Ever seen a 360-degree photo where you can drag the view left, right, up, and down—like you’re standing inside the scene? That kind of interactive view usually comes from an equirectangular panorama image. But what exactly is that?
Equirectangular Panorama: A Quick and Clear Explanation
An equirectangular panorama image is a 2D image that contains 360 degrees of horizontal and 180 degrees of vertical visual information. Imagine standing in the center of a transparent globe and capturing everything around you—front, back, sky, and ground. Then imagine flattening all that data into a single wide image—kind of like how a world map flattens the globe.
These images usually have a 2:1 aspect ratio (like 6000×3000 pixels). When viewed directly, they might look warped or strange. But once loaded into a 360 viewer, everything aligns perfectly—and you can explore the scene as if you’re physically there.
Why Are Equirectangular Images So Popular?
- 📷 Virtual Tours: Perfect for showing off interior spaces, tourist spots, real estate, schools, and more.
- 🕹️ Games & VR: Often used as a base for immersive VR experiences.
- 🌐 Interactive Web Content: Boosts user engagement on websites.
The challenge? Not everyone knows how to easily display these images online.
The Solution: Simple Panorama Viewer 🎉
Good news—I’ve created a lightweight tool called Simple Panorama Viewer that makes viewing equirectangular panoramas super easy.
Why Give It a Try?
- ✅ Free and ready to use. No need to install anything.
- ✅ Lightweight and fast. Great for quick previews or demos.
- ✅ Supports drag and zoom. Let viewers explore the full 360 experience.
- ✅ Perfect for virtual tour previews. Whether you’re showcasing a house, café, or tourist spot.
Just upload your equirectangular image—and boom! You can instantly view and share it.
If you’ve got a 360-degree panorama and you’re not sure how to present it, don’t worry about complicated coding or installing heavy apps. Just try Simple Panorama Viewer and enjoy a clean, simple way to explore your panoramic content.
Got ideas or feature requests? Feel free to reach out. This tool is made by an indie developer (yours truly!) with love—for anyone who wants to explore the 360° world the easy way.
Happy exploring!