Export Overview¶
Export is possible through the “File -> Export Composition” menu to export the Composition Result, or by right-clicking on an interval in the Timeline and choosing “export” to export the Track Result up to that interval’s stage.
When an export is executed, HoloEdit outputs any relevant stream data present for each export type specified.
Export Best Practices¶
Due to the nature of volumetric video clips, HoloEdit exports can be time consuming or hardware intensive. To ensure a fast and smooth export process, we recommend following these guidelines:
Avoid Exports into your HoloEdit Workspace. Exporting directly into a folder or subfolder of your HoloEdit workspace is supported, but generally not advised. Because a considerable number of frames will have to be indexed by HoloEdit for import simultaneously, doing this can lead to poor performance or HoloEdit crashes. If you are exporting data for the purpose of re-import back into HoloEdit, take care to export to a separate directory, and then move those output files into a new folder in your workspace after HoloEdit has completed the export process.
Ensure Available Disk Space. Before any large export, confirm the available disk space on your computer. Even while exporting to compressed output formats such as OMS, free disk space is required to prepare and export your clips. We recommend keeping several dozen gigabytes of disk space available at all times. At minimum, keep at least as much free disk space as your original source files required. For more information on HoloEdit hardware requirements, see the System Requirements section.
The OMS Format¶
HoloEdit provides its own export format for volumetric video compression and playback, called OMS. The OMS format is always recommended as the final output for a volumetric composition, with playback targets for web, streaming, and popular game engines for local playback. In addition to OMS, there are several other output formats available in HoloEdit.
OMS supports the following unique features:
OMS Compression
Retargeting
OMS Compression¶
The OMS format provides fast and compressed playback of any volumetric capture. OMS compression includes the following optional features
Temporal Compression: Temporal compression uses Compress Mesh Segments data with a stabilized clip’s segments to greatly reduce file size on exported OMS files. This compression is applied automatically to all OMS exports containing Compress Mesh Segments data.
Mesh Compression: Mesh Compression provides lossy methods of storing a mesh frame with a smaller footprint using bitpacking, ordering, and other encoding tricks. Enabled with the “Bitpacking” option in the OMS export options.
Sequence Bytestream Compression: Sequence Bytestream Compression is an additional layer of compression automatically applied to OMS exports. It uses Bytestream compression techniques such as zStd or zLib on a per sequence basis to save additional space.
Retargeting¶
Animation retargeting, usually referred to as “retargeting”, is a process that allows dynamic animations to be added during OMS Playback.
One common usage of retargeting is “Head Retargeting”, using the head bone to make the volumetric actor look at an animated object or camera in the scene during playback.
The Head Retargeting workflow is supported through the Generate Skeleton and Generate Head Skin Weights stages, which provide the tools to automatically re-direct a volumetric actor’s gaze during playback. The OMS format supports all necessary skeletal and skinning data for playback with retargeting.
The AVV Format¶
Important
AVV is a premium HoloSuite feature. Please contact sales@arcturus.studio to discuss licensing options.
The Accelerated Volumetric Video, or AVV, offers an alternative to the OMS and MP4 export as an all-in-one file type. It leverages HoloEdit’s high-detail transfer stages (like Detect Face, Transfer Normals, and Analyze Texture), and is designed with superior decoding speed and scalable playback in mind. AVV playback is supported in Unreal Engine and Unity using the HoloSuite Player.
Note
AVV is ideal for large-scale scenes where real-time playback is needed for many volCap actors, or fast action captures where motion blur is needed, and is suitable when face mesh/texture details are critical to maintain.
AVV supports the following features:
Skeletonization
Multi Resolution
Multitrack Export¶
Simultaneous export of multiple tracks is supported through the Combined MP4+OMS output type. All other output types export the Track Result of the uppermost track in your current composition. Multi-track exports are currently supported using the Unity Holosuite player.
The “Export Final Composition” Window¶
The Export Final Composition window lets you specify one or more output types and export them in a single step.
The Export Final Composition window is made up for two parts – the Shared Export Settings, and the Export Sequences area:
The “Export Sequences” Field¶
The Export Sequences field makes up the majority of the Export Final Composition window. It is made up of a large list view, with a “ + “ button at the top right. The + Button will open the “New Output Sequence” window. The list view contains all of the output sequences specified for export. Every output present in the list view will be exported together when you press the “Export” button at the bottom right of the window.
The “New Output Sequence” Window¶
The New Output Sequence window is made up of 3 parts:
The Output Sequence Filename Field¶
The Output Sequence Filename Field is the text field at the top left of the window. The specified string will be used to determine the naming scheme for your output files.
Along with letters, numbers, and some symbols, certain symbols can be used to configure how HoloEdit numbers individual files exported in single-frame formats like .obj, .png, or .ply.
Supplying a name with no special characters, such as “filename” will place the frame number at the end of the name. The frame number will be “zero padded” to four digits. For example, “filename0001.obj”, or “filename0525.obj”. Frame numbers longer than 4 digits will not have any padding, such as “filename34556.obj”.
Supplying a name with the “#” character anywhere in the name will determine where the frame number is placed. For example, “file#name” will place the frame number where the # character is located, such as “file0012name.obj”.
Supplying a name with more than one “#” character in a row, such as “filename##”, will override the default four digit padding and pad to the number of # characters. For example, “filename04.obj”.
Finally, supplying a name with a “#” character followed by a “!” character will insert the frame number at that location with no padding, for example “file#!name” could produce “file1name.obj”.
Note
If you wish to include “#” or “!” characters in your name, you can ‘escape’ them by providing a leading “\” symbol. For example, “file\#name” will be treated as the name “file#name” with no special characters, and export files like “file#name0001.obj”. Or “filename\#_###” will produce files like “filename#_045.obj”.
Warning
Attempting to provide more than one non-adjacent “#” character will prompt you to correct the name.
The Output Sequence Type Selector¶
The Output Sequence Type drop-down on the right specifies the kind of output to be exported.
Output Parameters¶
The rest of the window consists of the Output Parameters. These vary per Output Type. See Output Sequence Types for details.
After configuring your New Output Sequence, press the Save Button at the bottom of the window to add it to the Export Sequences List. You can add as many individual Export Sequences as you’d like before pressing Export in the Export Final Composition window to begin the export process.
Export Process¶
After pressing the Export button, the Composition Result (the result of the bottommost processed intervals in the composition) will be exported.
For information on a particular Export Filetype, the output types section.