Labs ZibraVDB Decompress 1.0 geometry node

Loads a single .zibravdb file from disk and decompresses it as a VDB sequence.

On this page	Getting Ready Download ZibraVDB Core Library Acquire License Key About ZibraVDB Feedback and Support Parameters Examples
Since	20.5

As a part of the ZibraVDB for Houdini plugin, this node loads a single, highly compressed .zibravdb file from disk. The file may contain either a single frame or a frame sequence of VDB geometry. In both cases, the entire sequence is loaded at once, with frames decompressed on demand using a frame index parameter.

This significantly speeds up playback for high-resolution VDBs by eliminating the need to load one frame from disk at a time. Additionally, the total size of the data to be loaded is much smaller. The decompression occurs on the GPU and is extremely fast.

Mac

ZibraVDB for Houdini is currently only supported on Windows and Linux.

Getting Ready ¶

Download ZibraVDB Core Library ¶

The plugin requires the ZibraVDB core library on the back end. (This library and its source code are proprietary to Zibra AI and, therefore, are not included directly in the open-source SideFX Labs package.) The plugin has a built-in method to download this core library, which only needs to be done once (per working environment).

Click the Open Plugin Management button on any ZibraVDB node. A pop-up window will appear.
Click the Download Library button. You will be redirected to a ZibraVDB for Houdini webpage.
Download the ZibraVDB Compression Library from the webpage.
Unpack the contents of the archive into the Houdini user preference directory:
- On Windows, the default location is %userprofile%/documents/houdiniX.Y.
- On Linux, the default location is $HOME/houdiniX.Y.
Return to Houdini and click the Load Library button in the Plugin Management window. You should now see the Library status as “Loaded”, along with the library version.

Install to HSITE

To copy the ZibraVDB Compression Library to HSITE for site-wide installation, click the Copy Library to HSITE button in the Plugin Management window and follow on-screen prompts.

Install to HQueue

To copy the ZibraVDB Compression Library to HQROOT to make it available on HQueue nodes, click the Copy Library to HQROOT button in the Plugin Management window and follow on-screen prompts.

Acquire License Key ¶

There are 5 free compressions before you need to purchase a license key to continue using the plugin.

Purchase a license key on the Zibra AI website.
Open Houdini and click the Open Plugin Management button on any ZibraVDB node.
Enter your license key string (not the file path) in the License key field.
Click the Set License Key button. You should now see Activation status as “Activated”.

Activation using an environment variable

Create a text file in a directory of your choice and name it zibravdb_license_key.txt. Paste your license key into this text file and save it.
Set up a Houdini environment variable named ZIBRAVDB_LICENSE_KEY and assign it the path to your license key file.

Tip

For example, if you saved the license key file to C:/Users/.../Documents/houdini20.5/zibra/, then you may add the following line to your houdini.env file:

ZIBRAVDB_LICENSE_KEY = C:/Users/.../Documents/houdini20.5/zibra/zibravdb_license_key.txt

Please do not include the # at the beginning of a line. The # comments the line out.

You may also use the package mechanism to set environment variables.

About ZibraVDB ¶

ZibraVDB is a cutting-edge VDB compression and real-time rendering technology developed by Zibra AI. The compression can currently achieve up to 97–99% reduction in VDB file size with minimal quality loss. The proprietary .zibravdb file format captures an entire VDB sequence in a single file, which can be loaded into applications such as Houdini or Unreal Engine, decompressed on the GPU in real time, and played back in the viewport at speeds significantly faster than native solutions.

For artists, this provides a memory-efficient, high-performance volumetric data pipeline that seamlessly integrates into existing workflows.

It significantly reduces storage costs, improves volumetric data I/O speeds, and ultimately makes it easier and more practical to share working projects and distribute final products containing high-fidelity volumetric effects.

ZibraVDB for Houdini, contributed by Zibra AI, is a SideFX Labs plugin that brings ZibraVDB’s compression, decompression, and accelerated playback capabilities into Houdini’s ecosystem.

Additionally, the compressed .zibravdb files can be used with ZibraVDB for UE. This empowers artists to bring stunning volumetric effects created in Houdini to Unreal Engine and render them efficiently as full 3D ray-marched volumes in real time.

Feedback and Support ¶

If you have any questions, issues, or feedback, please reach out to ZibraVDB Support.

You can also contact SideFX Support and mention that the issue should be directed to the SideFX Labs team.

Parameters ¶

Input File

The file path from which to load the compressed VDB geometry. The file extension must be .zibravdb.

Sequence Frame

The original Houdini frame number when the cache was compressed. For example, if your VDB sequence was originally cached from frame 1001 to 1240, set this to 1001 to decompress and display the first frame of the sequence.

Reload Cache

Forces a reload of the .zibravdb file from disk and refreshes the decompressed frame.

Open Plugin Management

Opens the Plugin Management window to view the plugin’s info, manage core library, and configure license.

Examples ¶

Tip

When viewing in Houdini’s Help Browser, please copy the example file’s URL to a regular browser to proceed with the download.

Example File