How to Manage 360 Videos

This article describes how to use 360 Edition Explorer to import, browse, manage, align, and navigate 360 videos and its' content in a Cintoo project. 

Permissions: users with roles including Upload or Delete Reality Data permission can import and align 360 videos. 

Users with roles including View Reality Data can browse and navigate imported 360 content.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Import 360 Video
  • Processing Result
• Browse Imported 360 Videos
• Navigate Using Video Path
• Align a 360 Video
• Working with Gaussian Splats
• Basic Actions
  • 360 Videos
  • Gaussian Splats
  • 360 Images (Keyframes)
• 360 Videos with Overview Map
• Manage 360 Images
• Troubleshooting Common Issues 
  • Videos Stuck in Pending Status 
  • Failed Status after Import 
  • Video Path Not Visible in 3D Viewer 
• Tips and Best Practices
  • Organization 
• Need Help?

Import 360 Video

Two options to import 360 video data. Via 360 Edition Explorer or via Add menu on the top right.

Note: import of 360 videos is available only in projects associated with 360 Edition subscription.

On top of the window name of the work zone where the import happens is indicated.

Choose one or several videos to import and click Import X video(s).

Note: here all videos that were shot by all cameras linked to a subscription are visualized once processed.

Video(s) appear in 360 Edition Explorer with a corresponding status Video is importing and loading icon.

At this step it's possible to change Name and Path color by clicking on the video loading and on Edit on the bottom panel. Click Update to save changes.

Note: it's strongly recommended to rename a video to be easily distinguishable and recognizable among others.

Once a video is loaded to the project an email notification is sent. Failed video has a corresponding icon.

Note: video processing times very based on video length and importer charge.

Respectively is the import fails an email notification about that is sent.

Processing Result

At this point the whole structure of a 360 video is downloaded to the project. The system automatically processes the raw video and generates three key components:

1. Path - reconstructed trajectory of the camera, built using Structure-from-Motion technology.
2. 360 Frames - extracted panoramic images along the path.
3. Gaussian Splat - a 3D reconstruction of the scene generated from the video.

These components appear together in 360 Edition Explorer. Every element has it's corresponding icon.

Imported result in 3D View looks the following - colored path, gaussian splat around it and possibility to navigate to separate video frames by clicking on different parts of the path.

Browse Imported 360 Videos

In 360 Edition Explorer:

1. View video list - all imported 360 videos appear as top-level items in 360 Edition Explorer tree.
2. Expand a video entry - click expand arrow next to a video to reveal its child elements:
   • 360 Frames - panoramic key frames (shown as individual image entries)
   • Gaussian Splat - 3D reconstruction data associated with the video
3. Navigate to individual 360 frames - right-click on a chosen 360 frame and click Focus in scan mode, to move the camera to 360 content.
4. Search and filter - use search bar at the top of 360 Edition Explorer to filter videos and frames by name. Search is partial and case insensitive
5. Import additional content - click 360 image/video at the bottom of 360 Edition Explorer to import new 360 content into the project.

Navigate Using Video Path

After selecting a 360 video and viewing it in 3D scene:

1. Click on the video path (the trajectory line displayed in 3D view) - the camera will move to the closest visible frame along the path and switch to panoramic mode, displaying a full 360 panoramic image at that position.
2. Hover over the path - a preview of the closest frame will appear, helping you identify the location before clicking.
3. Look around in panoramic mode - once in 2D Panoramic mode at a frame position, click and drag to look around in 360 panoramic view.

Align a 360 Video

To accurately position a 360 video within your existing 3D environment:

Note: alignment is an obligatory step to perform precise Measurements on Gaussian Splat.

1. In 360 Edition Explorer, select a 360 video to align.
2. Open video Alignment tool at the bottom panel. Alignment panel appears. Get familiar with the disclaimer.
   
   Note: move alignment panel at your convenience in the viewer grabbing it by the left side.
   
   
3. Follow the guided workflow: 
   • Set approximate camera height and click Validate.
     Height units are corresponding to project units.
     This value can be adjusted at any time to get a better height alignment.
     
   • Link three 360 images to 3D points (scan or model):
     
     Recommendation: choose frames at well-separated positions along the path and with clearly identifiable features visible in both 360 image and scan/model for the best alignment results.
     • Select a 360 frame from the video by moving along with buttons
     • Identify the corresponding point in the 3D scene (feature)
     • Click Validate to create an alignment link
     • Repeat for three frames to establish a reliable transformation
       
       
       
4. Transformation matrix (rotation, translation, and scale) is calculated to align 360 video path with 3D scene.
5. Verify the alignment at Verification step by adjusting Height and/or Keyframes positions to get a satisfactory alignment result:
   
   • Use the timeline slider to navigate through frames and visually confirm that 360 images and point cloud/model are properly aligned.
   • Adjust if necessary by re-linking frames.
6. Confirm and Save the alignment.

Working with Gaussian Splats

Gaussian Splatting is an advanced 3D visualization technology that creates immersive, photorealistic 3D representations from 360 video data. It generates a 3D "splat" of the captured environment, allowing you to navigate through space with realistic depth and perspective. 

Key characteristics:

• Creates volumetric 3D representations (not just flat panoramas) 
• Provides a sense of depth and spatial understanding 
• Allows for smooth transitions between capture points 
• Enhances visual context for inspections and reviews 

Gaussian Splats provide an immersive 3D reconstruction generated from 360 video:

1. In 360 Edition Explorer, expand a video entry to see its Gaussian Splat.
   
   
2. Toggle visibility - show or hide Gaussian Splat layer in 3D view from 360 Edition Explorer.
   By default Gaussian Splat is visualized around the path with 3 meter radius.
   
   Note: path could be visualized without Gaussian Splat, but Gaussian Splat cannot be visualized without a path.
   
   
3. Adjust the visibility distance slider - use visibility distance slider at the bottom left of the viewer to control how far Gaussian Splats rendering extends from the camera position. This helps manage performance and visual clarity.
   
   Warning: visibility distance is working ONLY after the alignment process is finished.
   
   
   
4. Navigate within the splatted 3D scene using standard 3D navigation controls (pan, zoom, orbit).
5. Check you Splats quality score within Information panel for a splat. Consider recapturing the data if Splats quality score is 2 stars or below.
   
   
   
6. It's possible to crop Gaussian Splat using Crop Tool.
   
   
   
7. Crop IN/OUT for tags works with Gaussian Splats either.
   
   
   
8. Annotations and measurements (except Pipe measurements) are supported on Gaussian Splat for aligned videos.
   
   
   
9. Please be aware that Comparison tool is not compatible with Gaussian Splats.
10. All Display modes are available to use with Gaussian Splats. Mind that Surface and Intensity are visualized as Greyscale.
    

Basic Actions

360 Videos

• Information - consisting of Properties covering Path color, Status of the video, 360 images count, video Resolution, video Duration, capturing Device including device's serial number. As well as Details covering import date with Created at field, author with Created by and a unique identificator (uuid) with an option to copy a link to a 360 video.
• Edit - change Name or Path color
• Download - for now only Export CSV is available.
• Copy link - allowing to share a direct link to a 360 video.
• Delete - removes 360 video from project

Note: all actions except for Alignment tool for 360 videos are also available from Data tab and Resource Explorer.

Gaussian Splats

• Information 
  • Splats count allowing to have an additional quality check (value too low - sign of a poor quality)
  • Splats quality score giving an idea on both acquisition parameters (motion speed while capturing, luminosity of the environment, motion blur, absence of long stops) and reconstruction being basically an evaluation on how well the algorithm processed 360 video.
    
  • Details covering import date with Created at field, author with Created by and a unique identificator (uuid) with an option to copy a link to a Gaussian Splats.
• Edit - correct Name

360 Images (Keyframes)

• Information - Properties covering Resolution, Position and Heading (standard 360 video parameters).
  As well as Details covering import date with Created at field, author with Created by and a unique identificator (uuid) with an option to copy a link to a 360 image.
• Edit - change Name
• Download - Export CSV and export 360 image
• Copy link - allowing to share a direct link to a 360 image.
• Delete - removes 360 image from project

360 Videos with Overview Map

1. Open Overview Map while a 360 video is loaded in the project.
2. 360 video path is displayed.
3. Click on the path - 3D view opens and focuses on the closest frame at the clicked position, enabling quick spatial navigation from a bird's-eye view to an immersive 360 perspective.

Manage 360 Images

Extracted 360 frames from imported videos can be managed independently:

1. In 360 Edition Explorer, expand a video to see individual frame entries.
   
2. Each frame shows its position along the path and can be selected for viewing.
3. Standalone 360 images (imported separately, not from a video) also appear in 360 Edition Explorer and can be managed alongside video-extracted frames.
4. Frame interactions - right-click on a frame:
   
   • Focus in scan mode - center camera on a specific frame in 3D View
   • Isolate - hide all other content. Only one single frame can be visualized.
   • Look at - rotate the camera to face the frame without moving position 
   • Go to - move the camera to the frame's capture position
   • Hide - remove the frame from the view. Not possible to navigate to this frame via path.

Troubleshooting Common Issues 

Videos Stuck in Pending Status 

Possible causes:

• Processing is still underway (can take up to 2 hours, sometimes more, depending on video size)
• Server processing queue is busy 

Solutions:

• Wait and check back later 
• Refresh 360 Edition Explorer 
• If pending for very long time, contact support@cintoo.com

Failed Status after Import 

Possible causes:

• Corrupted video file
• Processing timeout 

Solutions:

• Attempt to delete and re-import 
• Verify the original video plays correctly on the camera. Exit Simple Capture mode by pressing and holding Mode button on the right side. Swipe to the right to see all captures. Try playing the video.
• Contact support@cintoo.com, if issue persists

Video Path Not Visible in 3D Viewer 

Possible causes:

• Video is hidden 
• Viewer is zoomed far from path location 
• Video has not been aligned 

Solutions:

• Verify video is set to Show in 360 Edition Explorer 
• Use Go to action (or double-click) to navigate to the video path 
• Check if alignment has been completed

Tips and Best Practices

• Wait for processing to complete - after importing a 360 video, the system needs time to extract frames, reconstruct the path, and generate Gaussian Splats. You will receive an email notification when the video is ready to view.

• Organization 

  • Use descriptive names - rename videos to reflect the area or purpose (e.g., "Building A - Level 2 - North Wing")  
  • Use consistent naming conventions - establish a naming pattern across your organization 
• Performance - limit visible videos by hiding videos not currently needed to improve viewer performance.
• Always align  - always align 360 video with your 3D project data whenever 3D data (scan/model) is available.
• Use search - in projects with many 360 videos, use search bar in 360 Edition Explorer to quickly locate specific videos or frames.
• Supported camera - currently, only Ricoh THETA X camera is supported for 360 video capture and import via the Ricoh Cloud sync workflow.

Need Help?

Technical questions, video import problems, workflow clarification: support@cintoo.com