Supported file formats

Designer supports multiple content formats for Video, Audio, Still image and 3D model files. It is important that these formats are used for optimal performance. Only formats listed here are officially supported.

Video files

Designer supports Quicktime .mov files using the following codecs:

• QuickTime DXV version 2.

Download the DXV codec for Mac or Windows from the Content tools and codecs section of the download centre.

• QuickTime HAP, HAP Alpha and HAP-Q.

Download the HAP codec for Mac or Windows from the Content tools and codecs section of the download centre.

• QuickTime Animation

Warning

We do not support Delta frames. Videos need to be exported with keyframes at every frame..

• NotchLC

• *ProRes

Filename Tag Issues

Please note that if you use any of the following filename tags, you may encounter issues in Designer. These tags are reserved for media file versioning, and proxy functionality.

• _region
• _slc_region
• _v
• _frame
• _proxy

Premultiplied vs. straight/matted alpha

Alpha can be rendered into videos and images with subtle differences which can affect how they appear when composited upon output. Premultiplied vs straight alpha will require different blend modes depending on which is used. There is no preference in Designer to either one, but if using content with premultiplied alpha, it should utilize the Premult Alpha blend mode, rather than Alpha, which should be reserved for straight alpha.

Also note that Premult Alpha is usually the only option available when creating fuzzy edges against an alpha background, as the pure alpha workflow requires the colour which is being faded from to be available at full intensity throughout the gradient, while only fading the alpha component. That sort of thing is tricky to create in content creation packages, so falling back on Premult Alpha makes more sense in those cases.

Maximum resolutions of video files and still images

Designer supports video files and still images up to 16384x16384.

For audio embedded in video files:

• Uncompressed
• Stereo 16 bit
• 44.1 KHz. Currently d3 only supports 44.1 KHz, any other frequency will generate an error.

Audio files prior to r14.3

Quantised tracks option 1:

• .mp3
• Stereo 16 bit
• 44.1 KHz, constant bitrate. Currently d3 only supports 44.1 KHz, any other frequency will generate an error.
• 256 Kb/sec is a recommended balance between quality and file size.

Quantised tracks option 2:

• .wav
• Stereo 16 bit
• 44.1 KHz

Quantised tracks option 3:

• .aiff
• Stereo 16 bit
• 44.1 KHz. Currently d3 only supports 44.1 KHz, any other frequency will generate an error.

Note

To read about multi-channel audio support, see the Output multi-channel audio page.

Audio files after r14.4

These audio file formats can be used on the audio layer.

Uncompressed WAV files with the following properties

• Unsigned 8 bit, Signed 16 bit, 24 bit or 32 bit PCM, 32-bit or 64-bit floating point encoding
• Sample rates up to 192 kHz
• 1 or 2 channels

Uncompressed AIFF files with the following properties

• Unsigned 8 bit, Signed 16 bit, 24 bit or 32 bit PCM, 32-bit or 64-bit floating point encoding
• Sample rates up to 192 kHz
• 1 or 2 channels

MP3 with the following properties

• CBR up to 320kps (variable bit-rate not supported)
• 8 kHz, 11.025kHz, 12kHz, 16kHz, 22.05kHz, 24kHz, 32kHz, 44.1kHz, 48kHz sample rates
• Stereo, joint stereo or mono

Note

The software internally uses a 32-bit floating point audio pipline, so best performance can be achieved by using 32-bit uncompressed WAV encoding, at a sample rate that matches your audio output.

Audio files after r15.2

These audio file formats can be used on the audio layer.

Uncompressed WAV files with the following properties

• Unsigned 8 bit, Signed 16 bit, 24 bit or 32 bit PCM, 32-bit or 64-bit floating point encoding
• Sample rates up to 192 kHz

Uncompressed AIFF files with the following properties

• Unsigned 8 bit, Signed 16 bit, 24 bit or 32 bit PCM, 32-bit or 64-bit floating point encoding
• Sample rates up to 192 kHz

MP3 with the following properties

• CBR up to 320kps (variable bit-rate not supported)
• 8 kHz, 11.025kHz, 12kHz, 16kHz, 22.05kHz, 24kHz, 32kHz, 44.1kHz, 48kHz sample rates
• Stereo, joint stereo or mono

Still images

The still image formats Disguise supports in order of preference:

• .png (supports alpha-channel)
• .jpeg (does not support alpha-channel)
• .bmp (supports alpha-channel)
• .tiff (supports alpha-channel)
• .exr (Still images only; Disguise does not support real-time playback of exr sequences)

Note

The maximum texture size supported is 16k x 16k. Disguise processes very large texture resolutions (4k-16k) faster if they are converted to HAP / DXV Quicktime movies. If there are many still images transitioning on the Timeline it may be necessary to convert them to HAP / DXV Quicktime movies.

Image sequences

• TGA
• TIFF
• DPX

8-bit and 10bit is supported where applicable. All formats support the use of alpha channel (with the exception of 10bitDPX), and any framerate.

Note

Although other formats may work, only those listed above have received enough testing to formally support.

For more information, see Image Sequences.

3D meshes

• .obj files only.
• .obj files used as the mesh file for video screens need to be UV mapped.
• .obj files used as the mesh file for Props do not need to be UV mapped.

Note

To read more about preparing 3D meshes for Designer, see the 3D Fundamentals sub-chapter.

Alembic files

In order to better support animating meshes, Designer supports Alembic (.abc) files. Simply bring the file into the project by placing it in the mesh object folder, and select the file where you would have normally selected an OBJ.

Currently supported:

• Xform
• PolyMesh

Not currently supported

• Curves
• Points
• Camera
• SubD
• NuPatches
• FaceSet
• Light
• Material
• Custom data
• Writing Alembic files
• Selecting Alembic objects (e.g meshes) in the stage.