Supported File Formats

Notes

When importing and exporting files, remember the following:

• When you import images with a Read node (Image > Read), Nuke analyzes the contents of the file to determine the format. The file name extension is not used to determine file format, which allows flexibility with naming conventions in a production environment.

• Regardless of format, Nuke converts all imported image sequences to its native 32-bit linear RGB colorspace.

• When you render new images from Nuke (Image > Write), you can use a file name extension to specify format.

• To import and export geometry objects from Alembic, FBX, or OBJ files, use the ReadGeo node (3D > Geometry > ReadGeo). To write them out again, use the WriteGeo node (3D > Geometry > WriteGeo). To import cameras or transforms from Alembic or FBX files, use the Camera node (3D > Camera). To import lights from an FBX file, use the Light node (3D > Lights > Light).

• To import deep images (either in DTEX or scanline OpenEXR format), use a DeepRead node (Deep > DeepRead). To export deep images (in scanline OpenEXR format), use a DeepWrite node (Deep > DeepWrite).

Supported File Formats

The following table lists the supported file formats. The extensions listed under Extension let you specify the image format; use these as the actual file name extensions or the prefix to indicate output format for the image sequences.

Format	Bit Depths	Read/Write	Extension	Notes
Alembic	n/a	read and write	abc	You can read meshes, point clouds, cameras, and transforms from Alembic files into a Nuke scene using the ReadGeo, Camera, and Axis nodes. To write meshes and point clouds out again, use the WriteGeo node.
Apple ProRes	8, 10	read and write	mov	Adds support for Apple ProRes 4444 and Apple ProRes 422 on Mac, Linux, and Windows using the mov64 reader. Apple ProRes 4444 includes the SD, HD, 2K, UHD, and XQ formats. Apple ProRes 422 includes the HQ, LT, and Proxy formats.
ARRIRAW	12	read only	ari
AVI	n/a	read and write	avi	AVI files can be supported by default or via Nuke’s reader/writer that is based on the FFmpeg open source library. If you get an error when using AVI files in Read nodes, you may need to use the prefix mov64: before the file path and file name, for example: mov64:z:/job/FILM/IMG/final_comp_v01.####.avi When working with Write nodes, you can also select mov64 from the file type dropdown menu and use avi as the file extension. On Windows, in order to support more codecs, the AVI reader uses the DirectShow multimedia architecture. When decoding .avi files, DirectShow tries to find the appropriate codec on the system. If the codec is not available, DirectShow and Nuke are unable to open the .avi file. Note that the 64-bit version of Nuke can only use 64-bit DirectShow codecs. If you only have a 32-bit codec installed, the 64-bit version of Nuke cannot use it to open .avi files.
CIN	10 (log)	read and write	cin
DNG	8, 12	read	dng	Includes RAW 2.5K CinemaDNG
DPX	8, 10, 12, and 16	read and write	dpx	YCbCr encoded DPX files are not supported on the timeline.
DTEX	32	read only	dtex	To use DTEX files, you need Pixar’s PhotoRealistic RenderMan® Pro Server 20, or earlier, on your computer. To read a DTEX file, use the DeepRead node.
FBX		read and write	fbx	You can read meshes, point clouds, cameras, lights, and transforms from FBX files into a Nuke scene using the ReadGeo, Camera, Light, and Axis nodes. To write geometry out again, use the WriteGeo node.
GIF	8	read only	gif
Radiance	16	read and write	hdr, hdri	This format stores an 8-bit mantissa for each of r, g, and b and an additional 8-bit exponent that is shared by all three, which packs the floating point RGB triplet into 32 bits per pixel.
JPEG	8	read and write	jpg, jpeg	Adjust compression levels using the quality slider in the Write node’s properties panel.
Maya IFF	8, 16	read only	iff
MXF	n/a	read only	mxf	Note: Currently, only 'complete' MXF files are supported. Supported codecs include: • Uncompressed 4:2:2 YCbCr 8-/10-bit • Uncompressed 4:4:4:4 RGBA 8-/10-bit • Uncompressed Avid 4:2:2 YCbCr 8-/10-bit • Uncompressed Avid 4:4:4:4 RGBA 8-/10-bit • JPEG2000 • Avid DNxHD (1080p and 720p 1920x1080 and 1280x720, 4:4:4:4 and 4:2:2) 36, 115, 120, 145, 175, 185, 220, 220x • Sony Raw from the F65, F55, F5 and FS700 cameras. All formats that these cameras provide: 4K, 2K, 1K, 0.5K and 0.25K • ARRIRAW from the Alexa Mini and Amira cameras.
OBJ		read and write	obj
OpenEXR and OpenEXR 2.2	16, 32	read and write	exr	OpenEXR handles 16- and 32-bit float. This 16 is also called "half float" and is different from the 16-bit integer that all the other formats that support 16-bit use. Nuke supports multi-part OpenEXR files. For more information, see Notes on Importing OpenEXR Files and Notes on Rendering OpenEXR Files. When working with deep data, Nuke supports scanline OpenEXR files. For more information, see Importing Scanline OpenEXR Files and Writing Deep Data.
EXR Compression
EXR file metadata contains a compression key/value pair detailing the compression type used to write the .exr file. The value is expressed as the name of the compression type or an integer referencing the compression used: 0 - no compression 1 - RLE compression, run length encoding 2 - Zip compression, one scan line at a time 3 - Zip compression, in blocks of 16 scan lines 4 - PIZ-based wavelet compression, in blocks of 32 scan lines 5 - PXR24 compression, lossy 24-bit float 6 - B44 compression, lossy 4-by-4 pixel block, fixed rate 7 - B44A compression, lossy 4-by-4 pixel block, flat fields are compressed more 8 - DWAA compression, lossy DCT based compression, in blocks of 32 scan lines 9 - DWAB compression, lossy DCT based compression, in blocks of 256 scan lines
PNG	8, 16	read and write	png (8-bit) png16 (16-bit)
PSD	8, 16	read only	psd	While Nuke reads standard Photoshop® blend modes, it doesn't read Photoshop layer comps or recognize group blend modes. Photoshop layers are read into separate Nuke layers and anything that doesn't map into that is ignored.
QuickTime	n/a	read and write	mov	QuickTime is only supported by default on Windows and Mac. To use QuickTime files on Linux, you need to use the prefix mov64: before the file path and file name, for example, mov64:/z:/job/FILM/IMG/final_comp_v01.####.mov The mov64 writer supports the following codecs: • Apple ProRes 4444 • Apple ProRes 4444 XQ • Apple ProRes 422 HQ • Apple ProRes 422 • Apple ProRes 422 LT • Apple ProRes 422 Proxy • Avid DNxHD (1080p and 720p 1920x1080 and 1280x720, 4:4:4:4 and 4:2:2) 36, 115, 120, 145, 175, 185, 220, 220x Note: Interlaced writing is not supported. See Avid DNxHD Notes below. • Photo - JPEG • MPEG-1 Video • MPEG-4 Video • PNG • Animation • Uncompressed 10-bit 4:2:2
Avid DNxHD Notes
The bit rates listed in the codec profile dropdown are the bit rates for 1080p at 29.97 fps EXCEPT for 36 (which is actually 45 Mbps @ 29.97fps). You should look at the codec format (422/444, 8/10-bit). Note: Nuke only supports 1080p and 720p. Non-HD resolutions are scaled to 1080p before writing. This leads to a set of 1080p bit rates: • 1080p/29.97 440x, 220x, 220, 145, 45 • 1080p/60 N/A, N/A, 440, 290, 90 (same at 59.94) • 1080p/50 N/A, N/A, 367, 242, 75 • 1080p/25 365x, 185x, 185, 120, 36 • 1080p/24 350x, 175x, 175, 115, 36 (same at 23.976) At 720p, the codec profile dropdown has a different interpretation. The bit rate is taken as the bit rate at 720p at 59.94fps. This leads to another set of bit rates: • 720p/59.94 N/A, 220x, 220, 145, N/A • 720p/50 N/A, 175x, 175, 115, N/A • 720p/29.97 N/A, 110x, 110, 75, N/A • 720p/25 N/A, 90x, 90, 60, N/A • 720p/23.976 N/A, 90x, 90, 60, N/A Note: Since the bit rates are for 1080p at 29.97 fps AND 720p at 59.94 fps (except for 36 Mbit which should read 45 Mbit). It is possible to calculate the bandwidth for all the other frame rates by: BandWidth@1080p = fps/29.97 * NominalBandWidth, or BandWidth@720p = fps/59094 * NominalBandWidth where NominalBandWidth is the bandwidth listed in the codec profile knob OR 45 if the bandwidth listed is 36 Mbit. (Avid labels the codec profile names by the approximate bandwidth.)
RAW	n/a	read only	n/a	DSLR raw data files, such as Canon .CR2 files. These are only supported via the dcraw command line program, which you can download from the dcraw website. Bit depth and other specifications depend on the device. Some devices may not be supported.
REDCODE	16	read only	r3d	Note that .r3d files may look different in Nuke compared to various versions of RED applications, like RED ALERT or REDCINE. Unlike most other file formats Nuke reads, the .r3d REDCODE files must be processed to convert from a raw format to an RGB color image. From time to time, a new version of the RED SDK that Nuke uses improves this processing and due to the timing of release cycles, Nuke may sometimes be using a different version than the RED applications.
SGI	8, 16	read and write	sgi, rgb, rgba (8-bit sequences) sgi16 (for 16-bit sequences)
SoftImage® PIC	8	read and write	pic
TIFF	8, 16, and 32	read and write	tif, tiff (8-bit sequences) tif16, tiff16 (16-bit sequences) ftif, ftiff (32-bit sequences)	If utilized, the compression schema on imported TIFF sequences must be LZW®.
Truevision® TARGA	8	read and write	tga, targa
Wavefront® RLA	8	read only	rla
XPM	8	read and write	xpm	This is the text-based format in which Nuke’s interface elements are stored.
YUV	8	read and write	yuv	This format does not specify resolution, so Nuke assumes a width of 720 pixels.

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