How do I convert SVO files to AVI, or image/depth sequences?

The SVO file format is a proprietary format that can only be read from the ZED SDK and its tools. It contains the unrectified images of the camera along with metadata information such as  timestamps and IMU data (for ZED Mini). 

SVO is the only format available as an input to the ZED SDK. Other video formats cannot be used with the SDK.

 

SVO Conversion

SVO files can be converted into multiple file formats for external use. The sample ZED_SVO_Export demonstrates how to export SVO into different formats. It is available on GitHub and in the sample folder of the SDK:

  • C:\Program Files (x86)\ZED SDK\samples\svo recording\export
  • \usr\local\zed\samples\svo recording\export

On Windows, a pre-compiled version is available in C:\Program Files (x86)\ZED SDK\samples\bin\ZED_SVO_Export.exe. Linux users need to compile the sample.

 

Usage

The sample is a command line tool. Follow the step below to start exporting SVO into other file formats:

  1. Open a command line prompt.
    • Windows: Type "cmd" in the windows start menu and press Enter.
    • Linux: Hit Ctrl+Alt+t from your desktop
  2. Move to the folder containing the sample executable. 
    • Windows: cd C:/Program Files (x86)/ZED SDK/samples/bin
    • Linux: cd /path/to/your/build/directory
  3. Start the conversion with the desired parameters.
    • Windows: ZED_SVO_Export.exe "C:/path/to/your/svo/file.svo" "C:/Users/YOUR-USER-NAME/Desktop/output.avi" 0
      Please fill the path to your SVO file and your username.
    • Linux: ./ZED_SVO_Export "C:/path/to/your/svo/file.svo" "C:/Users/YOUR-USER-NAME/Desktop/output.avi" 0

The "0" number at the end of the line selects the AVI conversion mode. Other modes are described in the GitHub documentation.