2008

OpenEXR Files
3ds Max can both read on page 7147 and write on page 7142 image files in the
OpenEXR format. OpenEXR is both an image file format and a general
open-source API for reading and writing such files.
The best place to look for information on OpenEXR itself is
http://www.openexr.com/the official Website . The following is taken directly
from the OpenEXR home page:
OpenEXR is a high dynamic-range (HDR) image file format developed by
Industrial Light & Magic for use in computer imaging applications.
OpenEXR is used by ILM on all motion pictures currently in production. The
first movies to employ OpenEXR were Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone,
Men in Black II, Gangs of New York, and Signs. Since then, OpenEXR has
become ILM's main image file format.
OpenEXR's features include:
■ Higher dynamic range and color precision than existing 8- and 10-bit
image file formats.
■ Support for 16-bit floating-point, 32-bit floating-point, and 32-bit integer
pixels. The 16-bit floating-point format, called "half," is compatible with
the half data type in NVIDIA's Cg graphics language and is supported
natively on their new GeForce FX and Quadro FX 3D graphics solutions.
■ Multiple lossless image compression algorithms. Some of the included
codecs can achieve 2:1 lossless compression ratios on images with film
grain.
■ Extensibility. New compression codecs and image types can easily be added
by extending the C++ classes included in the OpenEXR software
distribution. New image attributes (strings, vectors, integers, etc.) can be
added to OpenEXR image headers without affecting backward compatibility
with existing OpenEXR applications.
The OpenEXR Bitmap I/O software goes beyond the “standard” OpenEXR
format, taking advantage of the flexibility of the format itself. It can write
channels and attributes as well as general RGBA data in formats that many
OpenEXR file importers cannot understand, due to implementation limits as
well as limits to the current set of standards. The full-latitude 32-bit floating
point RGBA files that the output function can write is one example. While
the OpenEXR API itself fully supports this capability, and these files are written
OpenEXR Files | 7141