Virtual Tours or VR Video: Which is Better?
Virtual Tours and VR Video are both potent forms of immersive and interactive content, that have made great strides in the past few years. Today there is a wide range of immersive content for viewers to experience. Likewise VR content is also more readily available for businesses to utilize.
In this article we will breakdown the difference between the two most common forms of VR Content, Virtual Tours and VR Video. Along the way we will provide examples to let you try and see the differences for yourself.
What is a Virtual Tour?
We have a full in-depth article on virtual tours, which you can view here. In short a virtual tour is an 360-degree experience that lets users remotely explore real-world locations in a fully immersive way. Unlike standard photos or videos, virtual tours allow viewers to navigate through spaces, look around in all directions, and click on specific areas to learn more.
Virtual tours are a unique type of media, where you get to choose where you want to go and check out at your own pace. In addition they often include features like informational pop-ups, audio narration, and clickable hotspots. Greatly enhancing the overall user experience.
However, don’t just take our word from, check out this virtual tour example/preview we did of the Las Vegas Strip.
What is VR Video?
The most simple definition of VR video is that it is a video that lets you look around a scene in any direction! These videos are typically viewed using virtual reality headsets, but they can also be experienced on smartphones, tablets, or desktops by dragging the screen to explore the surroundings.
Commonly used in filmmaking, experiential marketing, education, and training, VR video places the viewer inside the story, offering a deeply engaging and cinematic experience that feels lifelike and immersive. A fun way I like to explain the VR Video experience is that it is like putting an IMAX screen on your face.
To see what the VR video experience has to offer, check out this VR Video we produced of the Las Vegas Strip.
Key Differences
Now that you know about and interacted with Virtual Tours and VR Videos, let’s look at the key differences between these types of media.
Added Context: Some virtual tours are capable of including VR videos in their overall experience, but for the sake of this breakdown we will talk about their mutual differences.
Level of Interactivity
Virtual Tour: Offers a far more interactive experience. Users get to directly control their experience, by choosing what they want to see and learn first, exploring at their own pace.
VR Video: Passive experience; users watch a 360-degree video with limited or no ability to interact with the environment. VR video is a more creator-driven experience that plays like a movie with a fixed beginning, middle, and end.
Immersion Level
Virtual Tour: Visually immersive with freedom of movement, but less cinematic due to being composed of still 360-degree pictures. However, we believe that aerial 360-degree imagery works much better in virtual tours.
VR Video: Offers a more immersive experience due to the motion and reliance on storytelling. Again it’s like being placed in the middle of an IMAX Experience!
User Engagement Lengths
Virtual Tour: Typically offer longer engagement as users actively explore the environment, making them great additions to websites. Some of our tours have lengths of over an hour.
VR Video: Shorter, more focused engagement and overall experience, driven by the video’s pacing and content. Making them great for showcases and conventions. We recommend a VR Video length of 4-8 minutes.
Device Requirements
Virtual Tours: Can be accessed on almost any device—desktop, tablet, smartphone—with or without a headset. The key part is that virtual tours can be viewed in a vertical format, greatly expanding the audience reach.
VR Video: Rely much more on VR headsets to bring about a suitable experience. While VR videos can be viewed on multiple devices as well, the overall experience is limited. When it comes to mobile devices VR videos can only be viewed horizontally.
Physical Concerns
When using VR headsets it is important to always consider the user experience in regards to physical and mental effects.
Virtual Tours: When adding aerial panoramas to a virtual tour, users may experience acrophobia or the fear of heights (that’s how real they feel!). My remedy for this is to offer a spinning chair like an office chair, to make people feel more comfortable.
VR Video: Due to the added motion that occurs in VR videos, users are more likely to experience motion sickness. My advice is to not have VR Video that occurs on moving objects such as vehicles, boats, planes etc.
Which Works Best For You/Use Cases
Let’s paint a clearer picture of which industries and situations are a better fit when choosing between Virtual Tours and VR Video.
Virtual Tours
Virtual Tours are best for situations where users can benefit from moving around at their own pace. In addition, they better incorporate aerial panoramas allowing users to get the best views possible. Common cases include.
Real Estate- allows buyers to get a clearer picture of a property, saving time and making informed decisions before scheduling in-person visits. This also makes the buyer a warmer lead for the real estate broker.
Travel and Tourism- Destinations can allow potential visitors to get a better look and understanding before planning a trip. While hotels and resorts can give a tour of their property to future guests and groups.
Education- Schools, universities, and training centers can utilize virtual tours for campus visits, great for out of town students and parents.
VR Video
VR videos excel in scenarios where the goal is to immerse the viewer in a more cinematic experience. Instead of clicking or choosing paths, the viewer watches the story unfold around them in 360 degrees. Use cases include:
Storytelling & Filmmaking: Filmmakers use VR video to place viewers inside the scene, whether it's a dramatic narrative, short film, or experiential art. More studios will take advantage, to give their fans a more immersive experience of their favorite shows and movie franchises.
Documentaries: Non-fiction VR content can take viewers inside real-life events and historical reenactments, giving them a powerful and emotional experience
Entertainment & Events: VR Video can allow concerts, theater performances, and sports events to give viewers a front-row seat from anywhere in the world.
Conclusion
While it is hard to go wrong with including VR content into your business. We hope this article allows you to learn and understand what virtual tours and VR video are, and some of their key differences. Also if you missed it make sure to check out the Las Vegas Virtual Tour and The Las Vegas VR Video Experience.
