---
title: "V-Ray Output Formats"
canonical: "https://documentation.chaos.com/space/THEORY/621510758/V-Ray%20Output%20Formats"
format: markdown
---
This page provides information on the different image output formats in V-Ray.


## **Overview**

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V-Ray provides the following image output formats: VRIMG, VRST, openEXR, multichannel EXR, deep EXR, HDR, PNG, JPEG, BMP, TIF, TGA, and SGI.  
As a rule of thumb, use EXR (multichannel) for most compositing pipelines, Deep EXR / VRST only when you need deep compositing, VRIMG if you need VFB’s incremental/floating-point capture with render elements and metadata, and PNG/JPEG for client previews/delivery.


## **Image Output Formats**

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### **VRIMG (.vrimg)**

Chaos proprietary image file format. The V-Ray Frame Buffer (VFB) uses it to store the rendered image incrementally (bucket by bucket) during rendering in full floating-point format, including all available render elements. With progressive rendering, the image is saved as a single huge bucket in the VRIMG file. VRIMG can be used as a render output format, but it is not recommended for use as a texture format. The file contains metadata such as render statistics. VRIMG can be saved just as any other image format – either as the render output format or directly from the VFB. It is usually compressed as a zip but you can also use a non-compressed .vrimg.

### **VRST (.vrst)**

V-Ray's native deep image file format which was used before the release of OpenEXR 2. VRST is Chaos proprietary image file format.

### **PNG (.png)**

Portable Network Graphics (PNG) is a still-image file format developed as an improved replacement for GIF. It supports lossless compression, ensuring the resulting image quality remains unaffected. It also supports alpha and lets you save files in both 8- and 16-bit color depth. PNG is good for clean previews when HDR/float data isn’t needed.

### **JPG (.jpg, .jpeg)**

Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPG) is an image file format commonly associated with digital photography. It uses lossy compression, which significantly reduces file size but the image quality may suffer when zooming. JPG does not support an alpha channel. It is best suited for quick previews and web sharing where small files and fast upload/download matter, but it is not recommended for compositing.

### **HDR (.hdr)**

High Dynamic Range Imaging file format is mainly used for environment maps / IBL and lighting workflows. Typically it isn’t used for multi-channel compositing like EXR. HDR stores pixel brightness over a much wider range than standard 8-bit images, so very bright values don’t clip and very dark values keep usable detail. HDRs are written in [RGBE](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RGBE_image_format).

### **OpenEXR (.exr)**

Image file format, released as an open standard for compositing by Industrial Light & Magic. It supports high bit depth (16-bit and 32-bit), alpha, and optionally multiple render channels in one file. OpenEXR files support multiple lossless compression types. To store all render channels in a single file, select the Multichannel EXR option. Read more about OpenEXR here.

### **Multichannel EXR**

A standard multichannel EXR contains all render channels (render elements) in a single file, regardless of whether they have Deep output enabled.

### **Deep EXR**

Image file format that stores multiple samples per pixel at different depths along the camera ray. It is multichannel and contains all enabled render elements from the render along with zdepth info where enabled, e.g. the rgb channel will have it, any additional elements with enabled deep output will also do. Note that Deep EXR is supported for bucket rendering only.

### **TGA (.tga)**

Targa or TGA is an image file format developed by Truevision. It is often used to render still images and sequences of still images for the gaming industry. TGA can use run-length compression. Read more about run-length compression [here](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Run-length_encoding).

### **BMP (.bmp)**

Still-image bitmap file format that can be uncompressed or lightly compressed. The files have good image quality but are larger compared to JPEG.

### **SGI (.sgi, .rgb, .rgba)**

Silicon Graphics Image (SGI) file format is the native format for Silicon Graphics workstations. It lets you save files in both 8- and 16-bit color depth.

### **TIF (.tif, .tiff)**

Tagged Image File Format (TIF) is a multiplatform bitmap format commonly used when the output should be printed. TIF files are larger in size compared to JPG or BMP and offer much higher resolution, allowing to retain the visual fidelity of the image when zooming. TIF files can be compressed and let you save files in 8-, 16- and 32-bit color depth. They are widely supported by scanning, faxing, word processing, optical character recognition, image manipulation, desktop publishing, and page-layout applications.