VRML97 Information Page

Example VRML Scene

To see if you are VRML ready, try this test page that includes an embedded VRML scene. If you can see a small spinning photo cube, you have what you need. Otherwise, you will need to download a VRML viewer. Here is another test page: a simple red box (which will include the VRML viewer dashboard, useful for changing preferences and settings).

Downloading a VRML Viewer

Note: The following links are provided for convenience - these VRML viewers are not TriVista products.

Click the image to download CosmoPlayer 2.1.1 (Win95/98/NT). Here is a mirror site for downloading CP2.1 for PC, Mac, and SGI/Irix. Visit the CosmoSoftware site for additional VRML software and information. Note: the Cosmo site is sometimes inaccessible. There is a Beta version of CP2.1 for the Mac. Michael Louka provides Mac info at VRML on the Macintosh.

The Cortona VRML Client is being energetically developing by Parallel Graphics. They also offer other tools for the VRML enthusiast, such as Internet Space Builder, Internet Scene Assembler, Internet Character Animator, and VRML Screen Saver. If you use the Cortona VRML Client with image-based scenes, try setting the Renderer to R98 High Color or R98 True Color (use the right mouse button menu).

Contact from Blaxxun is a browser that is specialized for multiuser environments.

TriVista Software Review

Following is an excerpt from a review of TriVista software by Mark Shapiro in the Spring 1999 issue of ComputerVideo's Digital Photographer magazine. To see other great press that TriVista's 3D (VRML) products are receiving, visit our Reviews Page.

"TriVista also has a variety of other products that convert JPEG images into a wide spectrum of 3-D environments for on-line and computer viewing. These two other programs use VRML (Virtual Reality Modeling Language) technology. Of course, this means that people will have to use a VRML viewer in their Internet browser to really appreciate the effect. You can learn where to download the free CosmoPlayer VRML viewer from the TriVista Website.

According to the VRML Consortium (www.web3d.org or www.vrml.org), VRML, (often pronounced "vermel") is the file format standard for 3-D multimedia and shared virtual worlds on the Internet. Just as HyperText Markup Language (HTML) led to a population explosion on the Internet by implementing a graphical interface, VRML adds the next level of interaction - structured graphics and extra dimensions (z and time) - to the on-line experience. The applications of VRML are broad, ranging from prosaic business graphics to entertaining Web-page graphics, to manufacturing, scientific, entertainment and educational applications, and of course to 3-D shared virtual worlds and communities."

Image Textures in VRML

Applications like 3D ImageCube and 3D ImageScene rely on image-rich 3D scenes. The photos displayed in the 3D scenes are texture mapped onto simple surfaces. There are several tricks on the authoring side to getting good image quality in VRML without breaking the bandwidth budget (these are built into TriVista products).

From the end user standpoint, there are a few settings that control how the VRML viewer displays images. (For performance reasons, viewers have various settings that affect texture mapping)

Here are a few tips for viewing image-rich scenes:

AOL4.0 Graphics Problems

If you use AOL4.0, see this information on AOL and graphics.

More Information about VRML

A wealth of information about VRML can be found at the VRML Consortium. For a huge collection of items and links, see also: Focus on Web3D, from Sandy Ressler, at About.com.

If you are interested in learning more about image textures in VRML, from a page creation standpoint, see the following information about the freeware application A Square Image. See the links at the bottom of the page, especially "Why is it Square?"

To learn more about VRML and other Web technologies, search for books at Amazon.com:

For general 3D information, search 3D Site:

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