XC to HDR Converter

XC to HDR conversion — online, no install needed

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Cloud-Powered Processing

All the heavy lifting runs on Convertio infrastructure. Your device just sends the XC and receives the HDR result.

Visual Fidelity

Your XC visual data maintains its quality through the conversion pipeline — the HDR output looks accurate.

Fully Browser-Based

Everything happens in your browser tab. No downloads, no extensions — just a clean XC to HDR conversion workflow.

How to convert XC to HDR

1

Select files from Computer, Google Drive, Dropbox, URL or by dragging it on the page.

2

Choose hdr or any other format you need as a result (more than 200 formats supported)

3

Let the file convert and you can download your hdr file right afterwards

About formats

XC (X window Color) is a procedural pseudo-format built into ImageMagick, the open-source image processing suite originally created by John Cristy at DuPont and first released on August 1, 1990. Rather than reading pixel data from a file, the XC format generates a solid-color canvas of specified dimensions, filled with a single uniform color value. The color can be specified using any of ImageMagick's supported color specification methods: named X11 colors (red, dodgerblue, linen), hex triplets (#FF6600), RGB/RGBA functional notation (rgb(255,102,0)), HSL, CMYK, or any other supported color space representation. XC canvases are created through ImageMagick's command-line interface using the special colon syntax (e.g., convert -size 800x600 xc:navy output.png) and serve as foundational building blocks in ImageMagick's compositing and image construction workflows. Common uses include creating background layers for compositing operations, generating masks and mattes of specific colors, initializing canvases for drawing operations, producing test images for pipeline validation, and creating placeholder images for web and application development. One advantage is workflow integration: XC canvases feed directly into ImageMagick's processing pipeline, enabling operations like gradient overlays, text rendering onto colored backgrounds, or template generation without requiring any input file. The pseudo-format's support for ImageMagick's complete color specification system is another strength — any color expressible in any supported color space can be used, including semi-transparent colors via RGBA notation, making XC a versatile primitive for programmatic image construction.
Initial release: 1990
HDR (also known as RGBE or Radiance HDR) is a high-dynamic-range image format created by Greg Ward Larson as part of the Radiance lighting simulation system, developed at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory starting in 1985 with the HDR format emerging around 1989. The format stores floating-point RGB pixel values using a compact 32-bit-per-pixel encoding called RGBE (Red, Green, Blue, Exponent): three 8-bit mantissa bytes share a single 8-bit exponent, representing luminance values across a range of roughly 76 orders of magnitude while keeping file sizes comparable to standard 24-bit images. HDR files begin with a text header containing rendering and exposure metadata, followed by the RGBE pixel data compressed with a scanline-oriented run-length encoding scheme. The format captures the full luminance range of real-world scenes — from deep shadows to direct sunlight — enabling physically accurate lighting calculations, tone mapping to different display conditions, and post-capture exposure adjustment without the clipping artifacts inherent in 8-bit formats. One advantage is the format's foundational role in HDR imaging: Radiance HDR pioneered the concept of storing real-world luminance values in image files, and the .hdr format became the standard for light probe images and environment maps used in image-based lighting across the 3D rendering industry. The format's compact encoding is another practical strength — the RGBE scheme provides far more dynamic range than 8-bit formats while using only 33% more storage per pixel, a favorable tradeoff that made HDR practical on storage-limited systems of the late 1980s. HDR files are supported by Photoshop, GIMP, ImageMagick, Blender, and all major 3D renderers.
Developer: Greg Ward Larson
Initial release: 1989

Frequently Asked Questions

Why convert XC to HDR?

Transform specialized XC data into HDR so colleagues and clients can view it without niche software.

How do I open HDR files?

HDR files open in HDR viewers, Photoshop, Blender, Luminance HDR — widely supported across Windows, macOS, and Linux platforms.

What platforms support this conversion?

Convertio works in any modern browser — Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge — on Windows, macOS, Linux, and mobile.

Do I need to install anything?

Nothing to install. The converter operates entirely online in your browser — no plugins, extensions, or software.

What happens to my file after conversion?

Your uploaded XC file and the resulting HDR output are automatically deleted from the server within 24 hours to protect your data.

How long does XC to HDR conversion take?

Seconds for most files. Convertio processes XC data on powerful servers, so even bigger files convert quickly.