PreviewAR
Your On-Set VFX Viewfinder
FreeOffers In-App Purchases
5.1.1for iPhone, iPad
Age Rating
PreviewAR Screenshots
About PreviewAR
Made for independent studios and used by world-renowned production companies, PreviewAR is the easiest way to view your 3D characters and objects in the real world using technology you already have.
PreviewAR supports most major 3D file formats, including OBJ, USD, DAE, FBX. Download now and see your animated, textured characters and objects live on-set.
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"The app is great. I’ve been really enjoying using it ... I’m currently using the app to preview assets so that I can work out framing issues and be confident of final compositions.”
VFX Supervisor, ILM
"PreviewAR provides a wonderful shortcut to viewing a 3D asset and sharing that experience with others in the room, without need for a headset. Its application on a sound stage is quite amazing - it's allowed us to quickly see a potential set build without harming the budget.”
Art Director, Painting Practice
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IMMERSIVE & ACCURATE
PreviewAR uses real-world scale to show your models as accurately as possible. Along with people + environment occlusion, your models will be deeply incorporated into the environment, and the full-screen immersive AR display means the scene can come alive right before your eyes.
CLEAN & INTUITIVE
The on-screen controls let you adjust all aspects of the scene without getting in the way. Change lighting angles, scale models and adjust positions using the Adjustment Wheel for ultimate accuracy. The interface can also be totally hidden for a completely immersive AR experience - just tap on any empty area of the scene.
SECURE & PRIVATE
There are no external servers or processing involved with PreviewAR - every model you import into the app stays on your device and isn't uploaded or downloaded anywhere else. Perfect for NDA-restricted or sensitive assets that can't be uploaded to other cloud-based products.
PreviewAR offers a Pro subscription level for access to more advanced features, tailor-made for those on-set:
- Multiple Models: Add as many models as you want into your scene at once. Perfect for planning out shots with lots of elements that have to work together.
- Camera Simulation: The Camera Toolkit lets Cinematographers, Directors and VFX Supervisors see their designs and characters through the camera setup of their choice. Choose from over 200 cinema camera formats and frame rates to simulate, or add your own custom setup!
- Lens Simulation: As part of the Camera Toolkit you can also simulate your desired lenses. Simply choose your focal length and anamorphic squeeze factor and you're ready to go.
- Collaborative Sessions: This revolutionary feature allows multiple devices can now share an AR scene in real-time. Give your Directors, DOPs, Clients devices to view and frame the scene through while you make edits on your device. Updated instantly and locally with up to 4 devices.
- Scene Saving: Speed up your workflow by saving and loading entire scenes! Save your scene using the new button under the 'Global' menu, and load in scenes using the new area in the 'Add' model list.
- Live Data: See live camera and model data as you move about your scene, including camera tilt, height, focal length, frame rate and aspect ratio.
- Scene Recording: Capture the scene for later review and reference using the scene record feature. A video is captured of your scene (with or without the app controls) and saved on your device for later use.
Questions or suggestions? Feel free to contact me:
support@previewar.app
PreviewAR supports most major 3D file formats, including OBJ, USD, DAE, FBX. Download now and see your animated, textured characters and objects live on-set.
--------------------------------
"The app is great. I’ve been really enjoying using it ... I’m currently using the app to preview assets so that I can work out framing issues and be confident of final compositions.”
VFX Supervisor, ILM
"PreviewAR provides a wonderful shortcut to viewing a 3D asset and sharing that experience with others in the room, without need for a headset. Its application on a sound stage is quite amazing - it's allowed us to quickly see a potential set build without harming the budget.”
Art Director, Painting Practice
--------------------------------
IMMERSIVE & ACCURATE
PreviewAR uses real-world scale to show your models as accurately as possible. Along with people + environment occlusion, your models will be deeply incorporated into the environment, and the full-screen immersive AR display means the scene can come alive right before your eyes.
CLEAN & INTUITIVE
The on-screen controls let you adjust all aspects of the scene without getting in the way. Change lighting angles, scale models and adjust positions using the Adjustment Wheel for ultimate accuracy. The interface can also be totally hidden for a completely immersive AR experience - just tap on any empty area of the scene.
SECURE & PRIVATE
There are no external servers or processing involved with PreviewAR - every model you import into the app stays on your device and isn't uploaded or downloaded anywhere else. Perfect for NDA-restricted or sensitive assets that can't be uploaded to other cloud-based products.
PreviewAR offers a Pro subscription level for access to more advanced features, tailor-made for those on-set:
- Multiple Models: Add as many models as you want into your scene at once. Perfect for planning out shots with lots of elements that have to work together.
- Camera Simulation: The Camera Toolkit lets Cinematographers, Directors and VFX Supervisors see their designs and characters through the camera setup of their choice. Choose from over 200 cinema camera formats and frame rates to simulate, or add your own custom setup!
- Lens Simulation: As part of the Camera Toolkit you can also simulate your desired lenses. Simply choose your focal length and anamorphic squeeze factor and you're ready to go.
- Collaborative Sessions: This revolutionary feature allows multiple devices can now share an AR scene in real-time. Give your Directors, DOPs, Clients devices to view and frame the scene through while you make edits on your device. Updated instantly and locally with up to 4 devices.
- Scene Saving: Speed up your workflow by saving and loading entire scenes! Save your scene using the new button under the 'Global' menu, and load in scenes using the new area in the 'Add' model list.
- Live Data: See live camera and model data as you move about your scene, including camera tilt, height, focal length, frame rate and aspect ratio.
- Scene Recording: Capture the scene for later review and reference using the scene record feature. A video is captured of your scene (with or without the app controls) and saved on your device for later use.
Questions or suggestions? Feel free to contact me:
support@previewar.app
Show More
What's New in the Latest Version 5.1.1
Last updated on Mar 16, 2023
Old Versions
v5.1.1 updates:
- Better handling of large scale models
- Fixed video recording not saving in some cases
- All models in a scene can now be manually translated together
- Snapshot images have been improved
- UI/UX improvements
- Better handling of large scale models
- Fixed video recording not saving in some cases
- All models in a scene can now be manually translated together
- Snapshot images have been improved
- UI/UX improvements
Show More
Version History
5.1.1
Mar 16, 2023
v5.1.1 updates:
- Better handling of large scale models
- Fixed video recording not saving in some cases
- All models in a scene can now be manually translated together
- Snapshot images have been improved
- UI/UX improvements
- Better handling of large scale models
- Fixed video recording not saving in some cases
- All models in a scene can now be manually translated together
- Snapshot images have been improved
- UI/UX improvements
5.1
Feb 27, 2023
v5.1 introduces:
- Redesigned cinema mode
- New frameline functionality
- Improvements to collaborative sessions
- Improvements when working with large models
- UI tweaks and bug fixes
- Redesigned cinema mode
- New frameline functionality
- Improvements to collaborative sessions
- Improvements when working with large models
- UI tweaks and bug fixes
5.0.1
Feb 9, 2023
Some small improvements and bug fixes!
5.0
Jan 25, 2023
Some fantastic new features to bring in the New Year!
- Environment Occlusion: Automatically obscure your models behind real-world objects in your scene
- Collaborative Sessions: Multiple devices can now share an AR scene in real-time
- Scene Saving: Save your whole scene using the new button under the 'Global' menu, and load in scenes using the new area in the 'Add' model list
- Anamorphic Lens Support: Now get even more accurate viewfinder results thanks to new support for lenses with a range of anamorphic squeeze factors
- Scene Selection: Highlight your whole scene by tapping on an object twice. Once your whole scene is highlighted, you can move & rotate the scene as a group
- New Camera Formats: A completely rebuilt viewfinder simulation system, with 200+ new camera models and formats - including information like sensor size, recording resolution and aspect ratios. Don't see your camera? Send me an email to get it added!
- UI/UX tweaks
- Lots of performance improvements and bug fixes
Found a bug? Get in touch: support@previewar.app
- Environment Occlusion: Automatically obscure your models behind real-world objects in your scene
- Collaborative Sessions: Multiple devices can now share an AR scene in real-time
- Scene Saving: Save your whole scene using the new button under the 'Global' menu, and load in scenes using the new area in the 'Add' model list
- Anamorphic Lens Support: Now get even more accurate viewfinder results thanks to new support for lenses with a range of anamorphic squeeze factors
- Scene Selection: Highlight your whole scene by tapping on an object twice. Once your whole scene is highlighted, you can move & rotate the scene as a group
- New Camera Formats: A completely rebuilt viewfinder simulation system, with 200+ new camera models and formats - including information like sensor size, recording resolution and aspect ratios. Don't see your camera? Send me an email to get it added!
- UI/UX tweaks
- Lots of performance improvements and bug fixes
Found a bug? Get in touch: support@previewar.app
4.0
Aug 15, 2021
Welcome to the rebuilt, redesigned PreviewAR! This version transforms the user experience, making it even easier and quicker to do what you need. Hit me up at support@previewar.app if you're having any issues with the new version.
The biggest new changes:
- Controls are now separated into Model, Camera and Scene menus
- More precise control and feedback over translation, scale and rotation with the new Adjustment Wheel
- New shadow and lighting environment
- New Blue Screen default model available
The biggest new changes:
- Controls are now separated into Model, Camera and Scene menus
- More precise control and feedback over translation, scale and rotation with the new Adjustment Wheel
- New shadow and lighting environment
- New Blue Screen default model available
3.5
Jun 4, 2021
Another update with a mix of additions, fixes and improvements!
- NEW: Reflective, adaptive texturing and lighting based on your environment! See your assets interact with your scene like never before
- PRO: Improved burn-in information displays: now include frame rate, aspect ratio and have a new look and feel!
- Tweaked the asset preprocessing that happens when you load the file (you can toggle this in the asset details)
- Fixed automatic masking of people sometimes not working
- Fixed some OBJ textures that wouldn't load when manually added
- Fixed a rare crash when opening certain model types
- NEW: Reflective, adaptive texturing and lighting based on your environment! See your assets interact with your scene like never before
- PRO: Improved burn-in information displays: now include frame rate, aspect ratio and have a new look and feel!
- Tweaked the asset preprocessing that happens when you load the file (you can toggle this in the asset details)
- Fixed automatic masking of people sometimes not working
- Fixed some OBJ textures that wouldn't load when manually added
- Fixed a rare crash when opening certain model types
3.4.3
Apr 5, 2021
- New "Anchor Mode" for VR and virtual set productions
- Improved handling of large (20m+) assets
- Improved compatibility for DAE format
- Fixed inverted normals getting removed, can now be textured
- Improved handling of large (20m+) assets
- Improved compatibility for DAE format
- Fixed inverted normals getting removed, can now be textured
3.4.2
Dec 6, 2020
- Performance and stability improvements
- Enhanced file type support
- Minor UI bug fixes
- Enhanced file type support
- Minor UI bug fixes
3.4.1
Nov 1, 2020
Fixes for iPad, and a couple of performance improvements across iPhones and iPads
3.4
Sep 29, 2020
Thanks for all your feedback! This new version is packed with:
• Custom lenses! Add, remove and reorder your lenses with PreviewAR Pro
• Change the Camera frame-rate with PreviewAR Pro
• iOS 14 compatibility
• Improved snapshot and scene recording
• Fixed crashes when using custom camera sensors
• Fixed occasional issues when importing new assets
• Fixed occasional asset indicator offset
• Performance improvements for larger assets
As always please send any feedback, questions, confidence-boosting encouragement or bugs/issues to support@previewar.app
• Custom lenses! Add, remove and reorder your lenses with PreviewAR Pro
• Change the Camera frame-rate with PreviewAR Pro
• iOS 14 compatibility
• Improved snapshot and scene recording
• Fixed crashes when using custom camera sensors
• Fixed occasional issues when importing new assets
• Fixed occasional asset indicator offset
• Performance improvements for larger assets
As always please send any feedback, questions, confidence-boosting encouragement or bugs/issues to support@previewar.app
3.3
Aug 5, 2020
• You can now upload .zip files! Put your OBJ, MTL and texture files into a .zip archive and let PreviewAR do the rest! It also supports any other supported file type within the .zip file and will import any additional textures inside. It's been a long time coming, hope you all enjoy it!
• Improvements to the "locked" scene mode to reduce potential drifting on uneven surfaces
• Small performance tweaks
• Improvements to the "locked" scene mode to reduce potential drifting on uneven surfaces
• Small performance tweaks
3.2.2
Jul 19, 2020
- Fixes to transparent materials in some USD files
- Fixed Pro subscription de-activating temporarily in some instances
- Minor performance tweaks
- Fixed Pro subscription de-activating temporarily in some instances
- Minor performance tweaks
3.2.1
Jul 13, 2020
- Fixed some MTL loading issues with OBJ assets
- Fixed incorrect UV mapping for assets with multiple texture coordinates
- Fixed incorrect file types sometimes being imported into the asset list
- Additional small improvements
As always, feel free to email support@previewar.app if you have any feedback or issues!
- Fixed incorrect UV mapping for assets with multiple texture coordinates
- Fixed incorrect file types sometimes being imported into the asset list
- Additional small improvements
As always, feel free to email support@previewar.app if you have any feedback or issues!
3.2
May 28, 2020
• Brand new "active asset" indicator shows you which asset in the scene is currently active, or where it is if it's not visible on-screen
• Custom Camera Sensor/Filmback sizes are now available! Add all your special custom recording frame sizes based on either resolution or aspect ratio
• Some performance improvements for when the AR scene is hidden behind the Settings view
• Small UI improvements
As always, please email me at support@previewar.app if you have any concerns, questions or suggestions!
• Custom Camera Sensor/Filmback sizes are now available! Add all your special custom recording frame sizes based on either resolution or aspect ratio
• Some performance improvements for when the AR scene is hidden behind the Settings view
• Small UI improvements
As always, please email me at support@previewar.app if you have any concerns, questions or suggestions!
3.1
May 17, 2020
- Camera filmback crop bugs fixed
- More accurate timecode values when recording
- Introduction of the PreviewAR Pro subscription
- More accurate timecode values when recording
- Introduction of the PreviewAR Pro subscription
3.0.1
Apr 12, 2020
Fixed a bug where some animated .usdz files didn't animate.
3.0
Apr 5, 2020
Hello to everyone that still reads these update notes! This is a ground-up rebuild with some huge new features and a more focused design.
Notable changes include:
- New UI: A redesigned interface to help keep you focused on what's important
- Multiple Assets: Ability to add/control multiple assets in the scene at once
- Persistent Assets: Import once and then add/manage each asset whenever you want
- Default models: Because some people buy the app without having 3D models
- Lock Scene: New button control to lock all assets in the scene from gesture-based modification
- 3-Axis Translation: You can now control the asset's position along the X, Y and Z axes (instead of just the Y)
- Remove Asset: New button control to remove the current asset from your scene without resetting or affecting any of the other assets in the scene
- A new, clean icon!
Improvements:
- Increase the simulated focal length up to a maximum 1000mm
- Toggle the inclusion of the UI when taking snapshots using the central photo button
- More comprehensive help page
- Ability to rename models
- Timecode added to burn-in statistics when recording video
- Faster import of models
Thank you for your continued support!
Please let me know how you're using the app and how it's changed your workflow (or if you just have suggestions/questions): support@previewar.app
Notable changes include:
- New UI: A redesigned interface to help keep you focused on what's important
- Multiple Assets: Ability to add/control multiple assets in the scene at once
- Persistent Assets: Import once and then add/manage each asset whenever you want
- Default models: Because some people buy the app without having 3D models
- Lock Scene: New button control to lock all assets in the scene from gesture-based modification
- 3-Axis Translation: You can now control the asset's position along the X, Y and Z axes (instead of just the Y)
- Remove Asset: New button control to remove the current asset from your scene without resetting or affecting any of the other assets in the scene
- A new, clean icon!
Improvements:
- Increase the simulated focal length up to a maximum 1000mm
- Toggle the inclusion of the UI when taking snapshots using the central photo button
- More comprehensive help page
- Ability to rename models
- Timecode added to burn-in statistics when recording video
- Faster import of models
Thank you for your continued support!
Please let me know how you're using the app and how it's changed your workflow (or if you just have suggestions/questions): support@previewar.app
2.2.2
Feb 16, 2020
This minor update fixes the strong aliasing that could be seen on some assets; thanks for the reports!
You'll now get smoother-looking assets as well as a higher resolution camera feed.
You'll now get smoother-looking assets as well as a higher resolution camera feed.
2.2.1
Jan 12, 2020
Minor bug fixes from the v2.2 update:
• When sinking your asset with Y-Offset, sometimes you could still see the object below the ground plane
• Performance optimisations
• When sinking your asset with Y-Offset, sometimes you could still see the object below the ground plane
• Performance optimisations
2.2
Jan 6, 2020
Happy New Year! Have some new features and bug fixes!
New:
• Support for USD file types! Includes .usd, .usda, .usdc and .usdz file support.
• Control the direction of the harsh shadow lighting mode: hold down the shadow button to bring up the directional control and rotate the light around your asset.
• I figured out how to put dot points in my app update notes and descriptions
Fixed:
• Certain OBJ + MTL combinations would result in an untextured asset being presented (please send me an example if this is still happening after this update!)
• Some assets would not scale using the slider or display their height on the HUD on their first use
• Assets sometimes wouldn't obey the manual texture colour assigned to them
New:
• Support for USD file types! Includes .usd, .usda, .usdc and .usdz file support.
• Control the direction of the harsh shadow lighting mode: hold down the shadow button to bring up the directional control and rotate the light around your asset.
• I figured out how to put dot points in my app update notes and descriptions
Fixed:
• Certain OBJ + MTL combinations would result in an untextured asset being presented (please send me an example if this is still happening after this update!)
• Some assets would not scale using the slider or display their height on the HUD on their first use
• Assets sometimes wouldn't obey the manual texture colour assigned to them
2.1.1
Oct 6, 2019
- Updated with support for the iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro & iPhone 11 Pro Max
- Improved error handling on incompatible files to reduce crashing
- More accurate focal length simulation across devices
- Additional minor bug fixes
- Improved error handling on incompatible files to reduce crashing
- More accurate focal length simulation across devices
- Additional minor bug fixes
2.1
Sep 26, 2019
- iOS 13 Support (including Dark Mode!)
- Updated Interface
- Two new Camera features: Focal Length simulation and Sensor Crop (frame line) simulation!
- People Occlusion available on compatible devices
- Refined slider-based scale and rotation controls
- Better navigation between screens
- Help Page and a quick link to contact the developer in the Settings page
- Improved stability
Stay on the lookout for another update soon focused on asset management! As always, email me at support@previewar.app if you have any suggestions, questions or issues!
- Updated Interface
- Two new Camera features: Focal Length simulation and Sensor Crop (frame line) simulation!
- People Occlusion available on compatible devices
- Refined slider-based scale and rotation controls
- Better navigation between screens
- Help Page and a quick link to contact the developer in the Settings page
- Improved stability
Stay on the lookout for another update soon focused on asset management! As always, email me at support@previewar.app if you have any suggestions, questions or issues!
2.0.2
Mar 13, 2019
- Improvements to lighting and shadow modes
- Better support for texture files with the MTL advanced setup
- A couple of stability fixes
Any issues please contact: support@tobyduffy.com
- Better support for texture files with the MTL advanced setup
- A couple of stability fixes
Any issues please contact: support@tobyduffy.com
2.0.1
Sep 24, 2018
This is a minor update to address some performance issues and include iOS 12 compatibility. As always, feel free to send through any issues you may be experiencing to support@tobyduffy.com.
2.0
Jul 16, 2018
Welcome to PreviewAR! To celebrate the launch of v2.0, I've given the app a little rebrand! The following changes have been made in this latest version:
- New HUD design! Swipe to show/hide the advanced options drawer below the snapshot and video buttons, and enjoy a full-screen immersive AR experience without all the buttons.
- Introducing two new HUD controls; Y-Height Offset and Shadow Mode. Adjust the Height slider to raise or sink your model into the ground, and toggle Shadow mode for a harsh single-light setup instead of the default omni-directional lighting scene
- PreviewAR now has experimental support for a few new file types: .3ds, .dae and .fbx. DAE files with skeletal animation are also now able to be imported.
- UI improvements for iPad users
- A few bugs with MTL files not being saved correctly have been fixed.
Stay tuned for the next version which will focus on making loading and importing models/textures easier and faster! Thank you for your continued support, as always feel free to email me with any experiences, bugs, issues or feature suggestions: support@tobyduffy.com
- New HUD design! Swipe to show/hide the advanced options drawer below the snapshot and video buttons, and enjoy a full-screen immersive AR experience without all the buttons.
- Introducing two new HUD controls; Y-Height Offset and Shadow Mode. Adjust the Height slider to raise or sink your model into the ground, and toggle Shadow mode for a harsh single-light setup instead of the default omni-directional lighting scene
- PreviewAR now has experimental support for a few new file types: .3ds, .dae and .fbx. DAE files with skeletal animation are also now able to be imported.
- UI improvements for iPad users
- A few bugs with MTL files not being saved correctly have been fixed.
Stay tuned for the next version which will focus on making loading and importing models/textures easier and faster! Thank you for your continued support, as always feel free to email me with any experiences, bugs, issues or feature suggestions: support@tobyduffy.com
PreviewAR FAQ
Click here to learn how to download PreviewAR in restricted country or region.
Check the following list to see the minimum requirements of PreviewAR.
iPhone
Requires iOS 16.0 or later.
iPad
Requires iPadOS 16.0 or later.
PreviewAR supports English
PreviewAR contains in-app purchases. Please check the pricing plan as below:
PreviewAR Pro Monthly
$12.99
PreviewAR Pro Yearly
$59.99
Related Videos
Latest introduction video of PreviewAR on iPhone
Latest introduction video of PreviewAR on iPhone
