Autodesk has released RV 2025.0.0, the latest version of its playback and review tool, used widely in VFX and animation pipelines. The update was published on 5 September 2025 and is available for download now.

The new build introduces a Live Review workflow, currently in Beta, extending RV’s integration with the Creative Review web app. Artists can now join sessions hosted in Creative Review. The presenter gains the ability to mute all participants, while individuals can mute their own audio on entry. Automatic timeline annotation markers are always enabled when Creative Review runs the session, making collaborative feedback more consistent.

ARM Macs, onion skins, and high DPI

RV 2025 now runs natively on Apple Silicon ARM64 Macs and is compatible with macOS Sequoia 15.5. Hardware decoding for ProRes on ARM64 is also included, which should improve playback performance for studios handling Apple-native media.

Annotation tools have gained Hold and Ghost functions, also known as onion skinning, which allow users to compare drawings across frames. The annotation menu also includes a new option to clear all notes from the timeline in one action.

High DPI display support has been introduced for both macOS and Linux. However, Windows remains restricted due to instability with Qt 6.5.3. Autodesk notes that users can manually enable high DPI support on Windows via an environment variable, although the company does not guarantee stable results. If issues arise, a second variable is available to disable high DPI support entirely.

Playback, codecs, and pipelines

RV 2025 extends playback features by adding support for multiple media representations when loading OpenTimelineIO files. The Screening Room can now extend or override the list of available media representations, making it more flexible for studios that manage multiple deliverables.

For hardware outputs, Autodesk has added 120 Hz SDI output timing for devices from Blackmagic Design. Codec handling has also been improved, with ProRes hardware decode now supported on Apple Silicon. A new Diagnostic Tool is included for Live Review sessions, designed to assist in troubleshooting connection or synchronisation issues.

SDK and API housecleaning

RV’s underlying libraries have received significant updates. OpenEXR has been bumped to version 3.2.4, while OpenColorIO now runs on version 2.3.2. Python support has moved to version 3.11.9, and the Boost library has been upgraded to 1.82.0. FFmpeg has been updated to 6.1.2, and OpenSSL is now at version 3.0.

Pipeline-specific integrations have also advanced. The ARRI RAW SDK is now supported at version 0.21.1, the Blackmagic Design SDK has moved to 14.3, and the NDI SDK is at version 6.2.0. Qt 6.5.3 is now supported across all platforms. The Flow Production Tracking toolkit inside RV has been aligned with tk-core version 0.22.3.

Bug fixes

Autodesk reports a long list of resolved issues in RV 2025. The update fixes the broken presentation mode on Apple M1 machines and removes compatibility problems with Nuke versions 13, 14 and 15. A crash that occurred when loading incomplete PNG image sequences has been corrected, along with another that was triggered by AV1 movie files.

Playback synchronisation has been improved by fixing intermittent audio delays in presentation mode. Annotation drawing in Live Review has been sped up by removing delays, and the incorrect handling of source frame values in clips has been resolved. Proxy environment variables, which had previously failed, are now supported properly. Linux users running Rocky 8 with the Plasma X11 desktop should also find that errors on startup no longer occur.

Known limitations

Despite the introduction of high DPI support on macOS and Linux, Windows remains a problem area. Autodesk warns that high DPI on Windows is disabled by default due to instabilities in QtWebEngine, which is required by Flow Production Tracking packages. Users who want to test it can manually enable it by setting the “RV_QT_HDPI_SUPPORT” environment variable, but Autodesk does not recommend this for production.

Bottom line

RV 2025 is a substantial release, particularly for artists and studios relying on Apple Silicon hardware, annotation-heavy workflows, or participation in Creative Review sessions. As always, production teams should test the new version thoroughly within their own pipelines before rolling it out in active shows.

The post RV 2025: Onion Skin, Live Review, ARM Macs first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Bela Beier.

Alexey Vanzhula has shipped Modeler 2025.2 for Houdini, the latest iteration of his hard‑surface modeling toolkit for Houdini, released on June 17, 2025. The update realigns core transformation keys: W, E and R now mirror other DCC apps by selecting move, rotate and scale; meanwhile 1, 2 and 3 switch component mode between points, edges and faces. The Escape key now invokes the Drop tool to clear selection—restoring a classic Modeler shortcut. Gesture mapping gains polish too. Left‑ and right‑mouse gestures in the context menu can now be configured independently, mapping any Houdini or Modeler shelf action.

New edges: shading and UI toolkit upgrade

The update adds a shading‑preset system. Artists can create custom viewport shading modes—such as wireframe, flat or clay—and access them from the radial menu. This enhancement streamlines material‑preview workflows without diving into Houdini’s Display options.

Under the hood, Modeler has been ported to Qt 6, aligning interface architecture with the VFX Reference Platform standards established in 2024.

Workflow refinements throughout

Modeler 2025.2 delivers a comprehensive suite of usability and bug-fix enhancements across nearly every tool in its library, refining edge handling, viewport behaviour, and interaction consistency throughout the modeling process. On topology editing, the Slide tool in Distance mode now properly offsets edges located on mesh boundaries, eliminating previous distortions near open edges. The Connect tool has seen simplification—its sliding functionality was removed, and a bug that caused an unwanted “points” group to persist is fixed. Contour selection now intelligently differentiates modes: selecting edges creates clean edge rings, while selecting faces converts them correctly into contour edges.

Manipulator-driven workflows also benefit. Selection operators like Grow, Shrink, and By Normal now function reliably even when the Manipulator tool is active, avoiding conflicts that previously disrupted selection state. The Peak tool now features a proper viewport handle—replacing rudimentary horizontal dragging—and Clean Edges gains improved accuracy for border cleanup. Geometry-swapping and subdiv operations are more consistent. Swap Objects auto-switches Houdini into Object mode when the cursor hovers over geometry inside a SOP container. SubDI mode now retires cleanly—exiting properly restores the last active state.

Topology workflow is smoother: VDB Remesh no longer strips input geometry attributes, preserving UVs, normals and metadata. Within TopoBuild nodes, using Brush and Smooth consecutively no longer resets brush size. Parameter sliders now correctly display limits for Subdivide and Crease nodes. Edge-loop slicing and shell creation see polish: the Loop Slice tool now responds to mouse wheel input as expected; the Shells operator works consistently within UV viewports. Projection tools also gain precision: Project and To Templates now allow definition of projection direction explicitly using the Construction Plane.

Primitive creation and hose generation improve: the Primitive radial menu supports point-based creation aligned to the Construction Plane or selected components. And updates to the Hose node produce cleaner hose curves with fewer polygons.

View-aligned tools and node integration have been refined too. Align View now behaves correctly over template nodes, uses its own hotkey instead of spacebar to mitigate viewport clashes, and handles multi-viewport configurations more predictably. Finally, Modeler tools used within Houdini node contexts now link automatically to inputs, reducing setup friction.

Pricing and compatibility

Modeler 2025.2 works with Houdini 20.5 and newer, Pricing remains unchanged: a single floating licence is US$100, while studio licences (unlimited seats) cost US$500.

Get it on Gumroad

The post Modeler 2025.2 for Houdini Lands: Hard‑Surface Modelling Makeover first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Bela Beier.