The vertical field of view is limited.
The above equirectangular image
is a projection of a sphere to a rectangle.
It can be viewed directly by some viewers
or converted into a series of cube faces
to be viewed as a QTVR. It provides a
full 360 degree field of view vertically
and horizontally. .
How is it done?
A series of images are created, usually photographs, that record views in every direction from a single point with overlap between the images. The images are then stitched together using software that compares overlapping areas for matching points and then produces (if everything is properly aligned) a seamless image in a file format that can be viewed as a cylinder or a sphere by the appropriate viewing software.
How are they viewed?
To view a QTVR you must have a plugin installed for your browser or you must have a standalone viewer from Apple, Inc. Both are available free for Windows and OSX from the Apple link noted below. Other viewers exist that create a similar viewing experience using either equirectangular projection jpeg files, a strip of cube images in a jpeg file and/or the QTVR .mov file. Some of these require the Java plugin or the Adobe Shockwave plugin to be installed. There are also products that create VR images using Adobe Flash files. See links to a variety of viewers below.
