360 Degree Images

The easiest way to get a handle on working with 360 degree videos on Facebook is to practice with 360 degree images. This tutorial shows yous what gear you lot demand, the different places customers can see the 360 caste images and how upload the images to Facebook.

Tweet: Complete Guide to 360 Degree Video on Facebook, 2018 edition: http://bit.ly/2g44lRJ

Why Use 360 Caste Images

When executed well, 360 degree images are a great way of demonstrating your company's practical wisdom, and making the customer feeling better equipped to make a purchasing determination. If you're a Bout Guide, y'all could embed a 360 degree image of the Eiffel Tower. If y'all're a realtor, you lot tin get more enquiries by shooting corking 360 caste images of your backdrop. If you're trying to brand your brand more friendly and bonny, post to Facebook an image of your staff behind the scenes at your business.

Engineering science Required To Take 360 Caste Images

There'southward a expert chance you already own this – you can have 360 degree photos by using Panoramic Mode on any iPhone since the 5s running iOS8, or pretty much any Android phone since 2013. Must be running Android four.4 or newer.

If yous're an agency and need to take super professional person shots, there are a bunch of dedicated 360 degree cameras on the market. Cheque out the Samsung Gear 360 (nigh €200) or the 360 Cam from Giropti c (more expensive, just shoots in 4k)

If you lot don't mind looking dramatically uncool, you can take 360 degree photos with your iPad.

Finally, you need the official Facebook App.

Where volition 360 degree images brandish?

It'due south easier to list where your 360 degree images won't display – iOS vii and earlier, Android 4.3 and earlier, and Internet Explorer. Proceed in heed that many C-suite execs and marketing personas with budget potency will be using older phones and now-defunct browsers, and marketing spend on those personas might be improve used elsewhere.

How to post a 360 degree paradigm to Facebook

You can post a 360 degree image to Facebook Merely beginning a new post, and upload the photo as normal – Facebook will turn any image wider than 130 degrees into a 360 degrees image. Yous'll know information technology'southward worked if yous can run into Facebook's "Globe" icon in the bottom right corner (see illustration beneath.)

How To Create 360 Degree Videos on Facebook

Equipment Required to Moving picture 360 Caste Video

The number of cameras that shoot in 360 Degree is growing exponentially, but here are some solid choices:

The Samsung Gear 360
 Samsung'southward Gear 360 updates annually, so it might exist worth waiting until the latest iteration. Unfortunately, sometimes the biggest change is in the cost . It shoots in 4k, looks great, simply has a max frame rate of 24fps – non great for anything above pro-sumer level.

image of samsung gear 360

At $229, the Gear 360 is a decent entry-level option, but not for the professional studio. You'll also observe information technology cheaper than the official cost tag if you shop effectually, such equally the link to Amazon beneath.

Link: Samsung Gear 360 at Amazon.com

Theta 360
 Shoots in 1080p, 30fps and you'll get about 25 minutes of shooting according to Theta's website . It's a decent buy, and ordinarily comes in in the $4-500 range.

The Theta 360 makes it really easy to upload its 360 degree videos to Facebook, and relatively easy to YouTube. On the downside, there's only 8GB of storage and no way to add external memory.

Amazon link to Theta 360

Best Purchase: 360Fly 4K
 Shoots in 4k, which is great, and the accompanying app is solid. You lot too get a tripod mount, a whopping 64GB of storage and a really uncomplicated interface.

Here's a not bad review of the 360fly 4K from TechCrunch:

Amazon link to 360Fly 4K

Devices That Support 360 Degree Video

360 degree video doesn't display everywhere, just unless yous still accept a really old iPhone or are using Internet Explorer you should have no trouble viewing it.

Your user base is a different story. If you're marketing to a younger crowd then you'll accept no problems. If y'all're marketing to senior management or C-Suite levels – the last bastion of Internet Explorer users, even afterward information technology was discontinued in 2014 – then you lot might have bug.

360 degree video on Facebook merely displays on modern browsers. IE users volition come across an empty square where the video should exist.

Here's a list of all the devices that will brandish 360 degree video:

iPhone: Any iPhone since the 4S or later, and running iOS7 or after.
 iPad: Even the onetime iPad ii will brandish 360 degree video, but it must be running iOS7 or later on.
 Android: Pretty much any Android phone since 2012, and running Android 4.iii or newer
 Desktop Browsers: Google Chrome, Firefox – not Internet Explorer.

Unlike regular images, 360 caste images don't display everywhere. They show just on newer smartphones and on modernistic browsers.

Uploading 360 Degree Video To Facebook: Technical Requirements

Now the technical jargon – if this stuff is hieroglyphics to y'all, don't panic. Any of the devices above will do this automatically ( or your could let Overcast encode it automatically for you lot ).

Here'due south Facebook'south specifications around 360 video:

File type: MP4 container
 File size: i.75 GB
 File length: 30 minutes maximum
 Video Codec: H.264 Video
 Resolution: As high as possible with max 4k input (4096 x 2048)
 Dimensions: 2:1 Brandish Aspect Ratio
 Frame Rate: Up to 60 FPS
 Pixel Format: yuv420p
 Depth: Monoscopic
 Audio Codec: MP3 or AAC sound
 Projection Format: Equirectangular

Step-By-Step guide to Uploading A 360 Video To Facebook

  1. Click Photo/Videos at the pinnacle of your News Feed or Timeline.
  2. Click Upload Photos/Video.
  3. Select a video from your computer.
  4. Enter an optional update, then enter Video Title and select a Video Category.
  5. To select a thumbnail, click the arrows on the preview of your video or Add Custom Thumbnail to upload a photo.
  6. Click the Advanced tab.
  7. Select the checkbox marked This was recorded in 360 format.
  8. Click Publish.
    360 degree video facebook step 8 screenshot

And that's it! To acquire more about working with emerging video formats, bank check out some of our other guides:

Digital Asset Management: How To Cull A Dam

Augmented Reality & Virtual Reality: How Creators Struggle With VR

5 Reasons Why Collaboration Is Replacing Email