Viz Artist Release Notes

Viz Artist 5.4.0

Release Date: 2025-08-28

These are the release notes for Viz Artist version 5.4.0. This document describes the user-visible changes that have been made to the software since release 5.3.

Note: Viz Engine maintains its release notes in a separate document starting from version 3.12.0.

Installer Notes

General

The Software ships with a bundle installer containing all necessary components. It is recommended to use the bundle installer when setup needs to be done manually.

Viz Artist is installed in C:\Program Files\Vizrt\VizEngine\VizArtist.
Visual C++ Redistributable files are not part of the .msi setup file anymore. These files are now installed with the bundle setup application (VIZENG-13210, VIZENG-12629, VIZENG-12701).
The new bundle setup application installs or upgrades Viz Artist together with its required Visual C++ Redistributable files (VIZENG-12936, VIZENG-13804).
All files contained in the bundle setup application can be extracted using the /dump command line option. This creates a sub-folder where the files are extracted (VIZENG-13020).
Multiple installations of Viz Artist are not supported.
The installer automatically upgrades (replaces) any existing Viz Artist 3.x installation. However, downgrading is currently not supported (VIZENG-7098).
The installer package is digitally signed (VIZENG-7378).
The user account must have SeCreateGlobalPrivilege (SE_CREATE_GLOBAL_NAME) enabled.

Windows

This software has been tested to run on the following systems:

Windows Server 2019
Windows Server 2022
Windows 10 (LTSC 1809)
Windows 10 (LTSC 21H2)
Windows 11 LTSC 2024

Note: Only English language Operating Systems are supported.

It is recommended to install the latest Windows Security Updates and Patches, except Nvidia drivers.
.NET Framework 4.5 or higher is required (VIZENG-6036).
Minimum Windows Installer version is now 5.0.0.
To run Viz Artist/Viz Engine without Administrator privileges, you need to grant the following permissions:
- SeIncreaseBasePriorityPrivilege
- SeCreateGlobalPrivilege
- SeCreatePagefilePrivilege
- SeIncreaseWorkingSetPrivilege

Note: Viz Artist requires a minimum resolution of 1920x1080 pixels.

Windows

Network shares are not accessible from within Viz Artist when UAC is enabled or when running on Windows 10. The Viz Configuration page Local Settings has been extended for enabling Network drive linking (VIZENG-15594, VIZENG-15319).

UAC

Viz Artist is UAC aware. Log-files and additional files are stored in %VIZ_PROGRAMDATA%, which defaults to %ProgramData%\Vizrt\VizArtist. Configuration-files and profiles are stored in %ProgramData%\Vizrt\VizEngine. Temporary data is stored in %VIZ_TEMPDATA% which defaults to %TMP%\Vizrt\VizEngine. The default value can be changed in viz.cmd or on the command line of viz.exe.
Starting Viz Artist shows a UAC popup for VizStarter.exe (VIZENG-8683).

Changes

Default Color Mode setting has been removed from Configuration Settings.

Note: Viz Artist no longer installs the local version of the documentation. Documentation is available online or as .pdf only.

New Features

Key	Summary
VIZART-5086	Add "Name" Label to Indicate Scene Name Field in "Save Scene As" Dialog
VIZART-5061	Add a counter to file links inside the asset view
VIZART-5447	Add Advance Options for Light Falloff
VIZART-5408	Add checkbox to enable/disable NVDEC for Clip Texture Renderer
VIZART-5077	Add Clear Search Functionality for Built-in Geometries in Scene Tree Search
VIZART-5415	Add config option for text to use classic extrusion
VIZART-5458	Add configuration GUI for HDR settings
VIZART-5399	Add context menu to DynamicGeometry for selecting nodes
VIZART-5266	Add Delete as shortcut to delete scenetree containers
VIZART-5273	Add Desaturation effect control in PreFX Texture Renderer
VIZART-5450	Add importer option for new geometries
VIZART-5387	Add information about UHD2 resolutions to output formats
VIZART-5375	Add Libero Fill&Key render sequence
VIZART-5448	Add missing icons for dynamic geometry nodes
VIZART-5353	Add support for Webchannels
VIZART-5164	Add Tooltips in Graphic Hub Integration
VIZART-5132	Add Visual Feedback for Cut Operation in Scene Tree
VIZART-5416	Add widgets to change HDR properties (VER scene): colorspace, transferfunction, whitelevel
VIZART-5173	Adding Mediaassets via Context menu does not update Scene Overview
VIZART-5297	Audio driver mode: change driver mode options to accommodate changes in audio settings
VIZART-5223	Change color of toolbar extension button on Timeline Editor
VIZART-5195	Container color changes improvement
VIZART-5319	Create a color control for HDR use cases
VIZART-2174	Create new UI for After Effect Import Task
VIZART-5228	CTRL+C/CTRL-SHIFT-V from the search results
VIZART-5116	Default Color mode not working
VIZART-5283	Double clicking a transition shader opens the script window
VIZART-5313	Drag and droping a scene on container in Scene Tree creates subscene instead of loading scene
VIZART-5280	Drag Plugins/Assets into Tree View Directly as Sibling
VIZART-5258	Enable Magnifier Plugin in Viz Engine Renderer
VIZART-5342	Explicitly list non-unique Control Plugins
VIZART-5306	Expose material color to control channels (Phong and PBR)
VIZART-5340	Expose stylesheet settings in Artist UI
VIZART-5460	Hide new output option when hardware is not Matrox
VIZART-5078	Improve Search Asset Items Display and Tooltips in Scene Tree
VIZART-5252	Improve workflow for setting clips
VIZART-5391	Improved DynamicGeometry creation workflow
VIZART-5317	Let user rearrange Function Plugins to define priority
VIZART-5216	Make reverse button easier to distinguish in Timeline Editor
VIZART-4344	Missing "?" Icon in Detached Dock Windows without Group
VIZART-5385	Parallel Output Configuration
VIZART-4911	Possibility to configure used font inside the text editor
VIZART-5517	Provide context menu entries to assign colorspace/tf to image
VIZART-5455	Provide context menu entry to convert image
VIZART-5240	Re-Implement Scene Tree Sort Menu
VIZART-5463	Replace shipped documentation by online version
VIZART-3997	Research and develop new version of Viz One Browser based on Qt
VIZART-5411	Separate Generator and Modifiers nodes in DynamicGeometryEditor
VIZART-5276	Show current active Graphic Hub in Artist title bar
VIZART-3843	Show PropertyStatus on Container level.
VIZART-5202	Snapshot popup position
VIZART-5400	Use Extrusion editor for extrusion nodes in a dynamic geometry editor
VIZART-5249	Vertical alignment setting in Text Editor not updating
VIZART-5354	Visual hint for Format dependent animation channels in stage
VIZART-4975	Viz 5 GUI: Control Objects improvements

55 issues

Fixed Issues

Key	Summary
VIZART-5394	Superchannel Sub A & B Size X, Y should go above 100%
VIZART-5390	Startup command --db doesn't work with a user which has a password
VIZART-5379	Text Alignment vertically does not update correctly when clicking between text objects in the scene tree
VIZART-5352	Artist doesn't release .via files when switching to a different view
VIZART-5327	Expert Plugin line width disabled
VIZART-5311	Difference in texture rotation between Classic and VER
VIZART-5291	Stage scaling Locked and Proportional isn't working
VIZART-5265	Viz Config - Load - Custom Profile has wrong filter and label for all files
VIZART-5260	Unlit Colors in Phong Shader wrong
VIZART-5246	Middle mouse button scrolling in scene tree
VIZART-4438	Logicmaker - Delete Layer fails
VIZART-4108	Logicmaker - Layer states get lost when they are not renamed up front
VIZART-4100	Refreshing a keyword search removes the image and shows "Untitled - EDL's Everywhere"
VIZART-4076	The alpha value jump to 100% when changing the color of the materials in Engine5 renderer

14 issues

Known Issues

Key	Summary
VIZART-5226	"Open tree" and "Collapse tree" in Asset view
VIZART-4332	Adaptive: Postion/Rotation/Scale do not show underline
VIZART-5285	Add audio and video preview for Viz One/Asset browser
VIZART-5505	AI Keyer configuration tab
VIZART-5171	Apply Blur in Image Editor forces flickering of update window
VIZART-5290	Disable tabs in AssetView based on Used Renderer Version
VIZART-3515	Drag & Drop of Flexbox Parameters
VIZART-5346	Gamma correction shows wrong state after converting a Classic scene to VER
VIZART-5554	Implement right mouse drag for color selector
VIZART-4722	Improve leaf scene naming in logic makes and do proper refresh
VIZART-1838	Input fields can lose focus and can not be edited afterwards
VIZART-5054	Issue While Saving workspace In Viz Artist
VIZART-4348	Jump to Container from Texture Media Asset not working in New Render pipeline
VIZART-3277	Logicmaker: After deleting all states, no new one can be added
VIZART-5263	Modifying classic font parameters on multiple selected text containers doesn't work
VIZART-5543	New color picker to be disabled in Classic scenes with disabled Materials for Ambient, Spec und Emissive
VIZART-5548	Scene list does not alphabetize names in ASCII order
VIZART-4983	Superchannel Asset Preview is not being updated
VIZART-5421	Treesearch for Dynamic Geometries
VIZART-1638	UI needs more feedback when main replication are down and a failover server configured
VIZART-5299	Update Classic Text editor to use new framework like Viz Engine Text editor.
VIZART-4398	Viz One: Test Connection only works if entry is selected
VIZART-5180	VizOne Clip preview fails if source is https
VIZART-5345	XRDraw not accepted as plugin search

24 issues

Clip Playback in the new Viz One Browser is currently disabled. Preview will be added in a future release of Viz Artist.
Due a technical limitation of QT framework, the focus of an input field can not be restored when switching containers.
Referenced Materials do not correctly update their icon if changed.
It is not recommended to run the User Interface within a Virtual Set environment, as it can cause timing issues under certain circumstances.
Viz Engine render window is always on top when started in videowall mode -u1 -y -n and output system FULLSCREEN (VIZART-2400). Does not happen in mode -u1 -w or with any vga_preview and is independent on the number of monitors and if a mosaic is used or not.
- What can be observed is that the output is always on top and it is not possible to get anything else on top (taskbar, other windows with ALT + TAB, task manager). SHIFT + BACKSPACE works only when Viz Artist has focus. When CTRL + BACKSPACE does not work it can be achieved with CTRL + ALT + DEL, task manager, ALT + TAB to Viz Artist and SHIFT + BACKSPACE. ALT + TAB does not work initially as the window is not shown. This behavior is actually desired to have the output of Viz Engine always on top (for example, interactive scenes shown on screens in the studio).

Windows

Right clicking on the Taskbar icon of Viz Engine starts a new instance. Starting an additional Viz GUI process is prevented on Windows 10.
On Windows version LTSC 1809: Logging out/in may be required for the fonts in the Viz Artist user interface to apply the set scaling after the user changes the Windows scaling setting.

Build Information

Platform Toolset: Visual Studio 2022 (v143)
Windows SDK Version: 10.0.22621

Documentation

Info: Starting with Viz Artist/Viz Engine 5.4.0, the installer no longer installs an offline documentation.

Documentation for Viz Engine, Viz Artist and Viz Plugins is available online on the Vizrt Documentation Center:

Support

Installation

The installation wizard guides you through the installation process. Make sure to close any running Viz Artist/Viz Engine application, prior to the installation. To run Viz Artist or Viz Engine independent of a database server, you need to install the Graphic Hub database software locally.

Support

Support is available at the Vizrt Support Portal.