uRenderer Node

uRenderer takes a complete USD scene (usually coming from a uMerge) and renders it with Hydra. Hydra is the USD rendering architecture: it hands the work to a render delegate, which can be Storm (real-time OpenGL), Cycles (path tracing), Karma (Houdini), etc.

The benefit: a complete USD workflow, from import to render, without exporting to another app. For quick previews or the final render, depending on the available delegate.

• Effects Library: Tools > USD > uRenderer
• Quick add: right-click in the Node Editor → Add Tool > USD > uRenderer

Hydra

The USD architecture that decouples scene and rendering. It lets any Hydra-compatible renderer consume a USD scene.

Storm (GL)

The default Hydra delegate. Real-time rasterized OpenGL rendering. Excellent for quick previews and scrubbing.

Cycles

The Blender path tracer, available through Hydra. Photoreal rendering. Slower but higher quality.

Karma (Houdini)

The SideFX Karma renderer through Hydra. Houdini studio pipeline.

Installable render delegates

Depending on the Hydra plugins installed on the machine, more delegates are available (Arnold, Renderman, V-Ray Hydra, etc.).

• SceneInput (green) - the USD scene to render.
• Camera (green) - optional, a USD camera for the render. If not connected, it uses the scene's default camera.
• Output (orange) - the rendered image, RGBA + AOVs depending on the delegate.

Complete USD render:
uLoader → uMerge → uRenderer (Delegate = Storm) → MediaOut

Render with an explicit camera:
uLoader (camera.usd) ───┐
                        ├── uRenderer (Storm)
uLoader (scene.usd) ────┘     ↓
                            MediaOut

Preview vs final pipeline:
uMerge ──┬── uRenderer (Delegate = Storm) → quick preview
         │
         └── uRenderer (Delegate = Cycles) → final quality

With a Fusion Camera 3D:
uMerge → uRenderer (Use Custom Camera, link Camera 3D)
       → MediaOut

Render Delegate (default: Storm)

The renderer used. Storm = preview, other delegates for final quality if installed.

Output Width / Height (defaults: 1920 × 1080)

Output resolution. The project standard or higher.

Camera (default: default)

The camera used for the render. From the USD scene or a linked Fusion Camera 3D.

Lighting Mode (default: USD)

USD = the scene's lights, Headlight = the default camera light, Custom.

Quality (default: Medium)

Quality preset. Depending on the delegate: samples, GI bounces, etc.

AOVs (depending on the delegate)

Auxiliary channels (Z-depth, normals, position, IDs) depending on what the delegate supports.

• Quick USD preview - Storm for an immediate view while compositing, without going into an external renderer.
• Final render through a quality delegate - Cycles or Karma for a photoreal render directly from Fusion.
• USD pipeline workflow - a USD scene assembled in Fusion + render = a compact alternative to multi-app pipelines.
• Asset preview library - a library of USD assets with previews generated through the uRenderer.
• 3D-aware compositing - uRenderer with AOVs (Z, normals) = the base for deep compositing downstream.

• Storm for iteration - Storm is very fast, ideal for scrubbing and compositing iterations. Switch to Cycles only for the final render.
• Cache the output - USD rendering can be heavy. Cache the frames to avoid recomputing downstream.
• Check the available delegates - the menu lists the delegates installed on the machine. Cycles / Karma need a separate install.
• USD vs Fusion camera - prefer the USD camera if the scene has one, otherwise a Fusion Camera 3D. Avoid coordinate mismatches.
• AOVs vary by delegate - Storm supports limited AOVs, Cycles more complete ones, Karma even more. Check compatibility.
• USD lighting for quality - the USD scene's lights are often better than Headlight. Keep Lighting Mode = USD.
• Resolve Studio required - full USD needs the Studio version. The free version has limitations.
• For pro renders (film, broadcast), use Houdini / Maya / Blender in parallel for dedicated Karma / Cycles rendering, then re-import the images into Fusion.