Vray or Thea - Which one to recommend?

ark

I've been trying both Thea and Vray, and can see pro/cons for both renders... but I don't have a lot of experience in visualization.

Which render plugin can you recommend?

Pixero

I would say Thea.
In my opinion it is the best integrated renderer for SketchUp.
They have been working on version 2 for a long time and it will hopefully be ready soon.
Vray for SketchUp used to be really buggy. The latest version is a lot better but it's not faster than Thea so I'll stay with it and see what version 2 will bring.

ark

@pixero said:

I would say Thea.
In my opinion it is the best integrated renderer for SketchUp.
They have been working on version 2 for a long time and it will hopefully be ready soon.
Vray for SketchUp used to be really buggy. The latest version is a lot better but it's not faster than Thea so I'll stay with it and see what version 2 will bring.

Thanks
Version 2?! sounds interesting

I can see a new Thea for Sketchup plugin is on it's way too... with full control of materials like Vray - but of course I don't know when it's going to be ready

juju

@pixero said:

I would say Thea.
They have been working on version 2 for a long time and it will hopefully be ready soon.

There was a post by Thomas somewhere (unsure if I saw it on the Thea forum or here) in the region of February 2017 that they're busy with the new version 2 and (as per the my recollection) from the wording implied that it wouldn't be long until release. I purchased Thea late February 2017 with this in mind, but here we are almost a year later...

I'd say if you already have Thea, stick to it for as long as you can bare it; as Pixero pointed out it is probably one of the better / faster / more versatile rendering apps for SketchUp out there at the moment, but whatever lead they may have had in the arena has probably run out.

ark

@juju said:

@pixero said:

I would say Thea.
They have been working on version 2 for a long time and it will hopefully be ready soon.

There was a post by Thomas somewhere (unsure if I saw it on the Thea forum or here) in the region of February 2017 that they're busy with the new version 2 and (as per the my recollection) from the wording implied that it wouldn't be long until release. I purchased Thea late February 2017 with this in mind, but here we are almost a year later...

I'd say if you already have Thea, stick to it for as long as you can bare it; as Pixero pointed out it is probably one of the better / faster / more versatile rendering apps for SketchUp out there at the moment, but whatever lead they may have had in the arena has probably run out.

Hmm... that's what I fear too... I used Thea render years ago, but I can see not much has happend since. I don't have a licence and price isn't a problem, so I have to find out which one to buy
But I can see Thea is still faster then Vray ...though I miss fur

Stinkie

Thea’s a fine app. It’s hybrid rendering mode (GPU + CPU) is blazing fast. It’s been over a year, though, since the latest version of the core app, Thea Studio, was released. Since then, the developers have gone shtum. Questions about Thea’s development remain unanswered, promises about forthcoming news turn out empty.

VfSU’s development used to be abysmal. It’d take ages until bugs got sorted, if at all. However, that has changed since Chaos Group took over. Today, the app’s development is going strong. Vray may be a little slower than Thea, currently, but I have no doubt whatsoever that’ll change. Over the course of the years, Vray (not just VfSU) has only gotten better, and easier to use.

From my perspective, going with Vray looks like the safest bet, at the moment.

ark

@stinkie said:

Thea’s a fine app. It’s hybrid rendering mode (GPU + CPU) is blazing fast. It’s been over a year, though, since the latest version of the core app, Thea Studio, was released. Since then, the developers have gone shtum. Questions about Thea’s development remain unanswered, promises about forthcoming news turn out empty.

VfSU’s development used to be abysmal. It’d take ages until bugs got sorted, if at all. However, that has changed since Chaos Group took over. Today, the app’s development is going strong. Vray may be a little slower than Thea, currently, but I have no doubt whatsoever that’ll change. Over the course of the years, Vray (not just VfSU) has only gotten better, and easier to use.

From my perspective, going with Vray looks like the safest bet, at the moment.

Yes... maybe you’re right

I wrote to Thea contact today (I couldn’t post on the forum because I’m not a licensed user) asking about the new sketchup plugin and if I have to pay for upgrading to V2 when coming if I buy now.
I got a reply only some hours later (quite fast ) of course without news beyond what’s on the website regarding the new plugin. But I have to pay for upgrading from V1.x to V2

If they reply that fast someone must be at work... maybe working on exciting things to come

Stinkie

Well ... in the end it all comes down to the question which app you enjoy using the most. Try extensively, and then follow your gut.