Optimising Quicktime

Most of the movies on this blog are available in several versions; these have different sizes and therefore different resolutions and quality. Quicktime will detect the speed of your Internet connection and will automatically download the most suitable image for your connection.

In order for this to work at its best, please make sure you tell Quicktime what speed you're connecting to the Internet (as described here and here).

Links are also provided for the "good" and "better" quality versions of the images; generally, these will take up to a minute to download over a 1M broadband connection.

Terms of Use of this Website

This website and its contents, including all text and images therein, is protected by copyright. No part of this website may be copied without the express written consent of Chong-Yee Khoo. Moral rights are asserted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

While all reasonable care has been taken in the preparation of the material on this website, I disclaim all liability for any loss or damage whatsoever arising directly or indirectly from the use or misuse of this website. The website is made available "as is", and no warranty express or implied is attached to the accuracy, reliability, or suitablity for purpose, of the information on this site.

It is a condition of use that all users who rely on the information on this website do so at their own risk.

Whilst taking every effort to avoid viruses, I cannot be responsible for any loss or damage caused to any computer system as a result of the use of this website. Users are strongly urged to ensure they have suitable anti-virus protection on any machine used to access this site.

Links to other websites from this one are provided for the convenience of users only. I cannot control the content of any such linked sites, and therefore cannot be held responsible for the contents, views expressed, or reliability of the linked web sites.

Unless specifically stated otherwise, any mention of third party individuals or organisations should not be construed as implying that such individuals or organisations support any of the views expressed in this website.

About the Author

Dr Chong-Yee Khoo was brought up among tropical orchids in Malaysia and Singapore, and now lives and works in Singapore as a Chartered Patent Attorney and European Patent Attorney, specialising in biotechnology, pharmaceuticals and the life sciences. Chong-Yee has been cultivating orchids as a hobby since 2000, with an emphasis on South East Asian orchids and Dendrobium species in particular. As a biologist, he maintains a keen interest in orchid science and conservation.

Chong-Yee has been a keen amateur photographer since 1982, working on medium format and 35 mm film. Since 2002, however, he has been taking photographs exclusively in digital format. He won a gold medal and a trophy for Best Photograph at the 18th World Orchid Conference, Dijon, and his photographic work has been published in the Orchid Review and in Astronomy magazine.

Chong-Yee has written for the Orchid Review and is an orchid judge accredited to the British Orchid Council. He has been awarded several Certificates of Cultural Commendation by the Royal Horticultural Society (UK).

Instructions

You need Quicktime 7 to view the 3D orchid movies on this blog.

To download Quicktime 7, please visit the Apple website. The update software feature in (at least) the Windows version of Quicktime does not seem to work reliably, so please visit the website and download the software directly.

If you don't want to download iTunes with Quicktime 7, download the standalone installer.

Quicktime 7 is a free download, and you do not need to register for the Pro version to view the 3D images.

Note that if you have Quicktime 6 or earlier, you will need to upgrade to version 7.

Depending on the speed of your Internet connection, the images may take some time to load. Unfortunately, there is usually no feedback while the image is downloading, so please be patient.

Once the image appears, drag your mouse around the image to see different views of the object. To zoom in and out, press the + and - buttons. Clicking on the Maltese Cross changes the cursor and allows you to pan around a zoomed image.

This article gives a good introduction to Quicktime VR technology.

Introduction

This blog documents and publicises a project to capture 3D images of orchids as Quicktime VR object (QTVR) movies as well as showcasing the results. The project was made possible by a generous grant from the Barbara Everard Trust for Orchid Conservation.

Select an orchid image from the Gallery on the left of this page (and all pages). For full instructions, see this entry.

Please let me a comment and let me know what you think of the movies!