Thanks for all the mails I was informed by a friend in London when I asked his advice about software, he said he had heard Realviz were not around anymore, that would make sence as I had no return mail from the company since January 10th. However since my posting I have been contacted by Realviz support to tell me they are still in business and asked me what software problem I have. Strangely enough the person who contacted me is the one person I have been sending e-mails to since December 27th so he should know the problems I have been facing. He never mentioned anything about refunding my money wasted on the product although I have asked for this several times.
 
So partial good news they are still in business, but no news for anyone as to when they are gouing to fix all the bugs within there software.
 
 
Dear All  
 
I have been trying to contact realviz now for 5 months since I bought a none working copy of the software and no one will return any of my emails requesting answers. I have asked several times for a full refund and no responce either. I have heard several reports that realviz is in financial crisis and is going out of business or already closed due to major software problems. Can anyone tell me if this is true?

btw, i expect this thread will be deleted by realviz, with no response -
 

 
i haven't heard anything to that effect anywhere other than your post, (can you post sources for these "several reports" ?) but the fact that no-one from realviz EVER posts here, sort of does make this feel like a sinking ship - i don't know any other "official" forums that the sponsor never participates in, seems odd -  
 
no official leopard update for mac, promised last october by new year 2008 (now 4 months ago), only a workaround, which is buried somewhere in the forums, not even made  "sticky" - and not a peep from realviz, even when people post  here to ask
 
and whats up with the no-discussion of competition policy ?!?!?!?  
 
seems very petty and counterproductive, nobody else does this, all of the other pano software forums allow free and open discussion of competing apps -
 
the app-which-shall-not-be-named (PTGUI) seems to be the #1 choice among pano folks these days, both mac & pc, is well supported, frequently updated, and the forums are not censored when someone mentions a competitor - maybe it is time to start learning ptgui..... (will saying that get me deleted ?)
 
i'm very happy using Realviz STU, but the lack of support, feedback, news, updates, etc, kind of makes me wonder about its future.....
 
is anyone from realviz here ? come on out and say hello, interacting with your paying customers is a good thing, maybe a company blog, some regular sign of life would be reassuring -
 
hello ? realviz ? are you there ?
 
sam

Hi to all!
 
Stuart, as Sam suggested it would be important to name your sources of your reports; otherwise it is just a poisonous rumor - which for this type of subject matter especially is unacceptable for posting IMO.
 
===================
That said it is hard to disagree with other things written by either of you.
 
The "QTVR Preview" still does not work (as of v5.6.2), and we are almost on the one year anniversary of 5.6's release... considering this was a minor upgrade - there really hasn't been much action since v5.5's release almost a year and a half ago.
 

 
Disappointing that the above quote was not delivered on - and inexcusable that nobody from Realviz followed up on this post with an update on this forum (that I could find).
 
 
===============
However - I don't know that this situation clearly indicates any kind of problem...
 
I've been using Stitcher for roughly six years - and I have found Realviz to be the most oddball software company I have ever dealt with re: a "pro level" app.
 
They have always displayed poor communication skills with Stitcher users, and slow on the draw with bug fixes.
 
This is not an excuse, just simply the way it's been in my experience.
 
Still the current environment is not encouraging and is certainly the worst response level I have ever seen.

for a long time, realviz stitcher was the only pro level stitching app for mac that handled spherical/cubic pano's - now there are at least 3 others, all cheaper and mostly seem better supported than realviz, although realviz gui is more advanced than the others, but as such discussion are prohibited, i'm not really sure what the other advantages are - and they all seem to do the same job in the end
 
despite this, i'm still happily using 5.5.4, as i have no major issues, i'm comfortable w/ the workflow, etc, so i do not feel the need to jump ship
 
but realviz lack of communication with paying users is kind of a turn-off - when might we see updates, bug fixes, etc ? who knows ? what about the future, same story ? most likely....
 
nodal ninja forums do not prohibit discussion of other pano heads, kaidan, 360 precision, etc, this openness helps inspire (my) confidence in their products, prohibiting it would make it seem like they have no confidence in their own products -
 
i LIKE using realviz stitcher, even the manual stitching process seems relaxing to me, like building a puzzle or something, but the missing pice of htis puzzle ?
 
BETTER COMMUNICATION FROM REALVIZ
 
its not hard, just a paragraph or so like maybe once a month ?
 
or better yet, put jim on payroll, make him (or anyone) the official ambassador or whatever, realviz lack of participation in their own forums clearly makes forum users feel like realviz does not care about its users -
 
and yes, stuart, your frustration is understandable, but quoting your sources on realviz demise would be a good thing, or otherwise admitting if it was just posted for the attention, before it gets out of hand.....
 
sam

Hi All,
 
I'm not an employee of REALVIZ, just a reseller so my comments here of course are my own, but just to clarify a couple of points:
 
1. REALVIZ are 100% alive and kicking, I was at their offices just a couple of weeks ago and saw some of the new software developments in the pipeline. Stay tuned for further info from REALVIZ.
2. Version 5.6.2 is fully compatible with Leopard
3. See my other response to Stuart regarding the QTVR preview not working for Windows versions. Yes it's a bug I know but it's not a major one, IMHO.

Dear All  
 
Thanks for the postings, I am still trying to get a reply back from realviz other than the short note to say they were still in business. Mainly one saying that they will be refunding my money. In the mean time I am checking a software from Easypano, I purchased their Modelweaver software a few months ago and it it great very quick and easy to use. I will keep you posted, I'm flying to two destinations a week at the minute on photoshoots so it will have to be next month. Many thanks again for everyones input I wish Realviz gave the same
 
Regards
 
Stuart

Hi,
 
Until now we are still working under the REALVIZ corporate name. Nothing has changed except some internal strategies.
 
Please feel free to contact me if you have some problems or in need of information.
 
No need to start talking about things that have not or will not happen.
 
If there is major changes, i will be the first to notify my customers. I tend to do my best to satisfy my customers and will continue to do so.
 
Regards,

Here's the reason why things have been a little slow information wise from REALVIZ:
 
http://stitcher.realviz.com/press/PR/autodesk_FAQ.pdf

Hi badders!
 
Thanks for keeping us informed - as always!

On a positive note see the reference to the new Stitcher 5.7 due for imminent release.

hmm, maybe stuart wasnt so far off the mark after all -
 
a bit more info on autodesk's acquisition of realviz here -
 
http://www.autodesk.com/REALVIZ

Hi to All!
 
For Stitcher users it seemed we at least made it through this transition under the same brand, unlike many of the other Realviz products which were either discontinued or "integrated".
 
Perhaps the DS capability will be folded into v5.7? Except for the "Pro" sidegrade of 5.6, I could never figure out what market segment the "Pro" version addressed.
 
And hopefully autodesk's acquisition of Realviz will infuse more capital into future Stitcher development.
 
But perhaps the most salient piece of news, for those of us that do VR tours, is that VTour will not be thrown under the bus. The one pano limitation made this promising app too ineffective. If autodesk can produce a version that allows a seamless multinode experience it would be a game changer.

Jim,
 
The game changer is coming...

i was somewhat confused by the multiple versions, upgrade paths, pro, unlimited, DS, not to mention the exact differences of 5.5.4, 5.6.2, etc -
 
hopefully, 5.7 will merge all existing features, be free for all 5.5 & 5.6 users, and lead to a less confusing upgrade path...
 
guess we'll see next week, i'm taking this all as good news for now, the realviz folks will be able to concentrate on making great apps w/o the headache of customer support, i'm not sure about autodesk's mac support record though.....
 
sam

Andrew
Do you know and can you tell if with the elimination of "DS" will the new Stitcher 5.7 support 2 fisheye stitiching?
 
I've been considering switching to RealViz Sitcher Unlimited DS to replace my iPIX Interactive Studio when the license expires in Sept 2008
 
Thanx for the info

Doug,
 
I haven't a scoobie...

Unfortunatly, recent history has told us: evolution does not always equal progress!
Hope for the best,
 
Tim

Andrew
On the More Info page for Unlimited and the Comparison page (only compares Express and Unlimited) it says "Stitching of Fish-Eye images" is supported but isn't specific about 2 fisheye stitching.
 
I know Unlimited 5.6 without the DS option won't stitch 2 fisheye, but does it stitch photos from something like the Sigma 8mm?
 
If I remember Pro wouldn't stitch any fisheyes, is that right?
 

Yes, Unlimited will stitch any fisheye type APART from 2 shots GREATER than 180 deg FOV
 
Correct, the Pro version can't stitch fisheyes. (But it's canned now anyway...)

Andrew
Can Unlimited 5.6 (without DS) stitch 3 fisheyes greater than 180° FOV like the new Sunex 5.6mm?

Yes, Stitcher Unlimited 5.6 can stitch 3 shots from the Sunex 5.6mm fisheye.