EXR to JPG Converter

Encoding: the EXR uses none, RLE, ZIP, PIZ, PXR24, B44 or DWA, chosen per file; JPG uses lossy DCT coding in 8×8 pixel blocks, with colour usually stored at half resolution, and the download is a standard JPEG at the quality you choose.

Bit depth: 16-bit half or 32-bit floating point per channel in the EXR; JPG allows 8 bits per channel, and the JPG written here has 8 bits per channel. Floating-point values are mapped to 8 bits per channel, and anything brighter than white clips.

Colour: scene-linear RGB, often ACEScg or linear Rec.709 in the EXR; JPG supports YCbCr shown as RGB, greyscale, or CMYK from print software, written here as 8-bit sRGB.

Transparency: the EXR stores it as an A channel stored like any other channel; the JPG has none, so transparent areas are filled with the colour you choose.

Other images: the EXR can hold extra channels (depth, normals, render passes) and multiple parts; only the main image is converted.

Metadata: the EXR can carry named header attributes such as chromaticities, timecode and camera data; JPG can carry EXIF (camera, date, GPS), XMP, IPTC and an ICC profile in APP segments, but nothing is copied across.

OpenEXR is the high dynamic range format of film visual effects. It stores half or full floating-point channels in linear light, plus any extra render passes, and is the working format of compositing pipelines.

An EXR starts with the magic number 76 2F 31 01 and a version field, then a header of named, typed attributes (channels, compression, dataWindow, displayWindow) and a table of offsets to scanline or tile blocks.

EXR files usually come from 3D renderers and compositing in Nuke, Blender, Houdini, After Effects and DaVinci Resolve.

JPEG is the universal photo format. It compresses by discarding fine detail the eye is least sensitive to, which makes photos small but blurs sharp edges and text if pushed too far.

A JPEG starts with the bytes FF D8 and is a run of marker segments: APP1 carries EXIF and often a thumbnail, APP2 an ICC profile, DQT the quantization tables that decide the quality, and SOS the compressed scan, which ends at FF D9.

JPG is the better choice for photographs that need to open anywhere, while EXR suits visual effects, compositing and 3D render output.

JPG strengths: Opens everywhere: every browser, phone, camera, printer and app; Small files for photographs; Adjustable quality from tiny to near-lossless. Drawbacks to weigh: No transparency; Lossy: every re-save loses a little more; Blocky artifacts around text, logos and sharp lines.