Contributing to the World Wide Panorama:
Image Dimensions and File Sizes
Updated October 2023
We don't want to stifle your creativity, but we do have to specify dimension limits, so we can fit all the panoramas on the same size pages, and maximum file sizes to keep download times, server storage and bandwidth usage under control.
You have two "slots" to upload into. They are described in more detail below.
- A high resolution JPEG "master" image.
- A MP3 audio file
High resolution RGB JPEG (required)
- To contribute, you need to provide a single, high-resolution JPEG image in "spherical" aka "equirectangular" format and to define the initial and thumbnail view via the web interface. Our server will then convert this "master" file into the necessary data files for HTML or WebGL player.
- We recommend a source image size larger than 6000x3000 pixels. Save it as RGB JPEG in your image editing software. The filesize is currently limited to ~36 MBytes, so moderate compression will most likely be required.
- Cylindrical panoramas will work too. If your panorama software offers to output your panorama as an uncropped 360x180 spherical image with black bands, this is the preferred configuration. You can define tilt limits after uploading to mask the missing sky/ground parts.
MP3 Audio file (optional)
- The file will play in the background on your panorama page.
- The sound controller is embedded beneath the panorama display.
- You can select "start on load" and "looping" (optional)
- File size: less than 1 MB recommended.
- Use 44.1 kHz for the sampling rate.
- Please do not upload copyrighted audio. We may need to remove such audio content to avoid legal problems.