General Help & Support
The fastest way to get support with our products is to search our community forums or post your question there.
We are also building out a Developer wiki, and we invite experienced users to add how to, tutorial and user guide pages there.
If you still haven't found your answer, you can email support@mediamachines.com. It generally takes 1-2 days to respond to your question.
Frequently Asked Questions
• What is X3D?
• Do I have to pay to use X3D?
• What platforms does the Player run on?
• Do I need special hardware to run the Player?
• How much does the Player and the Studio cost?
• How do I make content for the Player?
• Can I add 3D content to my web pages?
• Does X3D content require a lot of bandwidth?
• What kinds of scenes can I upload to your site?
Answers
X3D stands for Extensible 3D Graphics. X3D is a standard for defining 3D content delivered over the web ("Web3D"). It is an XML-based file format that defines 3D geometry, animations, visual properties, interactions and scripted behaviors. X3D also integrates video and spatialized audio into the 3D content. With X3D models, environments, characters and entire virtual worlds can be defined and delivered over the web. X3D is developed by the Web3D Consortium (www.web3d.org) and has been an International Standard ratified by ISO since August 2004.
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Do I have to pay to use X3D?
No, X3D is a royalty-free standard.
What platforms does the Player run on?
Currently only the Windows operating system (XP, Me, 2k). We are planning to port to OSX and possibly Linux but we have no firm dates for these ports
yet?
Do I need special hardware to run the Player?
No. Any modern desktop or laptop computer can run the Player to display Web3D content. Though some content requires more resources than others. In general we recommend video acceleration with at least 32Mb of video memory, more helps.
How much does the Player and the Studio cost?
The Player and the Studio are free to use for personal use - simply download it from our web site, www.mediamachines.com and you are ready to go.
How do I make content for the Player?
There a variety of ways to make content for the Player. Because the Player reads open standard X3D and VRML files, any professional modeling tool that exports those formats can be used with the Studio -- including 3D Studio Max, Maya, and Blender. There are also native X3D scene creation tools such as our Studio product, which is free for personal use. The choice of which tool(s) you use to create your X3D depends heavily upon your content and application needs and the way you like to work.
Can I add 3D content to my web pages?
Yes. The Player runs as a plugin to popular web browsers such as Internet Explorer and Firefox. Once the Player is installed, you can put Web3D content into your page using the HTML OBJECT or EMBED tag, just like any other media type.
Does X3D content require a lot of bandwidth?
Not really. Because X3D is a vector graphics format (similar to Flash) it is very efficient to transmit, even for large scenes. Simple objects or
scenes can be as small as a JPEG file, anywhere from 10 to 200 kilobytes. That being said, complex X3D worlds contain a lot of objects, including bitmaps used to paint the surfaces of objects ("texture maps") such as walls and furniture. Taken together the content for a complex scene might require\ a broadband connect-- but for a rich and endless 3D virtual world experience; a lot of bang for the buck!
What kinds of scenes can I upload to your site?
Your scene must meet our Terms, including: no pornography, slander, or copyright violations. It must also use a top-level file in the X3D format, optionally compressed (with gzip). If it depends on any local files, they should be in the same local folder. For more detail, see the upload instructions.