What is 360 image and video stitching?
Stitching is the process of combining multiple overlapping images or videos to create a singular 360-degree panoramic image or video.
Why is stitching necessary?
Stitching is an integral part of creating a seamless, immersive VR experience. It is through the stitching of images and videos that you create the spherical world that your VR app users inhabit.
Some 360 cameras – including the entry-level ones referenced on our 360 camera page – do the stitching for you. This saves you time and effort.
But if you want to create a VR experience that utilizes higher resolution images or higher frame rate video, you’ll inevitably run into the issue of needing to stitch your media. If you use a GoPro rig with multiple cameras, for instance, you’ll need to stitch the images or videos together to create one cohesive visual experience from the multiple cameras.
What are some popular examples of stitching software?
There’s two main stitching companies that seem to get the most attention.
Kolor, which was purchased by GoPro in 2015, is probably the most well-known company in the space. Their Autopano software allows you to relatively painlessly stitch together multiple videos into a single 360 video, with possible resolution of 4K+.
Video-Stitch, also based in France like Kolor, is similarly highly regarded. Their workflow is reportedly similar to Kolor, with the main difference being the user interface.
For more information on which is a better fit for you, please reference this article by Alex Pearce of Juant VR: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/which-360-video-stitching-software-buy-video-stitch-alex-pearce
Does InstaVR do stitching for me?
No. You can utilize InstaVR to create the Navigation between individual VR scenes or videos. But for the actual images themselves, they have to be stitched prior to upload.
Can I use InstaVR with my pre-stitched videos?
Yes. The output of most major stitching software is in our preferred panoramic formats – jpg, png, and mp4. For more on our image and video requirements, please visit these two FAQs:
