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HDR to PNG converter, without the upload.

Turn HDR environment maps into PNG. It is converted in your browser, so the file never leaves your device.

Drop HDR files here

or choose from your computer paste with Ctrl V

Ready · several at once0 bytes uploaded, ever

Convert to

How to convert HDR to PNG

  1. Add your HDR environment maps

    Drop HDR (RGBE, Radiance picture, .pic) files onto the box above, or click it to choose them. ToAny reads the file's contents to detect the type, so a wrong extension does not matter.

  2. PNG is already chosen

    Press Convert. Open Options first if you want to change the defaults. The work happens in this tab.

  3. Download

    Save the PNG, or download everything as one ZIP if you converted several files.

Why ToAny

  • Private by construction

    The HDR to PNG converter is part of this page and runs inside your browser. Your environment maps are never sent to ToAny or to anyone else.

  • No upload, no queue

    Nothing has to travel to a server and back, so the conversion starts the moment you press Convert, even on a slow connection.

  • Free, without an account

    No sign-up, no email address and no watermark. Add several files and download them together as a ZIP.

HDR to PNG: what to expect

HDR files are not understood by browsers or by most everyday image apps. PNG keeps every pixel exactly and supports transparent backgrounds. HDR is at home in light probes and environment maps for lighting a 3D scene; PNG is the usual choice for screenshots, logos, graphics with text or transparency.

The defaults suit most files. Under Options you can resize the result.

HDR stores floating-point light values that a screen cannot show, so the picture is tone-mapped: highlights above white are compressed with the ACES filmic curve (a picture that already fits within white only gets the sRGB curve), then saved with 8 bits per channel. A file with several parts shows its colour image, deep files are not supported, and a picture over 24 megapixels is too large to tone-map in the browser.

HDR vs PNG

HDR

Radiance HDR image

A Radiance HDR file stores each pixel as three mantissas and one shared exponent (RGBE), which covers a brightness range far beyond a screen at four bytes a pixel. It is the usual format for environment maps and light probes. Showing one on a screen, or saving it as a PNG or JPG, means choosing how the very bright values are brought into the range a display can show. Here that choice is automatic and the exposure is fixed, so a very dark or flat picture cannot be brightened.

Opens in Photoshop, GIMP, Blender, Luminance HDR and lighting software; not browsers

HDR converter
PNG

PNG image

PNG stores every pixel exactly, with optional transparency. It was created as a patent-free replacement for GIF and is the standard for screenshots, logos and interface graphics. Photos saved as PNG are several times larger than the same photo as JPG.

Opens in Every browser, phone and image app

PNG converter
HDR compared with PNG
HDRRadiance HDR imagePNGPNG image
Stands forRadiance HDR (RGBE)Portable Network Graphics
TypeHigh-dynamic-range raster imageRaster image
CompressionLossless run-length coding of a shared-exponent colourLossless
TransparencyNoYes, full alpha channel
AnimationNoNo (the APNG extension aside)
Introduced1989, by Greg Ward, at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory1996, by the PNG Development Group
Opens inPhotoshop, GIMP, Blender, Luminance HDR and lighting software; not browsersEvery browser, phone and image app
Best forLight probes and environment maps for lighting a 3D sceneScreenshots, logos, graphics with text or transparency
File extension.hdr, .pic, .rgbe.png

Questions

Are my environment maps uploaded anywhere?

No. The HDR to PNG conversion runs inside your browser, on your own phone or computer. The file is not sent to ToAny or to anyone else.

Does converting HDR to PNG reduce quality?

No further quality is lost: PNG stores the decoded pixels exactly. The result is identical in content.

Can I convert several HDR files at once?

Yes. Add as many as you like, convert them together and download each result or all of them as one ZIP.

How do I convert HDR to PNG on Windows, Mac, iPhone or Android?

The steps are the same everywhere because ToAny runs in the web browser: open this page in a current version of Chrome, Edge, Safari or Firefox, add the HDR file, press Convert and save the PNG. There is nothing to install.

Is there a file size limit?

Pictures of up to 120 megapixels are accepted (for example 12,000 by 10,000 pixels); a larger one is refused with a message. Beyond that the limit is your device's memory, since nothing is uploaded; a computer copes with large files better than a phone.

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