| Features | Pricing | Job Estimator | FAQ | News | Forum | Contact Us! |
Typically, this is because the files haven't been uploaded yet via FTP. You can only attempt to render a file that has been uploaded. You cannot specify a file in the rendering dialog that doesn't actually exist. However, contact us if you think something weird is happening and we'll help.↑
This will depend on the type of rendering you select, either Economy or Exclusive, and the relative complexity of your job, and the current capacity of the farm.
In Exclusive mode, a good rule of thumb is that an individual frame will only take approximately 60% of the time it would take on a 2.8GHz Quad-core.
In Economy mode, an individual frame might take about 6 times longer, but we run many more frames at one time, so typically you see many frames render as quickly when averaged out.
Exclusive mode is a good choice if one frame takes more than an hour on a standard Quad-core machine.↑
Jobs that make the most sense are those which you can't do in a reasonable time on a single machine.
Small renders of less than a minute are probably not going to run that much faster than on your home quad core, especially after factoring in the time required to upload your source files, submit your job, and download the results.
Multi-frame jobs of frames taking more than 10 minutes a piece when rendered on a single quad core would be prime candidates to run at BlenderRenders.
Our value lies in providing many nodes for your frames. Jobs with few frames won't really utilize our capacity well, and probably will not make the most economic sense for you.
Contact us and we can help work through your particular situation. (Especially if you think that your individual frames might exceed 45-50 minutes each. Read below regarding our default frame time limit.)↑
It depends on what is most important to you, overall chronological speed or economic value. Basically, Exclusive may be a little faster, but Economy is by far more, what's the word, economical.
In some cases, Economy can actually be chronologically faster as well. It all depends on the number of nodes available and the degree to which your blend file can make use of multi-threading.
In most cases, Economy rendering is the way to go. Exclusive would be reserved for those cases where you may run over the 50 minute/frame processing limit without utilizing a full 8 cores.↑
In order to protect our users, we implmement a 50 minute per frame rendering limit. Otherwise, you could be on the hook financially for a big bill without many frames to show for it.
Be aware that if your frame exceeds the limit, your render will be terminated and you will still have to pay for the computing time used. (50 minutes would be roughly 19 cents for Economy or $1.17 for Exclusive)
If you would like to remove this limit, please contact us and we can work something out.↑
It may sound that way, but we have to cover the costs of running our machines since other tasks may have been waiting for yours to finish. But there are several simple ways to avoid ever having to deal with this.↑
This is a good idea anyway. You can run it at BlenderRenders, run it at home, compare the time it takes, see how much it costs, etc. All for very little money, probably pennies (or less).
If you know how long it takes to do a smaller version you can multiply by the screen area change and get a rough estimate for how long it will take to do the full render.↑
It's the same as number one! But it can also serve another important purpose. If you forget to upload critical textures or other supporting files, a test run of one, two or three frames at that small resolution will save you from having to re-render a whole project.
We want you to get what you expect!↑
Some users will actually split the frame to be rendered into smaller sections and submit them as separate blend files. The resulting outputs can then be rejoined into a single file. There are several freely available scripts that can help streamline the process.↑
In some cases, splitting and stitching the scene is too cumbersome or just doesn't make sense. If you know you're going to have some monster renders, just contact us and we can work something out. The limit is there for your protection. If it makes sense to remove it, let's do it.↑
In most cases, this is due to your Amazon Payments authorization running out. When you sign up with BlenderRenders, you specify a maximum authorization for your Amazon Payments account to go towards rendering with us. This is great because it limits your total outlay to a hard value.
It's not so great when it runs out and you want to keep rendering!
Just make sure to check your balance on the Financial Statement page periodically, and re-authorize a new maximum amount when your available balance gets low.↑
You can terminate your own job at any time using the terminate button in the Active Jobs window.
Any frames already rendered would be available and any computing resources already used would be charged to your account.↑
Very rarely, a node in our network may become unresponsive. In those rare cases, we mark the task as failed and set it aside.
You have the option to resubmit failed tasks for any job by selecting that button in the Jobs window. This will automatically create a new job with just those failed tasks to be re-rendered. You can then submit that job for processing.
Please note, you will never be charged for any of the computing resources used for a FAILED task.↑
In most cases, this is due to uploading files within your ftp account as ascii instead of binary. Most ftp clients have an auto-detect mechanism to determine which format to use.
It is very important that files like jpg and blend files be uploaded appropriately, otherwise your render will terminate quickly as complete though no file can be produced.
Another reason to run many, many short practice renders to ensure that your uploaded file environment is perfect and ready to go.↑
Auto-Stitching is a feature where we can split a single frame into multiple pieces to render on many different render nodes at one time. This is done completely automatically behind the scenes at BlenderRenders. All you need to do is specify a 1 frame job and we take care of the rest.
We do the splitting, the rendering, and the re-stitching completely automatically with no need for you to babysit the job once it's started. ↑
Here is how to do it in 3 easy steps.
1. Upload your blend file and your textures as normal.
2. When creating your job, specify the same start and end frame.
3. Two new fields for height and width will appear, make sure to enter the appropriate height and width and hit Go!
4. Sit back and relax. Your job will be done in a few minutes! (not really an actual step) ↑
To do the splitting and stitching, each render node creates a small portion of your total final png file. These files are stored in your jobs render folder then, after all the files are complete, our stitcher stitches all the smaller files together into a Jobfinal.png for your job.
We leave these smaller png files in your directory on the very rare chance something happens to one of the smaller files and the append process is interrupted. We can then just re-render one tiny piece and stitch your job up. To date, this hasn't been necessary, but we'd rather keep the files just in case. You can delete them yourself once you are absolutely sure you do not need them and the stitcher has completed its work. ↑
In the Job Detail screen for your completed job, you will see a listing for the status of the stitcher.
If you delete any of the png files prior to the completion of the stitching process, the stitching will not work and you will need to re-render the job, or at least those parts of the png that are missing, then re-stitch the image by hand. Moral of the story - do not delete files while jobs are running!!!! ↑
Currently, the only way to do this is to submit each frame as a separate job. We will continually evaluate how to support stitched animation rendering.
↑
We support Yafaray version 0.1.1
We render using the yafarayRender.xml output file created by using the Output to XML option within the script window inside Blender 2.49b.
Currently we support single frame yafaray jobs only. We do the splitting, the rendering, and the re-stitching completely automatically with no need for you to babysit the job once it's started by using our Auto-Stitching process described above. ↑
Here is how to do it in 3 easy steps.
0. Set up your scene in Blender, create your materials and lighting options in the Yafaray script window.
0. Make sure that your render settings in Blender are set to the desired resolution (ie 1920x1080) and make sure that the resolution is set to 100%, then Save and Output to XML from Yafaray.
1. Upload the xml file created by using the Output to XML option in the Yafaray script window in Blender 2.49b, and upload your textures to that same directory or a subdirectory of that xml file.
2. When creating your job, specify the same start and end frame.
3. Two new fields for height and width will appear, make sure to enter the same height and width as above and hit Go!
4. Sit back and relax. Your job will be done in a few minutes! (not really an actual step) ↑
To do the splitting and stitching, each render node creates a small portion of your final yafaray tga file. These files are stored in your jobs render folder then, after all the files are complete, our stitcher stitches all the smaller files together into a Jobfinal.tga for your job.
There are also some xml and other files and directories that are created and deleted to support the stitching process for Yafaray.
We leave some of these files in your directory on the very rare chance something happens to one of the smaller files and the append process is interrupted. We can then just re-render one tiny piece and stitch your job up. To date, this hasn't been necessary, but we'd rather keep the files just in case. You can delete them yourself once you are absolutely sure you do not need them and the stitcher has completed its work. ↑
In the Job Detail screen for your completed job, you will see a listing for the status of the stitcher.
If you delete any of the png files prior to the completion of the stitching process, the stitching will not work and you will need to re-render the job, or at least those parts of the png that are missing, then re-stitch the image by hand. Moral of the story - do not delete files while jobs are running!!!! ↑
Currently, the only way to do this is to submit each frame as a separate job. We will continually evaluate how to support Yafaray animation rendering.
↑
On our LuxRender tab, you can create one or more 8 core LuxRender rendering machines (we call them LuxMachines) by selecting the number of machines and the number of hours you'd like them to run. Or choose 'No Limit' to have the machines run indefinitely. Then click the 'Start' button and watch them fire up.
Each machine has a full 8 cores with over 20GHz or more total computing power. At a dollar an hour, that's 5 cents / GHzHr. ↑
Now you have two choices as to how to use your LuxMachines. To run them as typical network renderers, in your LuxRender application, enter your LuxMachine IP addresses into the Server field on the Network tab, then click the little plus icon.
If the LuxMachine IP address is not showing or is blank, just click the Refresh button in the Running LuxMachines area. It takes about 30-60 seconds for the IP address to show.
Or, now you have a second choice for LuxRender processing! Upload a correctly exported .lxs scene file along with your textures, supporting files (.lxm, etc.) to a folder in your ftp area. Once you have started a LuxMachine, just click the little Assign button next to the machine in the Running LuxMachines area. A dialog will come up asking you to assign your newly uploaded .lxs file to that machine.
Just navigate to your file and hit Assign again! Now that LuxMachine will begin processing your .lxs file within 30 seconds. You will see the first copy of your FLM and PNG files in your lxs scene directory within a couple of minutes, and you will also have access to the luxLog in your folder as well.
Remember the same rules that apply to our Blender service. Make sure you are using relative file paths (sometimes the exporters have trouble with this), and make sure all of your supporting files are uploaded! You should be all set.
Since the output is stored both as FLM and PNG, you can actually run multiple 8 core LuxMachines, and assign each one to process your uploaded .lxs scene. When you think they've run long enough, we also provide a facility to merge those FLM files together, so that you only need to download one!
Just choose Merge FLM files from the left menu and the wizard will lead you through a two step process. It couldn't be easier. Just navigate to one of the flm files, and the wizard will do the rest.
We're excited about this feature and can't wait for you to start using it. While the network rendering facilities within LuxRender are great for LAN-based rendering, it sometimes is too slow for offsite rendering. That's where our new feature kicks in. You need only upload your files one time and multiple machines can begin rendering your lux scene immediately. ↑
Just choose the machine you'd like to stop from the drop down list and press the 'Stop' button. ↑
LuxMachines are billed by the hour and a partial hour also counts as a full hour.
However, instead of just turning off the machine and billing the full hour, we keep the machine running until the hour is almost up and then turn it off. That way you can keep using your LuxMachine until it is automatically terminated.
As a result, when you click 'Stop' for a LuxMachine, you will see that the 'terminate at hour end?' field will now contain a Y. This means this instance will shut down automatically at the end of the current running hour. ↑
Unfortunately, this is the only way we can currently bring you this service. The good news is that each LuxMachine is an 8 core box with 20GHz of computing power. This equates to just 5 cents a GHzHr!
At BlenderRenders, it is really important to keep our services as simple to use as possible. We believe this is the most effective way to do that.
↑
Just use your ftp client and point it to ftp.blenderrenders.com You can then upload or download files after you've registered your payment information.↑
The ftp area is yours to use as you see fit. Our rendering engine can see your entire directory, so most any directory structure will do.
The important thing is to utilize relative linking within your blend files. This will make sure that links between files, textures, etc will be properly maintained when rendering. You can also pack textures and supporting files with your blend files if you'd like. Either mechanism should work fine.↑
While the first 2GB of file storage is free, we do charge 50 cents per GB-Mo for any storage over 2GB. So, we need your payment info to start the process.↑
As long as your account is in good standing, your files will be preserved.↑
They are the same as your BlenderRenders web login information.↑
That's where we put your rendered frames! When beginning to process your job, the system creates a directory within the 'renders' directory to store all the frames for that particular job.
We give you the ability to delete these directories at will to keep your file system usage low, but don't delete the directory while a render is in process! You'll lose the ability to retrieve your images.↑
This is usually due to Active vs Passive mode in your ftp client. Different clients implement these functions a little differently, but in most cases, Active mode should work best.
FileZilla in particular usually installs in passive mode, so make sure to modify that setting to Active.↑
BlenderRenders utilizes Amazon's secure billing solution Amazon Payments. To sign up, just follow these steps:
1. Go to the My Account top menu item and choose Payment Information from the left menu.
2. Click on the button with the amount you would like to authorize.
3. You'll be redirected to Amazon Payments where you enter your billing info.
4. After completing that process, you'll be redirected back to BlenderRenders and we'll have a record of your authorization.
5. Upload your files and start rendering!↑
There is absolutely no minimum amount to render. The authorization amount you give through Amazon Payments is purely an authorization only.
This represents the maximum that you can have charged to your credit card. We cannot, under any circumstances, charge more than the maximum amount that you indicate in your authorization.
So, if you go with a 100 dollar authorization to Amazon Payments and then only render one small test file that costs $1.12, we will only charge your credit card for 1.12. If you never render again, we will never charge you again.
The authorization is a maximum that protects users in case they submit a job that takes much more time than they originally anticipate.↑
We track each job you submit, the amount of time each task takes, and the manner in which it was rendered (Economy or Exclusive).
After a job completes, we total it up and charge your BlenderRenders Amazon Payments account for the balance.↑
If you exceed the available balance on your authorization, your ongoing renders will terminate. Any frames already rendered will still be available, but no new frames can be rendered until you re-authorize your card through Amazon Payments.↑
Well, the short answer is - that's just how Amazon Payments works. The longer answer is that it is a protection of sorts on your account so that you can't exceed a specific dollar amount, no matter what kind of job you submit.
Also, you can authorize a larger amount, say 500 or 1000 or even 10000 dollars once you get comfortable with the process.
We recommend new users just authorize 10 or 25 dollars initially so that you get a feel for how things work.↑
We don't charge the Amazon Payment system for every job that completes, we usually wait until you have a balance over $10.
There are circumstances where we will charge differently, for example, with partial invoice payments, but in general once you go over $10 you will see a payment get created.↑
No problem, just contact us at info@blenderrenders.com and we'll help!
