This driver outputs the rendered image to the Lightwave IFF file format which is commonly used to store bitmap images for the Lightwave 3D software. The list of supported bitmap formats is the same as that described for the Photoshop PSD format, except for no G-Buffer support. RLE compression is optional.

This driver outputs the rendered image to a Alias compatible IFF file (not to be confused with the Lightwave IFF file format). This file format is commonly used as the default bitmap file format for such Alias products as Maya, Explore and PowerAnimator. The file can either be saved as a 24-bit image (8-bit red, green and blue channels), a 32-bit image (24-bits of RGB and 8-bits of alpha channel) or an 8-bit image containing only the alpha channel. Data is written to the file using a tile height of 1 and a tile width equal to the width of the image. RLE compression is optional but enabled by default.

This driver outputs the rendered image to the Electric Image bitmap file format. The list of supported bitmap formats is the same as that described for the Photoshop PSD format, except for no G-Buffer support. Compression is always enabled.

This driver outputs the rendered image to a JPEG disk file. JPEG is a common image format that provides a variable image compression scheme which degrades the quality of an image as the image compression level increases. Relatively high levels of compression can be achieved before significant degradation occurs in the image. Note, however that JPEG is a lossy compression scheme which means that the image saved to disk is of lower quality than the original rendered image.

The JPEG driver can output in the 24-bit RGB format and can also output the alpha channel as a Grayscale JPEG image.

This driver outputs the rendered image to a Softimage PIC file format. The file can either be saved as a 24-bit image (8-bit red, green and blue channels), a 32-bit image (24-bits of RGB and 8-bits of alpha channel) or an 8-bit image containing only the alpha channel. RLE compression is optional but enabled by default.

This driver outputs the rendered image to a Alias compatible PIX file format. This file format is commonly associated with such Alias products as Maya, Explore and PowerAnimator. The file can either be saved as a 24-bit image (8-bit red, green and blue channels) or as an 8-bit image containing only the alpha channel. RLE compression is always enabled.

PNG (Portable Network Graphics) is a replacement for the GIF format. It is a full-featured (non-LZW) compressed format intended for widespread use.

The list of supported bitmap formats is the same as that described for the Photoshop PSD format, except for no G-Buffer support. RLE compression is optional.

This driver outputs the rendered image to a ‘Portable Pixmap’ (PPM) 24-bit disk file. PPM is a rather simplistic file format that only allows data to be stored in 24-bit (RGB) format without any compression. PPM is used by programs such as Microsoft’s Direct3D.

The PPM driver can output in the 24-bit RGB format and can also output the alpha channel as a RGB PPM image.

This driver outputs the rendered image to a subset of the Adobe Photoshop PSD file format. RLE compression is optional but enabled by default. The channels are output in the following order: R, G, B, Alpha. The following output formats are supported:

• 1-bit bitmap (B&W)
• 8-bit colormapped and/or quantized
• 24-bit RGB
• 32-bit RGBA
• 8-bit alpha channel (as grayscale image)

If the "Output G-Buffer Data" is enabled then the Photoshop PSD driver will also output "Geometry Buffer" data directly from the core renderer to the .psd file. See the section below which discusses this G-buffer common option. By outputting this data to a .psd file you can load it into Photoshop and perform unusual operations on the file, such as doing depth of field calculations based on the "Z" channel output to the .psd file.

NOTE: The only way to output G-Buffer data to a Photoshop PSD file is to use the "Render Scene To File…" menu entry. You must render directly to a file since the G-Buffer data must flow from the core renderer directly to the Photoshop PSD output driver. You cannot render to a window and then follow up by pressing the "Save" button on the render window to subsequently save the window's image to a Photoshop PSD file.

When the Photoshop PSD driver is selected, the G-Buffer data is output in this order and with these extents:

• Z depth. Range is 0 to 255. 0 is at the camera. 254 in the .psd file is mapped to the furthest non-infinity Z depth of the object. 255 in the .psd file is mapped to infinity values (such as the background).
• Vertex normal. For each X, Y or Z normalized component, a -1.0 normal component maps to 0 in the .psd file, a 0.0 normal component maps to 128 in the .psd file, and a 1.0 normal component maps to 255 in the .psd file.
• (u,v) texture coordinate (0.0 to 1.0 range). A value of 0.0 maps to 0 in the .psd file, and 1.0 maps to 255 in the .psd file. Values less than 0.0 or greater than 1.0 are first unitized to the 0.0 to 1.0 range.
• Object ID. At the moment the lower 8 bits of an object's 32-bit instance pointer is output, so there is no guarantee that this number is unique.

The most interesting aspect of outputting G-Buffer data to a .psd file is using the "Z Depth" information. For example, you can perform depth-of-field processing whereby pixels are blurred based on the value of "Z" in the .psd file. You can also do z-depth based compositing as a post-process operation, such as adding in lens flare effects (the Okino lens flare system uses the G-Buffer mechanism internally to perform z-depth based compositing).

This driver outputs the rendered image to a Silicon Graphics RGB disk file. It is a complete implementation of the RGB file format, allowing for 24-bit and 32-bit output, alpha channel output, and with optional compression.

This driver outputs the rendered image to a TIFF disk file. It is a complete implementation of the TIFF RGB file format, allowing for 8-bit, 24-bit and 32-bit output, and with optional compression. By default the image will be output as 24-bit data (8-bit red, green and blue channels) but you can choose from 1-bit to 32-bit output. If 256 or fewer colors are chosen (8-bits or less) then the output image will be stored in color-mapped form. If the 32- bit output mode is selected then the alpha channel will be output along with the image data in TIFF alpha channel format.

The TIFF image is not compressed by default. If you enable the "Compress" checkbox then you can select from 3 compression methods: Adobe Deflate (which is compatible with Adobe products), Deflate and PackBits.

This driver outputs the rendered image to a TARGA disk file. It is a complete implementation of the TARGA file format, allowing for 8-bit, 24-bit and 32-bit output, and with optional compression. By default the image will be output as 24-bit data (8-bit red, green and blue channels) but you can choose from 1-bit to 32-bit output. If 256 or fewer colors are chosen (8-bits or less) then the output image will be stored in color-mapped form. If the 32-bit output mode is selected then the alpha channel will be output along with the image data in TARGA alpha channel format.

This driver outputs the rendered image to a Microsoft Windows compatible BMP file. The file can either be saved as a 24-bit image (8-bit red, green and blue channels) or as an 8-bit colormapped image (if 256 or fewer colors are chosen).

This format is not a highly recommended format since no file compression is available, no information can be saved along with the file, and it takes up a considerable amount of memory while the image is being rendered to the file.