PIX to VIFF Converter

Convert Alias PIX images to VIFF quickly online

Drop files here. 1 GB maximum file size or Sign Up
to
Facebook Amazon Microsoft Tesla Nestle Walmart L'Oreal

One-Click Retrieval

Download your VIFF result as soon as the conversion ends. The output stays available for a full day if you need to grab it later.

Quick Turnaround

The converter processes PIX images rapidly. Most PIX to VIFF conversions finish within moments of starting.

Private and Secure

Your PIX files are deleted right after conversion, and VIFF outputs are erased within 24 hours. Your data remains entirely confidential.

How to convert PIX to VIFF

1

Select files from Computer, Google Drive, Dropbox, URL or by dragging it on the page.

2

Choose viff or any other format you need as a result (more than 200 formats supported)

3

Let the file convert and you can download your viff file right afterwards

About formats

PIX is a raster image format originally developed by Alias Research (later Alias|Wavefront, then acquired by Autodesk) in the mid-1980s for use with their 3D animation and modeling software running on Silicon Graphics workstations. The format stores uncompressed 24-bit RGB image data in a straightforward scanline-by-scanline layout preceded by a minimal header containing the image width and height. PIX was the native output format of Alias's rendering engines, used to store individual frames of 3D animations and rendered stills from software that would eventually evolve into Maya, one of the most influential 3D content creation tools in entertainment history. The format's design reflected the priorities of high-end production rendering: raw speed for writing individual frames during batch renders, exact pixel fidelity with no compression artifacts, and compatibility with the hardware framebuffers used in professional compositing suites of the era. One advantage of PIX is its rendering pipeline heritage — the format can be read by tools throughout the VFX and animation industry, and legacy PIX sequences from Alias-era productions represent irreplaceable primary assets from foundational works in computer animation. The format's simplicity provides another practical benefit: with no compression overhead, metadata complexity, or container parsing required, PIX files can be read and written with minimal code, making them trivial to incorporate into custom rendering and compositing pipelines. PIX files are supported by ImageMagick, GIMP, XnView, and various professional compositing tools.
Developer: Alias Research
Initial release: 1985
VIFF (Visualization Image File Format) is a scientific image format developed by Khoral Research (originally at the University of New Mexico), first appearing around 1990 with the Khoros visual programming environment for image processing and data visualization. VIFF files use a 1024-byte header followed by optional color map data, and the image data itself, with the header containing detailed specifications: data storage type (bit, byte, short, integer, float, double, complex), data encoding (none, CCITT Group 3/4), color space model (none, generic, RGB, HSI, CMYK, and others), and support for multi-band (multi-channel) images with arbitrary numbers of bands. The format accommodates one-dimensional signals, two-dimensional images, three-dimensional volumes, and location data (sparse pixel coordinates), making it versatile beyond simple image storage. VIFF was designed for the Khoros/VisiQuest visual dataflow programming environment, where users constructed image processing pipelines by connecting processing nodes in a graphical canvas — an approach that influenced later systems like AVS, MATLAB Simulink, and LabVIEW. One advantage is scientific data fidelity: VIFF supports the full range of numeric types used in scientific computing (including complex numbers and double-precision floats), stores multi-band datasets natively, and carries calibration metadata — making it suitable for remote sensing, medical imaging, and spectral analysis applications where generic image formats lose information. The format's connection to the Khoros visual programming paradigm provides another notable dimension — VIFF was the standard I/O format for one of the most influential early visual programming environments for scientific image analysis. VIFF files can be read by ImageMagick and legacy Khoros/VisiQuest installations.
Developer: Khoral Research
Initial release: 1990

Frequently Asked Questions

Why convert PIX to VIFF?

VIFF is a widely supported format, making it easy to view, share, and use images that originated as Alias PIX images in early 3D animation and VFX.

What programs open VIFF files?

Almost every device opens VIFF natively — smartphones, tablets, PCs, and Macs all include built-in viewers for this common image format.

What makes PIX files historically important?

PIX images come from Alias PowerAnimator, the software behind groundbreaking CGI in early blockbuster films. They represent a pivotal era in VFX.

How is image quality handled during conversion?

The converter extracts full image data from PIX and encodes it into VIFF at the highest quality the target format allows. No unnecessary loss.

Do I need to install anything?

No installation needed — the conversion happens entirely online. Open the converter in any modern web browser and your device handles the rest.