HDR to TGA Converter
Convert HDR to TGA in your browser. HDR files usually come from HDRI environment maps, 360° panoramas and lighting simulation; TGA is the better fit for game textures and 3D software. You get a run-length encoded 32-bit TGA with alpha. Nothing is uploaded.
- Processed locally
- No upload, no wait
- No sign-up
- No watermark
Drop images here
or choose files · paste with Ctrl/⌘ V
HDR expected · other image formats also work
How to use HDR to TGA
- 1
Add your HDR files: drop them here, choose them, or paste from the clipboard.
- 2
There is nothing to tune: the TGA is written losslessly. Resizing and rotating are under More options if you need them.
- 3
Click Convert. Each file is decoded and encoded in a background thread on this device.
- 4
Download the .tga files one at a time or together as a ZIP.
Why use Aback Images for hdr to tga
Where the TGA goes next
TGA opens in Unreal Engine, Unity, Blender, Photoshop, GIMP and Substance tools.
TGA next to HDR
Both sides are lossless, so the size depends on how well the TGA encoder handles this picture compared with the HDR's run-length encoded RGBE scanlines.
Written without a lossy pass
The TGA is written losslessly, so the pixels decoded from the HDR arrive unchanged, apart from precision beyond 8 bits per channel.
Processed on your device
Your images are decoded, edited and encoded inside this browser tab by Web Workers. Nothing is uploaded to a server.
HDR vs TGA
What changes from HDR to TGA
Encoding: the HDR uses run-length encoded RGBE scanlines; TGA uses uncompressed or run-length encoded (RLE), and the download is a run-length encoded 32-bit TGA with alpha.
Bit depth: an 8-bit mantissa per channel sharing an 8-bit exponent (RGBE), 32 bits per pixel in the HDR; TGA allows 8, 15, 16, 24 or 32 bits per pixel, and the TGA written here has 32 bits per pixel. The high dynamic range is mapped to 8 bits per channel, and values above white clip.
Colour: linear RGB (or XYZ in the XYZE variant) in the HDR; TGA supports RGB, greyscale or a colour map, written here as 8-bit sRGB.
Metadata: the HDR can carry a text header with FORMAT, EXPOSURE and optional comments; TGA can carry an image ID field and an optional extension area with author and date, but nothing is copied across.
About HDR
Radiance .hdr stores high dynamic range light values, widely used for 3D environment maps and HDRI lighting.
A Radiance file starts with '#?RADIANCE' (or '#?RGBE'), text lines such as FORMAT=32-bit_rle_rgbe and EXPOSURE, a blank line, a resolution line like '-Y 2048 +X 4096', then the scanlines.
HDR files usually come from HDRI environment maps, 360° panoramas and lighting simulation.
About TGA
TGA is a simple raster format still widely used for game textures and 3D rendering pipelines because it stores alpha channels reliably and loads fast.
A TGA has an 18-byte header (ID length, colour map type, image type 2 for true colour or 10 for RLE, origin, size, bits per pixel and a descriptor byte whose bits give the alpha depth and whether rows run top-down), then the pixels; version 2 files end with a 'TRUEVISION-XFILE' footer.
When converting HDR to TGA makes sense
TGA is the better choice for game textures and 3D software, while HDR suits 3D lighting and environment maps.
TGA strengths: Reliable alpha channel; Fast and simple to load; Common in game engines. Drawbacks to weigh: Large files; Not viewable in browsers.
Limitations
- Light values above 1.0 are clipped rather than tone-mapped, so the sun and bright sky turn flat white.
- Environment maps are 2:1 equirectangular panoramas, so the picture looks stretched near the top and bottom, as it should.
- Files in the XYZE variant cannot be read here; RGBE files, the common kind, can.
- The run-length encoding used here is lossless, and game engines read compressed and uncompressed TGA alike.
- TGA files do not open in browsers, so keep a PNG for previews.
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Frequently asked questions
Does converting HDR to TGA lose quality?
TGA is written losslessly, so the pixels are stored exactly as decoded. The high dynamic range is mapped to 8 bits per channel, and values above white clip.
Which apps open TGA files?
Unreal Engine, Unity, Blender, Photoshop, GIMP and Substance tools. It does not open in web browsers.
Are my images uploaded anywhere?
No. Processing happens inside your browser with WebAssembly and Web Workers. The site only downloads the app code and codecs; your files never leave your device. You can confirm this with the live upload counter on the tool, or in your browser's network panel.
Can I process many files at once?
Yes. Drop a whole selection or folder. Files are processed in parallel on several worker threads, each result can be downloaded on its own, and everything can be saved as one ZIP.
Is it free? Is there a file limit or watermark?
It is free with no account, no watermark and no daily limit. The only limit is your device's memory: very large images (over roughly 100 megapixels) may be refused to keep the tab from crashing.