BVH to TAR Converter
Processing entirely on your device — large files may take a moment.
TAR preserves the exact file tree and permissions that Linux tooling expects. If your files are still in BVH format, this page is the shortcut: BVH is the motion-capture skeleton format: a text hierarchy of joints with rotation channels and per-frame keyframes. It carries no mesh — only the skeleton and its animation.
This converter runs entirely in your browser using WebAssembly — your files never leave your device, nothing is uploaded, and there are no watermarks, sign-ups or queues. Drop in several files at once to convert them as a batch.
How to convert BVH to TAR
- 1
Select your files
Select your BVH file — it never leaves your device.
- 2
Convert instantly
The engine packs the file, byte for byte, into a TAR container — no re-encoding, no quality change.
- 3
Download results
Download the finished TAR archive.
About the BVH format
BVH (Biovision Hierarchy) is motion capture in plain text: a joint hierarchy with rotation channels, followed by a MOTION block of per-frame values. It carries no mesh — which is exactly why it converts cleanly into glTF skeletons and animations.
The converted glTF carries the bone hierarchy and the animation clip, so a mocap take drops straight into three.js, Unity or Blender and can be retargeted onto any character.
+Strengths
- ✓Human-readable mocap standard
- ✓Clean glTF skeleton mapping
- ✓Decades of free mocap libraries
!Limitations
- −No mesh — needs retargeting to a body
- −Euler rotation gimbal quirks
- −Scale conventions vary per studio
About the TAR format
TAR (tape archive) is Unix's fifty-year-old answer to bundling: it concatenates files with headers into a single stream, preserving POSIX permissions, ownership and symlinks — but compressing nothing. It is the container half of the classic .tar.gz pairing and the native format of Linux source trees and backups.
Being pure bundling, TAR pairs with a compressor: gzip (the classic), bzip2, zstd. Alone, a TAR is the same size as its contents. Windows 10+ ships bsdtar, so even Windows can unpack it now — permissions aside, where NTFS has no room to be faithful.
+Strengths
- ✓Preserves Unix permissions and symlinks
- ✓Streamable: works over pipes and tapes
- ✓The standard of Linux distribution and backup
!Limitations
- −No compression by itself
- −No built-in encryption
- −Permissions meaningless on Windows filesystems
Why convert BVH to TAR?
Think of it as moving your file to the container that fits the job. No mesh — needs retargeting to a body TAR works differently: Preserves Unix permissions and symlinks If any of that sounds like your task, run the conversion — it takes seconds and nothing leaves your device.
Frequently asked questions
Is this BVH to TAR converter really free?
Yes — completely free, with no sign-up, no watermark and no daily conversion limits. The site is supported by advertising.
Are my files uploaded to a server?
No. The conversion runs entirely inside your browser using WebAssembly, so your files never leave your device — that is what makes it instant and private.
Does it work on Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android?
Yes. Anything with a modern browser works: Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and iOS. No software installation is required.
Will my model look the same as a GLB?
Geometry, hierarchy and standard materials convert faithfully. Note that Draco-compressed GLB files and exotic extensions are not supported — export those as plain GLB from your original tool first.
Will my TAR model keep its colors and textures?
Only if TAR can store them. Geometry converts faithfully; appearance data survives only when the target format has a place to put it. For full materials, GLB is usually the right target.
How large can the BVH file be?
Everything runs on your device, so memory is the only ceiling. Dense meshes with millions of triangles convert fine on a desktop computer, just over a slightly longer coffee break.