Labs ZibraVDB Decompress (Alpha) 0.2 geometry node

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

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

As a part of the ZibraVDB for Houdini (Alpha) 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.

Windows

ZibraVDB for Houdini (Alpha) is currently only supported on Windows.

Getting Ready ¶

Acquire License Key ¶

For the plugin to function, Houdini must be able to locate a valid ZibraVDB license on your machine.

Please read the ZibraVDB Terms of Service.
Visit ZibraVDB for Houdini (Alpha) to request a trial license.
After receiving your license key, create a text file in a directory of your choosing 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

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

Download ZibraVDB Core Library ¶

The plugin also 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).

Press the Download Library button on any ZibraVDB node.
In the pop-up window, confirm that you accept the ZibraVDB Terms of Service to proceed.
The download will occur in the background and will typically complete within a few seconds.
A second pop-up window will appear once the download is finished. The core library, ZibraVDBHoudiniBridge.dll, will be saved to $HOUDINI_USER_PREF_DIR/zibra/X_Y/. Alternatively, if the site-specific directory $HSITE is set, it will be saved to $HSITE/zibra/X_Y/.

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 index of the frame to decompress and display. This differs from the original frame number, as the index starts at 0 and represents the frame’s position in the sequence. For example, if your VDB sequence was originally cached from frame 1001 to 1240, set this to 0 to decompress and display frame 1001.

Reload Cache

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

Download Library

Downloads the core library for all ZibraVDB nodes. You only need to press this once (per working environment).

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