HDR Light Studio 9 Drop 2 released

New VRED Workflow and Useful Updates for All Users

We’re excited to introduce HDR Light Studio 9 Drop 2, a major update that redefines lighting workflows for Autodesk VRED users. The new Streamed Viewport delivers a more integrated lighting experience, right inside HDR Light Studio.

And there’s more: across all platforms, users will enjoy dramatically faster startup times, LightPaint for Sun Position, improved gradient graph editing, and enhanced OCIO color management.

What's New: VRED Streamed Viewport

This new feature allows you to light directly on your live VRED scene inside HDR Light Studio - no UI panel juggling and no switching apps. Just pure, focused lighting design.

Now, VRED users can:

• Work entirely within HDR Light Studio's optimized lighting interface
• Light directly on the live VRED viewport
• Use the complete range of LightPaint tools and methods
• Drag and drop lighting presets directly into your scene
• Switch between VRED cameras to review lighting instantly
• Now light efficiently with just one display

VRED Streamed Viewport enables:

Full LightPaint Control

All available LightPaint methods are now supported: Reflection, Illumination, Rim, and now Shade & Shadow. Use the LightPaint methods to position lights interactively on the streamed view.

There's more to LightPaint than moving Lights

LightPaint can also be used to control other features where locations are best chosen from the 3D view. For example, place the light within the scrim light to position the hot spot, place the sun position in the procedural sky (new), place the reflection axis when mirroring a HDRI, place the direction of motion blur, and add Lumi-Curve points.

Drag-and-Drop Preset Lighting

Quickly add lights by dragging and dropping onto the streamed viewport where you want the lighting effect. The LightPaint method positions the light for you, saving you the guess work.

Adds to an already successful integration

If you're happy with the traditional HDR Light Studio workflow with VRED, don’t worry - that integration still works exactly as before. This new approach is an optional enhancement than enhances the already great workflow between the two applications.

How to add the VRED Streamed Viewport

Requires VRED 2025.2 and higher
Follow these simple steps:

1. Update to HDR Light Studio 9 Drop 2 - adds support for VRED streamed viewport
   
   
2. Install Additional Plug-in in VRED - we provide a new additional plug-in to install that enables streaming the viewport to HDR Light Studio.
   
   
3. Launch & Light - Start VRED, connect to HDR Light Studio using existing workflow, accept new interface layout, press Play to Stream the VRED Viewport into HDR Light Studio.

Full documentation for the installation process and for the new workflow is here.

What Else is New in 9 Drop 2

New Features for all HDR Light Studio users.

Faster Startup

Preset libraries now load after launch, delivering a dramatically faster startup experience. HDR Light Studio opens in a fraction of the time, getting you into your projects immediately. If you're launching the app regularly throughout your workday, you'll notice the difference instantly, precious seconds saved with every launch add up to significant time savings and a far more fluid workflow.

LightPaint the Sun

Positioning sun highlights on reflective surfaces just got effortless. You can now use LightPaint to place the sun in Sky content directly on your canvas or render views, perfect for dialing in those critical sun reflections on automotive surfaces and other reflective materials.

OCIO Enhancements

Color management now extends to color pickers, swatches, and gradients, what you see is what you get, ensuring accurate, predictable color selection.
Bug fix: OCIO error reporting has been corrected to eliminate false missing colorspace warnings.

Streamlined Gradient Graph Editing

You can now drag the first and last pegs in the graph itself. This reduces the clicks needed to adjust the start and end of the ramp.

Improved UI Layout Adjustments

The interface layouts now prevent unwanted panel scaling. When you resize panels on one side of HDR Light Studio, panels on the other side stay the same size.

Availability

Existing Customers

Existing customers with active subscriptions or permanent licenses with active maintenance can download HDR Light Studio 9 Drop 2 and updated plug-ins from their account at www.lightmap.co.uk now. (How do you know if you can run the latest version of HDR Light Studio and Plug-ins?)

Compatibility

For a full breakdown of supported features and plug-in compatibility in HDR Light Studio 9 Drop 2, visit our Compatibility Chart.

Note: The new VRED Streamed Render View requires Autodesk VRED 2025.2 or higher and is part of the HDR Light Studio Automotive edition. Available with both node-locked and floating licenses.

New to HDR Light Studio?

HDR Light Studio 9 Drop 2 – Media Pack

Whether you’re a reseller, partner, or writing about us, we’ve put together a handy media pack with high-res visuals and pre-approved copy from our blog, ready for you to use on your website, social media, or marketing materials.

Download the Media Pack

A quick note:
These assets are for promotional use only, please don’t alter or resell them as standalone content. If you’re unsure about how anything can be used, just get in touch, we’re happy to help.