Guide · Formats

SOG, PLY, SPLAT, SPZ, and KSPLAT for Web Delivery

Understand the current splats.ai path for SOG, PLY, SPLAT, SPZ, and KSPLAT: direct SOG delivery, optimization, upload, and browser testing.

Gaussian splat files can use different representations before they reach a browser viewer. The current splats.ai path accepts several splat file families, serves SOG directly, and can optimize other supported splat inputs to SOG for delivery.

This guide explains that input-versus-delivery distinction without assigning a quality ranking to a file extension. It is for creators and developers who need to understand what to upload and how to test the resulting browser work.

The current input and delivery path

The documented splat-file path checked on 2026-09-18 UTC is:

  • SOG: accepted as a delivery-ready input and served directly.
  • PLY: accepted as a supported splat input and can be optimized to SOG.
  • SPLAT: accepted as a supported splat input and can be optimized to SOG.
  • SPZ: accepted as a supported splat input and can be optimized to SOG.
  • KSPLAT: accepted as a supported splat input and can be optimized to SOG.

This describes the current product path, not a claim that the formats are interchangeable in every tool or that optimization is lossless. Recheck the accepted extensions, optimization behavior, delivery representation, and current viewer path immediately before publication. The live upload form and current product reference are the source of truth.

What “delivery-ready” means here

In this guide, “delivery-ready” means that the current product can serve SOG directly through its delivery path. It does not mean that SOG is the best format for every authoring tool, that every source has the same visual result, or that a source and its delivery representation have identical bytes or metadata.

When a PLY, SPLAT, SPZ, or KSPLAT source enters the optimization path, the product can create the SOG representation used for delivery. The conversion may change the representation needed by the viewer. Do not describe that change as a quality guarantee, a compression ratio, a file-size promise, or a universal compatibility layer unless a current measurement supports the claim.

The source format also does not by itself tell a viewer whether a work is public, ready, unlisted, or private. Those are work and visibility states controlled by the product, not properties of the extension.

Choose an input format

Use the file you are authorized to upload and that your authoring or capture tool actually exports:

  • Choose SOG when you already have the delivery representation accepted by the current product.
  • Choose PLY, SPLAT, SPZ, or KSPLAT when that is the source format you have and the current upload form accepts it.
  • Keep the original source and its provenance while the optimization and delivery result is being checked.
  • Do not rename one format to another extension. A filename ending in .ply does not turn a different file into PLY data.

If you need to prepare or submit a file, use the Upload page after signing in with Google. The live form determines the current accepted extensions, size limits, processing state, and retry behavior.

Test a delivered work

After processing or direct delivery completes, open a ready public work from the Explore gallery and test it in the browser. A public work is a useful delivery check because it lets you inspect the detail route and viewer without treating a file extension as evidence that the scene will render everywhere.

For a work you own, check the detail page after the upload path reports that it is ready:

  1. Confirm the work title and source details are the ones you intended.
  2. Let the viewer finish loading before judging the result.
  3. Drag to orbit and scroll to zoom.
  4. Check the detail and embed routes if you plan to share the work.
  5. Record the source format and any visible delivery details with the project notes.

The viewer controls checked on 2026-09-18 UTC were drag-to-orbit and scroll-to-zoom. Recheck the controls, loading behavior, target browsers, and device behavior before publication. Do not infer a frame rate, latency, visual quality, or device guarantee from one successful load.

What the file extension cannot tell you

A format name alone does not establish:

  • whether the file contains a valid or complete scene;
  • whether the author has rights to the scene, people, property, or source material;
  • whether the current product will accept the file or finish optimization;
  • the final delivery size, point count, quality, load time, or browser performance;
  • the visibility state or whether a work is eligible for public discovery; or
  • whether another viewer, editor, or capture tool can open the file.

Keep provenance, permissions, capture context, and the original source with the project. Treat product processing as a separate step from the rights and metadata review.

A practical upload-to-browser workflow

  1. Confirm the source format and that you are authorized to process it.
  2. Preserve the original file and note the source hash or project record if your workflow uses one.
  3. Sign in and upload the file through the current upload form.
  4. Wait for the direct SOG delivery or the optimization-to-SOG path to finish.
  5. Open the ready detail route and test the viewer.
  6. Review title, category, description, cover, and capture fields before changing visibility.
  7. Share a public detail or embed route only after the work is ready and the intended visibility is set.

New uploads remain unlisted until the author makes them public from the dashboard, subject to current product behavior. Unlisted is a discovery state, not a confidentiality or source-protection promise. Do not use a format guide to imply private hosting, secure source storage, or instant deletion from every cache or backup.

When editing and hosting are different jobs

If you are deciding whether an editor-led workflow or a managed browser presentation surface fits your project, read the SuperSplat and splats.ai comparison. That page is a dated product comparison. This guide answers a narrower question: how the currently documented splat inputs map to the splats.ai delivery path. It does not rank editors, viewers, formats, or hosting products.

Troubleshoot format and delivery issues

The upload form rejects the extension. Check the current live accepted-format list and use a source that the form documents. Do not rely on a historical list or rename the extension.

The file uploads but the work is not ready. Check the current processing status and follow the live retry or support path. A completed upload request does not prove that a delivery representation exists.

The viewer result differs from the authoring tool. Compare the source details with the delivered work, and record the difference without calling it a general format property. Optimization and viewer behavior can change.

A work loads for one person but not another.Check the work's current visibility and readiness, then test the target browser and device. Do not infer universal support from one environment.

A public work should not be public. Stop sharing the route and use the current dashboard visibility and approved support or deletion path. The extension cannot revoke a URL or purge every stored copy.

What this guide does not promise

The current format path does not promise:

  • that every PLY, SPLAT, SPZ, KSPLAT, or SOG file will be accepted, optimized, delivered, or rendered;
  • lossless conversion, a specific compression ratio, point count, file size, quality level, latency, or frame rate;
  • support in every external editor, viewer, browser, mobile device, or embedding host;
  • that an upload is private, confidential, rights-cleared, or removed instantly from every cache or backup; or
  • paid-plan enrollment, private hosting, analytics, an API, storage quotas, or an SLA.

Use the live upload form, processing state, ready detail page, and approved product policies as the source of truth.