TGA to EXR Converter
Convert TGA to EXR in your browser. TGA files usually come from game engines, 3D renderers and texture painting tools; EXR is the better fit for visual effects, compositing and 3D render output. You get a ZIP-compressed OpenEXR with 16-bit half-float channels, the 8-bit sRGB values converted to linear light. Nothing is uploaded.
- Processed locally
- No upload, no wait
- No sign-up
- No watermark
Drop images here
or choose files · paste with Ctrl/⌘ V
TGA expected · other image formats also work
How to use TGA to EXR
- 1
Add your TGA files: drop them here, choose them, or paste from the clipboard.
- 2
There is nothing to tune: the EXR 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 .exr files one at a time or together as a ZIP.
Why use Aback Images for tga to exr
Where the EXR goes next
EXR opens in Nuke, Blender, Houdini, After Effects, DaVinci Resolve, Photoshop, Krita and OpenImageIO.
EXR next to TGA
Both sides are lossless, so the size depends on how well the EXR encoder handles this picture compared with the TGA's uncompressed or run-length encoded (RLE).
Written without a lossy pass
The EXR is written losslessly, so the pixels decoded from the TGA arrive unchanged.
Processed on your device
Your images are decoded, edited and encoded inside this browser tab by Web Workers. Nothing is uploaded to a server.
TGA vs EXR
What changes from TGA to EXR
Encoding: the TGA uses uncompressed or run-length encoded (RLE); EXR uses none, RLE, ZIP, PIZ, PXR24, B44 or DWA, chosen per file, and the download is a ZIP-compressed OpenEXR with 16-bit half-float channels, the 8-bit sRGB values converted to linear light.
Bit depth: 8, 15, 16, 24 or 32 bits per pixel in the TGA; EXR allows 16-bit half or 32-bit floating point per channel, and the EXR written here has 16-bit half float per channel.
Colour: RGB, greyscale or a colour map in the TGA; EXR supports scene-linear RGB, often ACEScg or linear Rec.709, written here as linear-light RGB.
Transparency: the TGA stores it as the fourth byte of each 32-bit pixel (or one bit in 16-bit files); the EXR keeps it as an A channel stored like any other channel.
Metadata: the TGA can carry an image ID field and an optional extension area with author and date; EXR can carry named header attributes such as chromaticities, timecode and camera data, but nothing is copied across.
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.
TGA files usually come from game engines, 3D renderers and texture painting tools.
About EXR
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.
When converting TGA to EXR makes sense
EXR is the better choice for visual effects, compositing and 3D render output, while TGA suits game textures and 3D software.
EXR strengths: True high dynamic range in linear light; Any number of channels and render passes; Lossless compression options. Drawbacks to weigh: Needs tone mapping to look right on a normal screen; Very large files; No browser or phone support.
Limitations
- Some writers store rows bottom-up and some top-down; the descriptor byte says which, and the decoder follows it, so orientation is preserved.
- No range is added: the EXR holds the 8-bit picture in linear light, and nothing in it is brighter than the original white.
- Compositing and 3D software read the EXR as linear light, the convention for the format, so it displays correctly there.
- The file holds colour and, when the image has transparency, an alpha channel; there are no extra render passes.
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Frequently asked questions
Does converting TGA to EXR lose quality?
EXR is written losslessly, so the pixels are stored exactly as decoded.
Is transparency kept in the EXR?
Yes. TGA stores it as the fourth byte of each 32-bit pixel (or one bit in 16-bit files), and the EXR is written with an alpha channel, so transparent areas stay transparent.
Does saving as EXR add dynamic range?
No. The values come from an 8-bit image, converted to linear light so compositing software displays them correctly, but nothing brighter than the original white is invented. The file is ready to use as a plate or texture in an EXR pipeline.
Which apps open EXR files?
Nuke, Blender, Houdini, After Effects, DaVinci Resolve, Photoshop, Krita and OpenImageIO. 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.