About.com's VRML97 Browser Datasheet

The following tables represent a feature comparison of all known VRML97 Browsers. It is based on what was formerly known as "Greg Seidman's VRML97 Browser Datasheet". Greg has generously donated his information and passed the baton to its new home. This is very much a continuing work in progress. Browsers with an (RIP) Rest In Peace and in strikethrough style, are no longer being maintained or are from defunct companies, but remain here for historical sake, and cause they were developed by cool folks.

Die VRML-Browserübersicht in deutsch

Disclaimer: The following is not an endorsement of any commercial product. The accuracy of the following information is not certified or implied in any way.  Inclusion in this document is not an indication of endorsement. Please note that much of the following information comes directly from the browser vendors themselves and any vendor finding inaccuracies are strongly encouraged to contact me with corrections.

A ? in a cell of either table denotes missing information. A + denotes proper/complete implementation of a feature. A - denotes incomplete, incorrect, or missing implementation of a feature.

General Info 

Browser	Platform	Current Version	Script node language(s)1	Rendering Library	Texture size2	AudioClip formats4	ImageTexture formats	MovieTexture formats4
CASUS Presenter	SGI, Solaris, Win32	1.0a10	Java (no security)	Kahlua/  Inventor (on OpenGL)	x, y = 2n; HW max	(SGI/Sol: MIDI, WAV)	GIF, JPEG, XBM	-
Contact/D3D/ Contact/OGL	Win32	3.02	VRMLscript	OpenGL	x, y = 2n; HW max	MIDI, WAV	BMP, GIF, JPEG, PPM, PNG, RGB, TGA	GIF89a
CC3D/ D3D	Win32	3.02	VRMLscript	Direct3D	.; HW max	MIDI, WAV	BMP, GIF, JPEG, PPM, PNG, RGB, TGA	GIF89a
Community- Place	Win32	2.0 PR D1b/R1b	Java	Renderware or Direct3D	128x128(?)	WAV	BMP, GIF, JPEG, RAS	?
Cortona	Win32 auto install for Netscape (SmartUpdate) and transparent Admin setup for NT/2000	2.2 build40	VRMLscript, JavaScript, Java (EAI2 for IE), cortonaSDK	OpenGL, Direct3D	no restrictions	MIDI, WAV	Base64 encoding, GIF, JPEG, PNG (mipmapping)	MPEG, support for Macromedia FLASH
Cortona for Mac	MacOS		JavaScript, cortonaSDK		no restrictions	MIDI, WAV	Base64 encoding, GIF, JPEG, PNG (mipmapping)	NURBS, Spline, Keyboard extensions
CosmoPlayer for Mac	MacoOS 7.5-8.6	2.1b56	Java, JavaScript	OpenGL (Conix)	x, y = 2n. HW max	MIDI, WAV, AIFF/AIFC	GIF, JPEG, PNG, RGB	QuickTime, MPG (any QT supported bitmap format)
CosmoPlayer for SGI	SGI	2.1	Java and JavaScript	OpenGL	x, y = 2n; HW max	AIFF, AIFC (IRIX 6.2 & 6.4: MIDI) (IRIX 6.x: WAV)	GIF, JPEG, PNG, RGB	(IRIX 6.x: MPEG, QuickTime, SGI movie)
CosmoPlayer for Win32	Win32	2.11	Java and JavaScript	OpenGL	x, y = 2n; HW max	MIDI, WAV4	BMP, GIF, JPEG, PNG, RGB	GIF89a4
DpIV5	Win32	2.1b3	see5	Direct3D	x, y = 2n; HW max	WAV5	GIF, JPEG	MPEG35
FreeWrl	Linux, Solaris, Digital	rapidly changing	Java, JavaScript	OpenGL	x, y = 2n; HW max	-	JPEG	-
Java3D VRML Browser
Kwrl
LivePicture Viewer	MacPPC, Win32	3.0	rst:*	Proprietary	No restrictions(?)	MIDI, WAV	BMP, GIF, JPEG, PICT, RIC	QuickTime (Win32: AVI) (Mac: live video, MPEG)
OpenWorlds	SGI, Win32 Solaris	0.4	Java, C++, C, Lisp3	Performer, Optimizer, OpenGL, IrisGL	no restrictions	MIDI, WAV	GIF, JPEG, PNG, PPM, RGB, TIFF, Raw, ?	Quicktime (partial), AVI, MPEG
OpenWorlds Horizon
VRwave	SGI, Solaris, Dec Alpha, HP-UX, Linux (others?)	0.9	will be Java	OpenGL/Mesa	HW/Mem max	-	GIF, JPEG, XBM	-
VRMLview	Win32, SGI, BeOS, Linux	2.0b	-	PolyRed (proprietary) and OpenGL/Mesa	No restrictions	-	BMP, GIF, JPEG, PNG, PNM, XBM	-
WorldView/Mac	Mac	2.0b1	JavaScript	QuickDraw3D	?	WAV	GIF, JPEG	-
WorldView/Win32	Win32	2.1	Java and JavaScript	Direct3D	?	-4	BMP, GIF, JPEG, PNG, PPM, RAS	-4

I. PROTO/EXTERNPROTO Support 

	I.1	I.2	I.3	I.4	I.5	I.6	PROTOs (some support more than just parsing) PROTOs with Script nodes in them PROTOs with Script nodes in them with IS PROTOs using other PROTOs in them EXTERNPROTOs (single PROTO in a file) EXTERNPROTOs (single PROTO referred to in a file of many)
CASUS	+	+	+	+	-	-
CC3D/OGL	+	+	+	+	+	+
CC3D/D3D	+	+	+	+	+	+
Cortona	+	+	+	+	+	+
Sony CP	+	+	+	-	-	-
CP/Mac	+	+	+	+	+	+
CP/SGI	+	+	+	+	+	+
CP/Win32	+	+	+	+	+	+
DpIV5	+	-	-	-	+	-
FreeWRL	+	+	+	+	-	-
LPV	+	+	+	+	+	+
OW	+	+	+	+	-	-
VRW	?	?	?	?	?	?
VRMLview	+	-	-	+	-	-
WV/Mac	+	+	+	+	+	+
WV/Win32	+	+	+	+	+	+
	I.1	I.2	I.3	I.4	I.5	I.6

II. Node Support 

	II.1	II.2	II.3	II.4	II.5	Extrusions Text Background Inlines Collision
CASUS	+	+	-	+	-
CC3D/OGL	+	+	+	+	+
CC3D/D3D	+	+	+	+	+
Cortona	+	+	+	+	+
Sony CP	+	+	+	+	+
CP/Mac	+	+	+	+	+
CP/SGI	+	+	-	+	+
CP/Win32	+	+	+	+	+
DpIV5	-	-	-	-	-
FreeWRL	+	+	+	+	-
LPV	mostly	+	+	+	+
OW	-	+	-	+	-
VRW	+	-	?	+	-
VRMLview	+	+	-	-	-
WV/Mac	+	+	-	+	-
WV/Win32	+	+	-	+	+
	II.1	II.2	II.3	II.4	II.5

III. Sensors, Events, and Rendering 

	III.1	III.2	III.3	III.4	III.5	III.6	TouchSensors  PlaneSensors Cylinder-/SphereSensors MFVec3f events  colorPerVertex Correct texture mapping (default and repeatS/-T)
CASUS	-	+	+	+	-	+
CC3D/OGL	+	+	+	+	+	+
CC3D/D3D	+	+	+	+	unlit only	-
Cortona	+	+	+	+	+	Mostly except repeatS/-T
Sony CP	+	+	+	+	+	?
CP/Mac	+	+	+	+	+	+
CP/SGI	+	+	+	+	+	+
CP/Win32	+	+	+	+	+	+
DpIV5	+	+	+	-	-	-
FreeWRL	+	+	+	+	-	-
LPV	+	+	-	+	+	-
OW	Mostly	+	+	+	-	+
VRW	+	+	+	+	+	+
VRMLview	-	-	+	-	-	+
WV/Mac	+	+	Minimally	Mostly	+	-
WV/Win32	+	+	+	Mostly	+	-
	III.1	III.2	III.3	III.4	III.5	III.6

As an example for I.3, the following gives problems in some browsers:

PROTO Something [ field SFFloat random 0.0 ] {
        ...
        Script {
#this line is the problem
                field SFFloat someField IS random
                url []
        }
}

VRML Test Pages and Other VRML Browser Comparisons

• Official NIST VRML Testing
• Mitra's VRML 2.0 test page
• Jeff Close's Jeff's VRML and Java Test Page
• Greg Roelofs' PNG Support in VRML Browsers

Final Notes

Previous Features