Video Tours are the hot new emerging trend that picks up where "Virtual Tours" left off. In a standard Virtual Tour you generally see just a static 360 degree distorted picture of a room that simulates motion. You know the ones. The ones where the view spins around the room and the walls and ceilings all look bent and out of proportion.

Virtual Tours are all the rage these days, except people don't naturally spin like tops! When was the last time you walked into a room, stood in one place, and spun in a circle?

Common virtual tours are distorted, usually blurry, and always unrealistic.

While certainly better than a still picture, you have no choice as to the content and often the images are not flattering to the property. How many rooms does a typical home have that you would really want a 360 degree view? What happens when there is a construction site next door or that not so beautiful house across the street with a 1969 rusted Chevy Nova on the front lawn?

Video Tours use full-motion video and allow you to add smooth transitions, titles and captions, soothing background music, and prominent contact information for your potential buyers.

Video Tours don't distort your property. It flows naturally, just as if you were in the room! It's just like watching television! And all videos are edited to show off only the best aspects of the property. In some cases a physical walkthrough is just not possible, especially with long distance buyers, so video tours are the next best thing.

How long should I make my videos?

Videos are usually 3-4 minutes long, but you can make them any length you wish to fully showcase the property.

Where can potential buyers view my listing on the internet?

1 – Our system gives you a unique web address for this listing and you can then promote this address just as you promote any property. You can simply reference this web address in your promotions, such as www.placetour.com/123mainst

2 – You can embed this video on any existing web page by copying and pasting the code we provide. See the video on the examples page for a demo of this feature. 

3 – You can upload your video tour to popular consumer search sites, such as Realtor.com

How long does it take to produce a video tour?

Not long at all. You can film the home in 10-15 minutes and have it up on the web 30 minutes later. It depends on how many bells and whistles you want to add to it through our PlaceTour Editor..

What if some of my customers are not very computer literate. Will they have trouble viewing the videos?

Not at all. If they can point and click "Play" they can view a video tour.

Do viewers have to have high-speed access to view the videos?

It helps, yes. However you can choose to convert your videos at a different setting for dial-up users which will decrease the quality of the video, but they can still watch it. It's best with a high-speed connection.

Do I need outside programs and if so which ones work best with this? 

No, you do not need any other software to create PlaceTour video tours. We give you everything you need, all you need is a camcorder and a PlaceTour account.

Will I receive the swf file or whatever file format for posting to my blog or will I have to use a link instead? 

Yes, you can embed the video on any site or blog by simply copying and pasting the code we provide you. See the video on the examples page for a demo of this feature. And you can export to .wmv format for uploading to consumer search sites such as realtor.com.

Will clients have to log-in to view the tour on the PlaceTour.com website? 

No, they simply go to your blog, site, Realtor.com listing, or PlaceTour.com listing and click play.

Do we get an unbranded version as well as branded?

You can choose any player style you like, none of them are branded with the PlaceTour logo.

Do you have referral resources in the event I am not able to shoot my own video from time to time?

Sure,  http://www.videographer.com is a great resource to help you locate a videographer in your area should you choose. Just have them run the PlaceTour software when they are done filming to create your listing. We suggest having them watch the PlaceTour Quick Start tutorial videos (on DVD or CD) to familiarize them with the system.