Release History: Avatour Web Client

• Presentation Window

  • Web users who present their desktop will now see the presentation window, allowing them to see what the other participants are seeing.

• Asset Player Notifications

  • Participants will see a notification when another participant opens, closes, pauses, or resumes an asset during a session.

• Better Snapshots

  • Participant POV Indicators are now excluded from Snapshots taken during a session.

    Console

• Rename Devices

  • Admin users can now rename devices via the Licenses tab. Device names are a copy of the device’s serial number by default.

• Session Details Page

  • Session Details are now shown as a full page instead of a modal/pop-up, making it easier to view and edit the session.

Date: Sept 27th, 2022

• Add assets to one or more sessions from the asset library

• Upload new assets to a session from the session list

• Spotlight and Guest POV when operator streams 360 video projected as a cubemap

• Bug fixes

  • Display asset processing status within session details

  • Auto-scroll to first form validation error when a form is submitted

Date: Sept 19th, 2022

• New participant layout with higher resolution webcam feeds when there is no 360 stream, asset, secondary camera or screen being presented.

• Menu option to add assets to a session from the session list

Date: Sept 3rd, 2022

• Support for additional asset types (.pdf, .mov)

• Display progress percentage and estimate time to process uploaded assets.

Date: July 13th, 2022

• Spotlight  

  • The new Spotlight tool enables remote users (using a web browser or virtual reality headset) to highlight a portion of the 360° environment, allowing session participants to “point” and call attention to an area of interest. Other remote users will see the highlighted area to the side of their screen and can click on it to automatically rotate to the area of interest. The on-site camera operator will see the highlighted portion of the 360° environment on their device screen (Pilot camera or mobile device) as well as a preview of the entire 360° environment with an indicator marking the area of interest.

• Lock Focus 

  • A new submenu called Host Tools will be available for session Hosts joining from desktop. The first Host tool being introduced is Lock Focus which allows the Host to lock the view of the other web guests. As the Host rotates around the 360° view, the other guests’ views will automatically be rotated to match that of the Host, allowing the Host to direct everyone’s attention to a specific part of the view.

• Improved List View for Assets 

  • The in-session Asset window list view has been updated to show asset thumbnails and indicates which Snapshots contain Notes.

• Onboarding Tutorial in Japanese (web)

  • A Japanese version of the in-session tutorial and Avatour Console tutorial are now available for web users.

Date: June 16th, 2022

• Turn off camera when web guest exits the session

• Display positive feedback in analytics

• Update icons and text for in session controls to match VR client

Date: June 9th, 2022

• Device management

  • Devices can now be registered to your organization, rather than specific Host accounts. The licenses tab now shows detailed information about each registered device, the last person to use it, and when it was last used.

• Integrated Tutorials & Tips

  • Users will now have the option of receiving helpful tips when first joining a session or logging in to the Avatour Console.

Date: May 25, 2022

• Hot fix : Fixed issue that prevented using upper case text or symbols in chat.

Date: May 24, 2022

• Hot fix : Fixed from May 17th broke 2D and 360 snapshot capture.

• Fixed an issue displaying new sessions in console when number of sessions exceeds 150.

• Display event notifications (poor bandwidth at remote site, low battery level etc) during a session

Date: May 17, 2022

• Fixed rendering issues that caused vertical lines in the 360 degree video to appear wavy. 

Date: May 12, 2022

• Display bitrate charts within session analytics.  Line graphs show the capture stream bitrate vs quality of stream received by each of the participants. This data is useful to understand reasons for poor session quality - if due to poor uplink at the remote site or a result of insufficient downlink speeds at the guest location. When the guest has poor downlink, they receive a lower quality transcoded video feed.

• Support uploading image assets at up to 8192x4096 resolution. 

Date: May 02, 2022

• Fix a bug where joining a session as spectator from an iOS device displays a frozen image

• Web displays warnings when 360 camera bitrate or guest bandwidth drops. Added a debug option to the menu to display bitrate statistics.

Date: Apr 20th, 2022. 

• Spectator Mode (Enterprise customers only) (Beta)

• • Hosts now have a session setting for enabling Spectator Mode. When activated, the session is assigned a Spectator Code which allows users to join a session as Spectators via a web browser (this mode will be available to VR users in a future release). Spectators can see and hear all of the full participants, interact with the 360° environment, view any assets or cameras that are presented, and communicate via chat. Spectators do not provide audio or video and cannot present. Sessions with Spectator Mode enabled now have a limit of 30 total users, with a maximum of 20 full participants.

• Avatour System Status Page

• • Users can now visit avatour.live/status to view the status of the Avatour platform and its major components. If users are experiencing technical issues they can check this page for information before reaching out to support.

• iOS Bluetooth Fixes

  • A major bug has been fixed in iOS that caused Bluetooth audio devices to sound crackly or distorted when joining a session on an iOS device.

CONSOLE:

• Session Events with Asset Details in Analytics

• • There is a list of session events available when viewing analytics for a single session. Any event which involved the use or creation of an asset now shows a thumbnail of that asset with a link to immediately view the asset’s details.

• Device Information in Analytics

• • Information about the 360° capture device is now shown in the analytics for a session. This includes device model, software version, serial number, and location of the capture (displayed as City and Country when available).

• Total Session Minutes in Analytics

• • The Analytics home page now shows the total number of session minutes for all host accounts within your organization, or for a single selected host.

• Joining a Session When Logged In to Console

• • If a user is logged into their Avatour account in a web browser, joining a session from a new tab will automatically fill in their name.

• Account Admin Can Reset Passwords (Enterprise customers only)

• • Account administrators can now reset the password for other users within their organization. Useful when someone is having difficulty logging in or for restricting access to an account.

• Japanese Support for Password Reset

• • The password reset process is now available in Japanese.

• Detailed User Feedback

• • If users experienced issues during a session and provide a negative rating (thumbs down) they are now presented with a list of feedback options to provide more detail regarding what went wrong during the session. These details can be viewed in Analytics when provided.

• Clickable links in chat.

Date: Mar 16th, 2022. 

• Account administrator can reset password for users in the organization

• Fixed iOS bug where bluetooth audio is crackly and distorted. 

• Minor updates to Analytics on web. We now display location of participants when location access is allowed by guests joining the session. We present links to assets shared during a session. 

Date : Mar 3rd, 2022.

• Users are no longer required to mute when assets are playing. Implemented loopback echo cancellation of asset audio.

• Analytics tab within the web dashboard shows usage of the platform and a detail view that shows participants and timeline of events (join/ leave, assets presented, desktop / camera shared) within a session.

• Enterprise customers can request a URL (companyXYZ.avatour.live) and customize the experience for their guests by adding company branding, logo and background image. You need to be an account administrator to access customization features.

• Password reset : Users can now reset their password by clicking “Forgot Password” on the login screen. They will receive an email with a link to change their password.

Date: Feb 01, 2022

• Improved Participant List

Web users will now see VR participants in their Participant List as a high-quality 2D rendering. Not only does this look nice, it improves the performance of the web app.

We’ve also made the participant list expandable. Now users will see webcam views for the most active participants while more idle participants are shown in a list view, making it easier to see who is in the session. Speaking will move an idle participant into the active participant section.

• New Analytics page in the Avatour Console 

Hosts and Admins can now access session data via the new Analytics page in the Avatour Console.

The Analytics landing page shows aggregated data across sessions with the ability to click into single sessions for more details. Data collection for sessions will begin February 1st, and we will continue to expand on this functionality in the next release.

Date: Jan 4th, 2022

• Uploading multiple assets at once from the dashboard. Uploads are queued up and can be cancelled at anytime.  Transfer is automatically resumed if you upload the same file after accidentally closing the browser tab or window.

Date: Dec 28th, 2021

• Bug fixes 

Date: Dec 23rd, 2021

Bug fixes

• Host 'Mute All' is not enforced for guests that join after. 

• Fix labels that represent note positions in the exported pdf

• Other bug fixes

Date: Dec 3rd, 2021

• New Administrator Role

  • Avatour now supports a new user role: Administrator. Admins have direct access to new Settings and Licenses pages within the Avatour Console for convenient control of session settings, users, and devices. One existing Host license will be upgraded to Admin for all Enterprise-tier Avatour customers, at no additional charge.  Please contact your customer success manager to nominate the account that should have admin privileges. 

• Admin Settings Page

  • Admins can adjust universal settings that apply to all sessions across their organization, promoting security through proper usage of assets and the Avatour platform.

• Admin Licenses Page

  • Admins now have direct control over both Host and Device Licenses. Hosts and devices can be activated and deactivated, with the number of available licenses clearly indicated.

• Transfer or Delete Assets and Sessions

  • When a Host account is deactivated, the deactivated Host’s sessions and assets can be transferred to the Admin account or simply deleted.

• Exit Session Confirmation

  • Users on the web will now see a confirmation screen after clicking the Exit button, ensuring no one abruptly leaves a session by accidentally clicking Exit.

• Session Codes in Session List

  • The list of sessions in the Avatour Console now displays Session Codes below the Session Names, making it easier to quickly find the right session.

• Collection of Location Information

  • Location information is now collected for session participants and capture devices. This data will be used in future releases to allow Hosts and Admins to locate capture devices and view statistics on cost savings, time savings, and carbon footprint reduction. Avatour will never share customer data with other customers or any organization outside of Avatour. Read more in our Privacy Policy. 

• Export snapshots and associated notes to pdf format.

  • A host user can export snapshots and any notes pinned to locations within the snapshot to pdf format from their Asset Library. 

Bug Fixes: 

• Fixed a bug where the menu would not display correctly when viewing the Avatour Console on a mobile device. 

• Fixed a bug where cancelling an asset upload would disable the ability to upload more assets.

• Fixed a bug that prevented jpeg files from uploading properly during a session.

Date: Nov 14, 2021 

Bug fixes:

• Fix issue with invitation link that is copied to clipboard 

• Fix bug that prevented mobile web user from taking a 'Superfreeze'

• Clicking hide camera on iOS 15 kicks user out of the session.

Date: Nov 7, 2021 

• Warn guests to mute or use headphones when sharing video assets

• Improved time to join a session

• Fix UX issues on iPad

• Restrict asset upload to supported file types (png, jpg, jpeg, mp4, mkv)

Date: Oct 26, 2021

• Improve notes functionality

• Prevent shuffling of participants when active speaker changes

• Bug fixes

Date: Oct 17, 2021

• Adding notes in a session or from the library

• Display "You are muted" tooltip when the participant is speaking while muted.

• Move "Join Session" button to the top to increase visibility (without having to scroll).

• Single session type. 

  • We no longer make a distinction between live and pre-recorded during session creation.

    Any session can include a live stream or pre-recorded assets or both.

  • Assets are displayed in a pop-up when there is no live stream and participant has access rights.

  • Revisit the session at anytime to review snapshots and notes captured during the session.

  • Host can additionally access or download assets from the library.

• Copy / share invitation link from within a session (under settings)

• Added "other" section for comments or feedback at the end of the session

• Revert displaying guest avatars for VR clients

• Bug fixes

Date: Sept 23, 2021

• Japanese language support can be enabled from your account profile or in-session settings

• Fixed bug where guest audio cannot be heard when they don't send video

• Highlight active/ or dominant speaker 

• Give host permissions to close assets shared by other guests 

• Other bug fixes

Date: Sept 5, 2021

• Take snapshots of a secondary camera feed (make a digital copy of a document shared using a document camera or a detailed view shared using a smartphone camera)

• Add notes to your snapshots. You can pin notes to specific locations in a 2D or 360 snapshot to capture audit findings or identify areas for further clarification.

• Camera & Mic Source Settings. Users can now manually select between camera and mic sources from the settings menu during a session.  

Date: Aug 7, 2021

• Take 2D and 360 Snapshots during a session. Snapshots get saved as assets and can be accessed from the library.  Access to snapshots is available only if host allows the guests access to session assets. 

• Resize or Fullscreen view of the asset window 

• Display timestamps for chat messages

Date: July 27, 2021

• Drag, resize, maximize shared camera or desktop modal

• Improve quality of secondary camera and screen share

• Improved Guest POVs by adding display name, offscreen indicators, click to reset view to that of the guest

• Full screen playback of assets in the library (Player is accessed from the Session Detail Modal)

• Added session parameter 'Require live stream'. When disabled, participants can use AVATOUR without a live 360 stream (for document sharing or screen sharing, as an example)