For those who don’t know the tool: Blender uses Blender Cycles for path-traced rendering, and viewport denoising helps lookdev stay interactive while lighting and materials evolve.

The news, minus the confetti

NVIDIA says Blender Cycles will integrate DLSS 4.5 Ray Reconstruction as a new denoiser and ship it with Blender 5.3 in the fall. The goal is a more interactive viewport while keeping a “near-final” look in real time.

DLSS Ray Reconstruction targets ray-traced and path-traced content and replaces traditional hand-tuned denoisers with an AI model that reconstructs pixels in noisy areas where rays were not sampled. It also unifies denoising and Super Resolution into a single model that uses temporal and spatial engine data to rebuild higher fidelity images. Usually, that is for games – you need all the pixels and all the fidelities for veggie-mode in Microsoft Flight Simulator (Don’t Judge, the Dune expansion is great!) Here is a list of all Games that have that, and in that list, you can even spot Redshift, Marmoset and Keyshot. Strange calling those “Games”, but who hasn’t lost to a renderer?

The same announcement says DLSS 4.5 Ray Reconstruction arrives in August for games, and it is also coming to Blender 5.3 in the fall. That timeline matters for anyone planning tool rollouts around seasonal show crunch. Prep first,so you don’t have a bad surprise up ahead.

What changes inside Cycles

Cycles already has an integration path via NVIDIA OptiX. The new piece is DLSS 4.5 Ray Reconstruction as another denoiser option, layered on top of the existing OptiX integration.

If you spend your days in a path-traced viewport, denoising is not a luxury feature. It is the thing that keeps lighting decisions moving. A denoiser that keeps interaction up while pushing the look closer to final could reduce the familiar loop of tweak, wait, squint, tweak again. This sits squarely in the Blender Cycles ecosystem: you still light and shade the same way, you still render the same way, but the viewport becomes less of a tax on iteration.

The longer arc from hacks to shipping builds

Back in February 2026, Blender artist Blake Propst tested a Blender 5.1 build with DLSS on an RTX 3090, with reports of numerous bugs and visual issues. A patch also existed that added an option to use DLSS Ray Reconstruction for viewport denoising in Cycles, and users were encouraged to test Blender 5.1 beta and report issues toward a stable release.

Blender With DLSS!
byu/bbcool2002 inblender

That earlier phase sounded like classic early integration energy: exciting demos, messy edges, lots of caveats, and a very human amount of duct tape. It did prove one thing, though: artists wanted it badly enough to put up with rough builds, because interactive path tracing is still a wrok in progress on most desks. Now the situation shifts from experiments to a shipping target in Blender 5.3.

What DLSS 4.5 Ray Reconstruction claims it does

DLSS 4.5 Ray Reconstruction uses a second generation transformer model. It is improving image quality in ray-traced and path-traced content, and the announcement lists changes such as higher compute capability, more parameters processed while maintaining similar performance to the previous model, better temporal stability, and clearer motion in ray-traced and path-traced scenes. For artists, the practical question is not whether the model sounds clever. The practical question is whether it behaves well under production pressure: animated textures, fast camera moves, thin geometry, alpha heavy foliage, refractive messes, and the kind of lookdev that loves to change one variable per second.

Viewport denoising is where time disappears

A big chunk of render pain is not final frames. It is the time you spend waiting for a viewport to become readable enough to make the next decision. A clean enough image lets you judge lighting ratios, contact shadow behavior, glossy breakup, and whether your material values drift into plastic. A noisy image forces you to wait, or worse, to guess.

The boring parts you still need to know

Pricing is not specified in the sources – propably will be part of drivers or blender itself, so should be free. Read the T&C before downloading, though.

Hardware requirements are not spelt out for Blender beyond the general statement that DLSS Ray Reconstruction works on all GeForce RTX GPUs. The Blender sources mention testing on an RTX 3090 and as part of an RTX focused stack, but they do not provide minimum GPU or driver versions for the Blender 5.3 integration. We’ll see.

https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/geforce/news/computex-2026-nvidia-geforce-rtx-announcements/

The post NVIDIA brings DLSS denoising to Blender 5.3 first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Bela Beier.

Noise reduction remains one of the slowest parts of compositing. Whether you’re cleaning plates, prepping greenscreens, or integrating CG inside Nuke, denoising can stall entire pipelines. The freshly released Neat Video 6 tackles that: doubling render speed, halving memory usage, and managing CPU/GPU optimization automatically.

Automatic Performance Tuning

Older Neat Video versions required users to manually enable GPU acceleration and tune performance settings. Version 6 eliminates that setup hassle: it detects available CPUs and GPUs, distributes load dynamically, and adjusts on the fly when resolution, effects, or system load change.
For compositors, that means smoother playback, faster previews, and less downtime during roto or cleanup work.

CPU + GPU Optimization

The new Fast Floating Point Processing mode speeds up rendering without sacrificing image quality. Neat Video’s re-engineered engine now performs parallel processing alongside the host app, reducing idle time in complex Nuke scripts. Depending on system specs, artists can expect up to 2× faster output compared to version 5.

Memory Efficiency for High-Res Comps

Compositors working on 4K–8K plates will notice the difference: Neat Video 6 uses up to 2× less RAM / VRAM and dynamically adjusts GPU memory use. That means fewer slowdowns, fewer GPU crashes, and less reliance on SSD-based virtual memory, extending both performance and hardware lifespan.

HDR Accuracy and Premiere GPU Integration

Neat Video 6 introduces an adjustable gain control that improves denoising on HDR or underexposed footage. Premiere Pro users benefit from a new GPU data exchange path that sidesteps the notorious Lumetri slowdown, cutting render times and avoiding color pipeline mismatches.

Hardware and Platform Support

The update supports Apple Silicon M4 systems and NVIDIA RTX 50-series GPUs, and is available for Nuke (OFX), Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve, and After Effects on both macOS and Windows. Give the trial a whirl here.

Pricing

• Home edition – Full HD, 1 GPU, non-commercial use, from $80
• Pro edition – Unlimited resolution, multi-GPU support, commercial use, from $130

Conclusion

Version 6 is less about shiny new buttons and more about workflow sanity: automatic optimization, leaner memory use, and shorter render queues. For studios knee-deep in Nuke scripts, that’s enough reason to take notice.

Read more: Official release thread on Neat Video Forum

The post Neat Video 6: Smarter Noise Reduction for Nuke and Beyond first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Bela Beier.

Here are the key highlights of RenderMan 26: RenderMan XPU receives major updates that improve lighting support, camera control and adaptive sampling capabilities.
XPU is used at Pixar for look development and will be a fully-fledged renderer that can be used for final rendering in any situation. The introduction of an interactive version of the denoiser with machine learning revolutionises the rendering workflow. Iteration times are reduced and image quality is maintained during interactive sessions.
The Stylised Looks toolset has been updated.

More information about RenderMan 26 can be found on this website.
The free, non-commercial version of RenderMan 26 is available, and if you want to buy Renderman in Germany, call DVE AS:)

The post Renderman 26 is here! first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Bela Beier.

In nuce: Maxon has released version 3.5.12 of the GPU renderer Redshift. Among other things, the update integrates Intel’s Open Image Denoise (OIDN). OIDN is an open-source, CPU-based denoiser that helps to clean up renderings and shorten render times. The release is limited to Cinema 4D for the time being, with other applications to follow soon. Redshift is available for 45 US dollars per month or 264 US dollars per year. The video below takes a quick look at the new functions.

What’s New in Redshift 3.5 | December 2022

In toto: In addition to the denoiser mentioned above, the following new functions that come with Redshift 3.5.12 are worth mentioning.

• Support for volume multi-scattering: This allows, for example, clouds, smoke or fire to be displayed more realistically.
• Tile and Brick Shaders: These are now available as native Redshift shaders n Cinema 4D. This function allows users to define meshes, mosaics or tile patterns – including user-definable cutting of the elements. Architectural surfaces can be generated here using procedural setting options.
• Other new features include: Random Walk SSS, support for rounded corners, anisotropy support (anisotropy refers to the directional dependency of a property or process), material stacking, blackbody support (which can be used to create particularly realistic-looking explosions) and energy conservation.

Click further: Interested parties can find out more about Redshift in detail on Trello. On 14 September this year , Digital Production reported on Maxon trainer Elly Wade, who dedicated a video lasting almost fifty minutes to the handling of Redshift.

Sources: 80.lv ( report by Gloria Levine), sportsvideo.org ( report by SVG Staff)

The post Maxon releases Redshift 3.5.12! first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Patrick Poti.

In nuce: Every week, we present you with the best tutorials that will help you polish your workflows with the hottest digital content creation tools in the world! Today we’re treating ourselves to a tutorial that will delight anyone interested in denoising with Arnold.

What will you learn in this tutorial? This video tutorial on the Arnold Renderer YouTube channel shows you how to take a professional approach to denoising with Arnold. The video lasts just four and a half minutes, so it’s perfect for your lunch break:

Click on: If you would like to find out about other useful Arnold tutorials, click on the associated YouTube channel to watch video tutorials on other things worth knowing about Arnold. Among other things, you will learn how to render clouds or a board game , or how to expertly light a portrait.

Goodbye! Check back next week when it’s Tutorial Tuesday again!

Arnold Tutorial – How to use denoising in MtoA

 

 

The post Denoising mit Arnold | Tutorial Tuesday first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Patrick Poti.

Redshift 3.0

What are your weekend plans – lockdown or a relaxed run? Are you looking for an excuse to chain yourself to the workstation? Maxon gives you the excuse – and the handcuffs, in the form of the first public demo of Redshift 3.0, the GPU renderer for 3ds Max, Cinema 4D, Houdini, Katana and Maya.

What’s under the bonnet of Redshift 3.0? For example, hardware-accelerated ray tracing for new Nvidia GPUs, as well as the Altus denoiser and the Cinema 4D noise shader. It’s purring under the rendering bonnet, isn’t it? Also supported: tyFlow and FumeFX in 3ds Max and Ornatrix in Maya. Support for Redshift as a viewport renderer – within Houdini’s Solaris dev toolset – is also offered.

More info & availability

What’s left to do? Either download the free demo version of Redshift or check out the new features on the Trello board. Or watch the Redshift Demo Reel 2019 first?

The post Redshift 3.0 | Public Demo first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Patrick Poti.