USD - Format Overview
Table of Contents
General Information
This guide is part of the RapidPipeline 3D Formats Knowledge Database.
| Format Name | USD |
|---|---|
| Long Name | Universal Scene Description |
| Extensions | .usd,.usda,.usdc,.usdz |
| Internet Media Type (previously MIME) | unspecified |
| Common Use Cases | Animation, VFX, Games, Architecture |
What is the USD format, and what is it used for?
USD (Universal Scene Description) is an open format and runtime to represent 3D scenes. It is commonly used in the animation industry, including use for large animated film projects. USD is extremely capable (yet complex), able to cover sophisticated use cases like linked and nested scene descriptions, animation data, layers, and a lot more. It is a file format mostly used for 3D modeling and rendering applications, and exchange of 3D authoring data.
Features supported by the USD format
| Feature | Supported? |
|---|---|
| Morph Targets | Yes |
| Rigid Animations | Yes |
| Skinned Animations | Yes |
| Animations | Yes |
| Free-Form Surfaces | Yes |
| Geometry Compression | No |
| Quad Meshes | Yes |
| Basic 3D Geometry | Yes |
| PBR Materials | Yes |
| Transparent Materials | Yes |
| Vertex Colors | Yes |
| Materials | Yes |
| Scene Composition | Yes |
| Hierarchical Scene Graph | Yes |
| Scene Nodes | Yes |
| Standardized Format | Yes |
| Embedded Textures | No |
| Multiple UV Channels | Yes |
| Normal Mapping | Yes |
| Procedural Textures | Yes |
| Texture Compression | No |
| Texture Transforms | Yes |
| Texturing | Yes |
Converting and Optimizing USD Files
There are various ways to convert between USD files and other 3D formats. With RapidPipeline, you can easily convert and and optimize USD files, at scale. It supports USD, as well as many other file formats (examples: 3dsMax, FBX, glTF, OBJ, PLY, STEP, STL, USDZ, VRM), at high quality.
Due to the potential limitations aforementioned on the table above, in principle, this format cannot always perfectly convert 3D data between USD and other formats. In the following, you can find format conversion guides between USD and the most important other formats, along with a rough score for compatibility of this workflow:
Converting USD to Other 3D File Formats
- USD to 3dsMax
- USD to FBX
- USD to glTF
- USD to OBJ
- USD to PLY
- USD to STEP
- USD to STL
- USD to USDZ
- USD to VRM
Converting Other 3D File Formats to USD
What's the best way to get USD files into my 3D applications?
Doing 3D conversion right, especially at scale, can be tricky, as 3D data is in general a rather complex (yet very powerful!) medium. This also applies to USD files - the conversion guide above gives a rough idea. Once you know what you would like to do, tools like RapidPipeline can help you perform the necessary steps, and to automate the process.
However, especially when introducing pipelines and workflows at scale in an enterprise context, it is usually good to rely on dedicated expertise, making sure you do not introduce any steps into your 3D workflow that are detrimental to the final output's quality, or that take your team too much time (and money).
If you're interested to hire dedicated expertise from the best in the field to help your company reach your goals fast and reliably, please do not hestitate to contact DGG. Being the creators of RapidPipeline, and ambassadors for open 3D standards for more than a decade, we have been building some of the world's most advanced 3D pipelines, having processed many millions of 3D assets.
Therefore, our expertise will help you to reach your goals faster, at scale, and with the least possible friction, since we are focused on maximum interoperability.
To get started with 3D data conversion and optimization today, sign up for a free account!
If you have any questions, feel free to chat with our human team.
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