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  • Universal V-Ray settings (well, almost)

    I've been asked many times what are "good" V-Ray settings. Of course, there is no universal answer and it depends on the desired render speed and quality, but here is a set of settings that I have found to work very well for still images in many situations. Please note that these settings are not optimal, in the sense that with enough tweaking, you can probably get similar quality with faster render times. The beauty of these settings though, is that they require almost no tweaking and you are guaranteed to get a nice result in the end.

    Provided that you start with a default V-Ray renderer:
    (*) In the Image sampler rollout, switch to "Adaptive DMC".
    (*) Set the "Max. subdivs" to 100 (one hundred). Leave the "Min. subdivs" to 1.
    (*) Set the primary GI engine to Brute force GI. Do not change the subdivs.
    (*) Set the secondary GI engine to Light cache.
    (*) Set the light cache interpolation samples to 5.
    (*) Set the DMC Sampler "Adaptive amount" to 1.0.
    (*) Un-check the "Clamp output" option in the Color mapping rollout.[*] Typically you will need to adjust the Noise threshold as the default produces too much noise. A good value is 0.001 for V-Ray 1.4x, and 0.005 for V-Ray 1.5.
    (*) You are done.

    To control render quality vs render time:
    (*) Adjust the DMC Noise threshold. Lower values reduce noise, but increase render times.
    (*) Adjust the light cache subdivs. This is scene dependent, but usually values from 1000 to 5000 are enough for most scenes. You can also adjust other light cache parameters as necessary.
    (*) Turn on or off reflective/refractive GI caustics as needed.
    (*) Optionally turn on the "Use light cache for glossy rays" option to speed up glossy reflections.
    (*) You may want to adjust the render region (bucket) size for faster feed-back.

    Notes:
    (*) Leave all subdivs anywhere at their default values. They won't have any effect anyways - the 100 AA subdivs will almost certainly override everything else.
    (*) For builds of V-Ray before 1.49.30, DO NOT use color mapping other than Linear. Otherwise, you risk to get an incorrect result in the end. If necessary, apply color correction in post. You can change the dark/bright multipliers, provided that you leave both at the same value. For V-Ray 1.5 and later, you can use whatever color mapping you want, provided that "subpixel mapping" and "clamp output" options are both off (which they are by default).
    (*) Avoid using sharpening AA filters. They can make the noise more apparent.

    Advantages of these settings:
    (*) Very little parameters for controlling render quality.
    (*) Work for a very large number of scenes.
    (*) Typically produce high-quality results.

    Disadvantages of these settings:
    (*) May be slow to render. With tweaking, you may get faster results.

    How it works:
    The high AA subdivs essentially causes all the sampling to be performed by the image sampler. It will take as many samples per pixel as required to achieve the specified noise threshold. In many ways, this is similar to PPT, but is done on a per-bucket basis and the number of samples is adaptive.

    Examples:
    Here are some examples which have all been rendered with these settings, with minor differences (GI caustics on or off) and Noise threshold of about 0.001:
    http://www.spot3d.com/vray/images/stuff/univ_settings/
    As you can see this method can also render GI caustics quite well, although they may take quite some time.

    Best regards,
    Vlado
    Last edited by vlado; 29-09-2008, 10:59 PM.
    I only act like I know everything, Rogers.

  • #2
    Set the "Max. subdivs" to 100 (one hundred). Leave the "Min. subdivs" to 1.


    Interesting, I will try this. Thanks Vlado
    --Muzzy--

    Comment


    • #3
      Hi,

      nice idea. Never dared to set the max subdivs to anything greater then 8. But with adaptive amount of 1.0 this sounds ok. Already experimenting.

      I like this line most:
      (*) For builds of V-Ray before 1.49.30....

      Just for those who accidentally use one of those older versions)))

      Dieter
      --------
      visit my developer blog

      Comment


      • #4
        beauty of a unified qmc architecture

        thanks a lot, Vlado

        Lele

        Comment


        • #5
          Originally posted by dimo
          Just for those who accidentally use one of those older versions)))
          Which is everyone at the moment However, the thread will stay and may become misleading soon, if I don't mention it.

          Best regards,
          Vlado
          I only act like I know everything, Rogers.

          Comment


          • #6
            vlado its a bit unclear what light cache interpolation samples to 5, is it in screen space or in world?
            also why 100 max samples? I remember you saying that 1/5 is more then enought? has this been changed?
            Dmitry Vinnik
            Silhouette Images Inc.
            ShowReel:
            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxSJlvSwAhA
            https://www.linkedin.com/in/dmitry-v...-identity-name

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            • #7
              Originally posted by Morbid Angel
              vlado its a bit unclear what light cache interpolation samples to 5, is it in screen space or in world?
              also why 100 max samples? I remember you saying that 1/5 is more then enought? has this been changed?
              yeah?
              this seems to go against my experience....can u elaborate a little on those valdo?
              Nuno de Castro

              www.ene-digital.com
              nuno@ene-digital.com
              00351 917593145

              Comment


              • #8
                Hi Morbid, I would quest it to be screen, since its the default setting and Vlado said things should be left in that state.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Originally posted by Morbid Angel
                  vlado its a bit unclear what light cache interpolation samples to 5, is it in screen space or in world?
                  This is as you wish. Like I said, you can change the light cache parameters according to your needs.
                  also why 100 max samples? I remember you saying that 1/5 is more then enought? has this been changed?
                  It is enough for AA, but not for things like GI and glossy reflections, especially if GI caustics are involved. With these settings, V-Ray will take as many samples as necessary to get to the specified noise level, so you need to make sure there are enough samples.

                  Here are some examples which have all been rendered with these settings, with minor differences (GI caustics on or off) and Noise threshold of about 0.001:

                  http://www.spot3d.com/vray/images/stuff/univ_settings/

                  Best regards,
                  Vlado
                  I only act like I know everything, Rogers.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: Universal V-Ray settings (well, almost)

                    Originally posted by vlado
                    For builds of V-Ray before 1.49.30, DO NOT use color mapping other than Linear. Otherwise, you risk to get an incorrect result in the end.
                    Is this means that we cannot use the Gamma correction type ?

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: Universal V-Ray settings (well, almost)

                      Originally posted by SylvainJ
                      Is this means that we cannot use the Gamma correction type ?
                      Nope, it would be best to do that in post. Otherwise, like I said, you will not get a correct result (the image will be with wrong brightness).

                      Best regards,
                      Vlado
                      I only act like I know everything, Rogers.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        from the tests i just manage to sort out with this "univesal render settings"in the interiors i get slight better rendertimes, but much more noise than with my previous settings...
                        if i try to reduce the noise rendertimes go way up...
                        Nuno de Castro

                        www.ene-digital.com
                        nuno@ene-digital.com
                        00351 917593145

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Originally posted by ene.xis
                          from the tests i just manage to sort out with this "univesal render settings"in the interiors i get slight better rendertimes, but much more noise than with my previous settings...
                          if i try to reduce the noise rendertimes go way up...
                          Well, like I said, they are not optimal settings; it's very likely that you can get better render times with less noise under different settings. However, they are universal in the sense that you can just load a render preset, hit render, and know that you will get a good image.

                          Best regards,
                          Vlado
                          I only act like I know everything, Rogers.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            got that!

                            yeah! i get some fast previews now!
                            Nuno de Castro

                            www.ene-digital.com
                            nuno@ene-digital.com
                            00351 917593145

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Yeah... this is a very clever way of looking at adaptive sampling, and it seems to be a good method. It probably will work well when dealing with things like animation involving geometry change and light change. By minimizing the variables, it makes it easier on the user adjusting the settings. I don't think Vlado is dismissing other methods of doing the GI such as IR maps, etc... those are still very valid. Nonetheless, I think I will redo my sun light test with this method and see if I can reduce the very fine noise.

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