting article

  49. Hello! I have just bought your plugin and try to make some panoramas. i have a problem because i have the jpg file, one single file but when i rename pano.swf nothing loads. I have no idea where the problem can be. Please help me because it’s urgent and it’s a pitty not to have support

  50. woow it is very intersting :))

  51. Hello, in which manner can I activate my account in flashpanoramas.com/forum?
    I am waiting more then month. I purchased your program in march.
    Regards,
    Marek (marfot.com)

  52. Hi, there!

    I’m getting the VerifyError: Error #1033 with a SWF of mine, how did you fix it? What was the cause? The documentation is too generic.

    Thank you,
    CaioToOn!

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  55. I am confused by the cryptic tutorial on how to get started with Flash Panorama. I have the CS5 version of Flash 11. I am getting error messages for loading. Is there a manual with more detailed explanation available for this software?

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