BVH File Format (.bvh)
A BVH file is motion-capture data in the format Biovision devised to deliver mocap to its clients: a text header naming each skeleton joint and its offset, followed by one row of rotation values per captured frame.
BVH at a glance#
| Full name | Biovision Hierarchy |
|---|---|
| File extension | .bvh |
| Category | 3D Models |
| Developer | Biovision |
| Compression | Uncompressed |
| FileFlip support | FileFlip reads this format but does not write it |
What a .bvh file can hold#
These are the things a BVH file either supports or does not, and they are what decides whether a conversion keeps everything or quietly drops something.
| Skeletons and animation | Yes |
|---|---|
| Human readable | Yes |
Strengths and limitations of BVH#
What BVH does well
- Plain text, so a channel or a frame can be checked or hand-edited without special tools
- Every major animation package reads it, making it the common denominator for handing off mocap
- The HIERARCHY block is self-describing, naming every joint and its offset before any motion data appears
Where BVH falls short
- Carries no mesh, so a BVH has nothing to render on its own until it's attached to a rigged character
- No scale or unit information, so the same file can come in at wildly different sizes depending on the capture rig
- Only translation and rotation channels exist, with no way to encode a skeleton's rest-pose mesh or skinning weights
Use BVH to move raw motion-capture animation between tools that already have a matching skeleton to drive.
There's little reason to convert BVH to a mesh format, since a BVH has no geometry to convert; it only makes sense retargeted onto a rigged character inside an animation tool.
How to open a .bvh file#
A .bvh file opens in the programs below, grouped by the platform you are on. If you would rather not install anything, FileFlip converts BVH into a format your machine already opens, and it does it in the browser tab rather than on a server.
| Platform | Programs that open it |
|---|---|
| Windows | Autodesk MotionBuilder, Blender, Autodesk Maya |
| macOS | Blender, Autodesk Maya |
| Linux | Blender |
| Web | FileFlip |
BVH questions people ask#
What is a BVH file?
A BVH file stores motion-capture animation: a skeleton's joint hierarchy and offsets, followed by a table giving every joint's rotation for each captured frame. It was developed by the motion-capture company Biovision to hand mocap data to clients in a form any animation package could read.
Can a BVH file contain a 3D model?
No, a BVH file has no mesh, materials or textures at all, only a joint hierarchy and its motion over time. It describes movement, not a shape, so it has to be paired with a rigged character in an animation tool before there's anything to look at.
Why does my BVH animation look wrong on a different character?
A BVH file's rotation data was captured against one specific skeleton's proportions and joint naming, so applying it to a character with a different bone hierarchy or bone lengths needs retargeting, not a straight import. Most animation software has a dedicated retargeting step for exactly this mismatch.
Converting BVH files#
Convert BVH to another format
FileFlip does not write .bvh files, so nothing on the site converts into this format. It works as a source only.
Every conversion runs inside your browser. The file is read from your disk, the work happens on your own machine, and nothing is uploaded. How FileFlip works names the engine behind each family and how to verify that for yourself.