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Google Maps Street View

Started by nds76, December 15, 2011, 01:13:36 PM

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nds76

Google Maps Steet View is a great resource. It's amazing to be able to scout your route before you go. Often I'll take virtual road trips! Though there is room for improvement though. Some of the views are razor sharp like an actual digital camera photo, but others are downright fuzzy/blurry. Some you can't even read the signage and some clicks skip right past the sign your trying to see. I hope this is something Google will continuously upgrade with better images. On that note, I have to ask why are some images so good and some so poor? The quality is very inconsistent.


Scott5114

I think a lot of it has to do with how recently Google's been in the area. When Street View was new just about everything had some degree of fuzziness. As time's gone on the cameras have gotten better but Google hasn't gone through and redone some areas with the better cameras.
uncontrollable freak sardine salad chef

huskeroadgeek

Along with online mapping, Street View is probably my favorite resource of the entire internet. For years I wished there would be something like it, but I never expected it to be as comprehensive as it is. There are so many times in the past I would have used it if it had existed. I too take virtual road trips now-I could and sometimes do spend hours upon hours taking virtual road trips-going along a chosen route frame by frame and taking in all the surroundings and of course reading all of the signs. I too am also annoyed sometimes when it's difficult to read a sign because it goes from an image where the sign is too distant to read to one just past the sign. I also notice particularly here in Nebraska that there are a lot of images that are cloudy-where the camera facing forward appears to be dirty.
Supposedly Google is eventually going to update all older photos with HD images-already most of Europe and some countries in other parts of the world have HD images, and some larger cities in the US have HD images as well. The HD images are so much better than the older ones, especially for signs-it is so much easier to read signs from a greater distance with the HD images.

vdeane

And the skipping issue isn't an issue with the HD ones because you can actually zoom in and not have everything pixelated.  But they seem to have gotten lazy as of late.
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position of NYSDOT or its affiliates.

nds76

I really hope they redo stuff in HD soon. A lot of rural areas are just not very adequate for viewing.

vdeane

A lot of the urban areas aren't either.  Most of the US outside of California, big cities, and some interstates, in fact.
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position of NYSDOT or its affiliates.

billpa

I saw a google streetview car over the summer here in Harrisburg, PA; they've not yet uploaded the new HD shots but I guess they'll get around to it at some point.  Right now Philly and Pittsburgh are HD but nowhere else in Pennsylvania.   BTW, Belgium was recently added to streetview for those interested.

empirestate

Pittsburgh got added in no small part due to the opening of a Google office in the city. It's one of the best-covered Street View cities I've seen (and they're not half-bad on Google Earth either).

rickmastfan67

Quote from: empirestate on December 17, 2011, 09:07:22 PM
Pittsburgh got added in no small part due to the opening of a Google office in the city. It's one of the best-covered Street View cities I've seen (and they're not half-bad on Google Earth either).

Sure, we might have a lot of StreetView here in Pgh, but they need to do some massive updates.  Several areas are out of date (they need to redo the entire PA-28 corridor to show off the new construction).  For instance, most of the HD stuff is from '08 (I-279 still exists on the Parkway West), but I've also found some SD stuff from '09 (East Street).  In contrast, Jacksonville, FL just got a major refresh of StreetView down there from April-June of this year (2011).

huskeroadgeek

Quote from: billpa on December 17, 2011, 03:03:04 PM
I saw a google streetview car over the summer here in Harrisburg, PA; they've not yet uploaded the new HD shots but I guess they'll get around to it at some point.  Right now Philly and Pittsburgh are HD but nowhere else in Pennsylvania.   BTW, Belgium was recently added to streetview for those interested.
I don't know if anybody else does this, but I periodically check the Wikipedia article for Google Street View for updates on what areas they've added. They always have listed on the right side underneath the picture the last major update and what areas were added and in the article they also have a link to a separate article that is a timeline of when every major update was and which areas were added.
Another thing I find helpful is this map:http://gmaps-samples.googlecode.com/svn/trunk/streetview_landing/streetview-map.html
It is a map of all of the areas covered by Street View-it's especially helpful because you can look at all the areas which are covered without having to drag the pegman icon in order to see it.

vdeane

Too bad it doesn't tell you which areas have GOOD coverage.  A road can have an excellent HD shot or be nothing but black static and it's marked the same.
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position of NYSDOT or its affiliates.

BamaZeus

The Pittsburgh street view led to this classic photo which can best be described as "WTF?"  Unfortunately, as you move toward them on the street, Google chose to blur out the two guys fighting where the blurring hadn't been there originally.

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=8+sampsonia+way+pittsburgh+pa&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=0x8834f3f63328fabd:0xde82a092616be0ee,8+Sampsonia+Way,+Pittsburgh,+PA+15212&gl=us&ei=DWfvTq2jHYHEtwfX2bCaCg&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&ct=image&resnum=1&ved=0CCIQ8gEwAA

pianocello

Quote from: BamaZeus on December 19, 2011, 11:35:09 AM
The Pittsburgh street view led to this classic photo which can best be described as "WTF?"  Unfortunately, as you move toward them on the street, Google chose to blur out the two guys fighting where the blurring hadn't been there originally.

"Hey look, it's a Street View car. Let's stage a fight!" :)
Davenport, IA -> Valparaiso, IN -> Ames, IA -> Orlando, FL -> Gainesville, FL -> Evansville, IN

empirestate

Quote from: pianocello on December 21, 2011, 01:49:30 PM
Quote from: BamaZeus on December 19, 2011, 11:35:09 AM
The Pittsburgh street view led to this classic photo which can best be described as "WTF?"  Unfortunately, as you move toward them on the street, Google chose to blur out the two guys fighting where the blurring hadn't been there originally.

"Hey look, it's a Street View car. Let's stage a fight!" :)

I always like this: http://g.co/maps/qjt7k

(Must be a union gig...)

txstateends

Finally caught my first sighting of a Street View car, earlier this week in downtown Dallas.

The ones I think are the most amusing are the ones that turn off to get gas or something to eat.  Part of the route they're supposed to follow ends up being the parking lot or the storefront of a place where they've stopped.
\/ \/ click for a bigger image \/ \/

BamaZeus


roadman65

I have seen some places that show an empty lot on the side of the road that has been developed for years.  Some areas it seems they are lagging in getting captions.

In Houma, LA the Hooters restaurant is still being shown as a Hollywood Video store if you go on MLK Boulevard. 
In Clark, NJ the old Clark Circle (Roudabout) is still shown there when the intersection has been modified over 4 years ago.
In Oakridge, NJ the Google car still has not photographed the NB lanes of NJ 23 where there is a super wide median and I cannot see my cousin's business at all.
Every day is a winding road, you just got to get used to it.

Sheryl Crowe

AsphaltPlanet

http://g.co/maps/wg6zn

This an old co-worker of mine.  When the google car went by he was out surveying this intersection so that we could replace the traffic signals with a roundabout.
AsphaltPlanet.ca  Youtube -- Opinions expressed reflect the viewpoints of others.

huskeroadgeek

Quote from: roadman65 on December 24, 2011, 09:33:17 AM
I have seen some places that show an empty lot on the side of the road that has been developed for years.  Some areas it seems they are lagging in getting captions.

In Houma, LA the Hooters restaurant is still being shown as a Hollywood Video store if you go on MLK Boulevard. 
In Clark, NJ the old Clark Circle (Roudabout) is still shown there when the intersection has been modified over 4 years ago.
In Oakridge, NJ the Google car still has not photographed the NB lanes of NJ 23 where there is a super wide median and I cannot see my cousin's business at all.
I haven't seen any place yet that doesn't indicate how old the image is, but based on the images I've seen, there are images as old as 2007 in some places.

pianocello

Quote from: BamaZeus on December 22, 2011, 02:11:06 PM
A friend of mine happened to be out getting his mail when the truck went by his house and so he waved at the truck and is forever memorialized waving to the camera.  He moved a few miles away, but the picture still stands  :)

I did something similar when I was stopped at a light and the car was going by on the cross street. The pictures aren't up yet, though.
Davenport, IA -> Valparaiso, IN -> Ames, IA -> Orlando, FL -> Gainesville, FL -> Evansville, IN

NJRoadfan

Quote from: BamaZeus on December 19, 2011, 11:35:09 AM
The Pittsburgh street view led to this classic photo which can best be described as "WTF?"  Unfortunately, as you move toward them on the street, Google chose to blur out the two guys fighting where the blurring hadn't been there originally.

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=8+sampsonia+way+pittsburgh+pa&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=0x8834f3f63328fabd:0xde82a092616be0ee,8+Sampsonia+Way,+Pittsburgh,+PA+15212&gl=us&ei=DWfvTq2jHYHEtwfX2bCaCg&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&ct=image&resnum=1&ved=0CCIQ8gEwAA

This and other scenes on Sampsonia Way were staged as part of this project.

http://www.streetwithaview.com/

Mr. Matté

If you view the Streetview images directly from maps.google.com, they are now showing the date.

rickmastfan67

Quote from: huskeroadgeek on December 24, 2011, 12:32:52 PM
Quote from: roadman65 on December 24, 2011, 09:33:17 AM
I have seen some places that show an empty lot on the side of the road that has been developed for years.  Some areas it seems they are lagging in getting captions.

In Houma, LA the Hooters restaurant is still being shown as a Hollywood Video store if you go on MLK Boulevard. 
In Clark, NJ the old Clark Circle (Roudabout) is still shown there when the intersection has been modified over 4 years ago.
In Oakridge, NJ the Google car still has not photographed the NB lanes of NJ 23 where there is a super wide median and I cannot see my cousin's business at all.
I haven't seen any place yet that doesn't indicate how old the image is, but based on the images I've seen, there are images as old as 2007 in some places.

To find out how old the image is, look at the bottom left in StreetView.

In this example, in the bottom left you'll see the following text:
© 2011 Google | Report a Problem | Image Date: June 2008

;)

huskeroadgeek

Quote from: rickmastfan67 on December 27, 2011, 01:00:49 AM
Quote from: huskeroadgeek on December 24, 2011, 12:32:52 PM
Quote from: roadman65 on December 24, 2011, 09:33:17 AM
I have seen some places that show an empty lot on the side of the road that has been developed for years.  Some areas it seems they are lagging in getting captions.

In Houma, LA the Hooters restaurant is still being shown as a Hollywood Video store if you go on MLK Boulevard.  
In Clark, NJ the old Clark Circle (Roudabout) is still shown there when the intersection has been modified over 4 years ago.
In Oakridge, NJ the Google car still has not photographed the NB lanes of NJ 23 where there is a super wide median and I cannot see my cousin's business at all.
I haven't seen any place yet that doesn't indicate how old the image is, but based on the images I've seen, there are images as old as 2007 in some places.

To find out how old the image is, look at the bottom left in StreetView.

In this example, in the bottom left you'll see the following text:
© 2011 Google | Report a Problem | Image Date: June 2008

;)
Yes, I know that they indicate how old the images are-in fact, I said something about it in another thread. I understood the post I quoted to be saying that maybe they haven't put it in on all images yet and of all the ones I have seen that 2007 is the oldest I have seen that any images were taken.

NE2

Well the service was launched in mid-2007, so you wouldn't expect anything older...
pre-1945 Florida route log

I accept and respect your identity as long as it's not dumb shit like "identifying as a vaccinated attack helicopter".



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