QTVR Panoramas and Panoramas in general

QTVR Panoramas are in essence the view from a single point in space out to a surrounding environment.

Source : www.letmedoit.com

Panorama view from a single point of observation in space, The Node.

The view mapped onto a cylindrical image which surrounds the point

From the central observation point, called a node, a viewer can look in any direction and may zoom into or out from a particular view by changing the zoom angle of their view.