Minitooler

Video to 3D: Create Gaussian Splats and 3D Models in Your Browser

Turn video of an object into an interactive 3D Gaussian splat or export a textured GLB model. Processed privately on your device—no uploads or signups.

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What people use it for

  • Explore a textured collectible or handmade object from different angles.
  • Try a small product capture before planning a more detailed shoot.
  • Keep an explorable record of a sculpture or craft project.
  • Export a scene for a compatible Gaussian splat viewer.

What kind of video makes a useful 3D capture?

Choose a still object with visible surface detail, such as a patterned ornament, textured sculpture or handmade item. Move the camera slowly around it, keeping neighbouring views overlapping. A clear, consistent background and steady lighting help; motion blur, changing zoom, cuts and moving subjects make reconstruction less reliable. Glass, mirrors and highly polished surfaces are difficult starting points.

The result represents the appearance captured by your camera, including parts of the surroundings. This is not automatic object cutout, a guaranteed product scan or a professional room-scanning service. Try a small capture first and inspect it from several angles before relying on the result.

Is a Gaussian splat the same as a 3D mesh?

No. A splat uses many soft, coloured points to reproduce a captured scene. It can look photographic from well-covered angles, but it is not a solid surface model for CAD, 3D printing or mesh editing. Splats download as PLY or compressed SPZ, and a separate experimental Beta can build a textured GLB mesh from the same finished scene — a rough, photo-textured approximation rather than a clean engineered model. Open splats in software that specifically supports Gaussian splats.

What runs locally, and what does Pro change?

Your video, sampled frames, scene preparation and exports stay on your device. Supporting software downloads when needed, including a roughly 70 MB first-use download from an external host. That host must be available, but it does not receive your video. Some preparation and recovery data is kept in this browser, not in your account; download important results because browser storage can be cleared.

Guests get 3 daily runs across tools. A verified free account raises this to 5 total, including guest runs already used. Pro removes the daily allowance; it does not unlock a different reconstruction engine or remove hardware constraints. Both plans offer the same finish options, PLY/SPZ splat exports and the experimental GLB Beta. Selecting a video and previewing progress do not spend a run.

Why start on a capable computer?

Creating a scene needs supported graphics hardware, an updated desktop Chrome or Edge browser and available browser storage. There is no slower processor-only creation fallback. Phones, tablets and older computers may not be able to start, or may run out of resources. There is no fixed 10 MB source-video cap here: a playable video is read locally, but decoding, sampled frames and scene creation still need memory and disk space. More time or a larger source does not guarantee a better result.

For existing captures, the Gaussian Splat Compressor can reduce a PLY file. To prepare a shorter source recording, use the Video Cutter.

How it works

  1. 1

    Choose a steady object video

    Film slowly around one stationary, textured object. Keep it in view with overlapping angles, consistent lighting and no zoom changes or cuts. Choose a short clip your desktop browser can play.

  2. 2

    Choose a finish and create

    Start with Quick look for a small test, or choose Recommended or Best detail. Keep the tab open while the scene takes shape. You can pause and continue in the same session, or stop and keep the current result.

  3. 3

    Explore and download

    Rotate the finished preview and check the captured angles. Save PLY or the smaller SPZ when available, or try the experimental GLB Beta export. The first scene download counts as one daily run; another format or recovered download of the same scene does not count again.

Frequently asked questions

How do I film an object for a 3D splat?
Keep the object still and walk slowly around it. Use overlapping views, sharp focus and consistent lighting. Avoid zoom changes, edits, moving subjects, glass and very shiny surfaces. Start with one small textured object rather than a whole room.
Which browsers and devices can create a scene?
Use an updated desktop Chrome or Edge browser on a capable computer with supported graphics hardware and browser file storage. The tool checks compatibility and explains when creation is unavailable. Phones and tablets are not reliably supported, and there is no processor-only creation fallback.
What are the Free and Pro limits?
Guests get 3 daily runs across tools; verified free accounts get 5 total, preserving runs already used. Pro has unlimited daily runs. Both plans include the same finish choices, PLY/SPZ splat exports and the experimental GLB Beta. There is no fixed source-file size or maximum video-duration cap, but the browser must decode the recording and have enough graphics memory and storage. Advanced settings offer up to 256 sampled frames and 30,000 improvement steps on both plans.
When does a scene use a daily run?
Available runs are checked before creation. One run is charged on the first PLY, SPZ or GLB download of a scene. Downloading another format or recovering and downloading that same scene again does not charge another run. Creating a different scene is a new job, even when it uses the same source video.
Is my video uploaded anywhere?
No. Your video, sampled frames, reconstruction and exports stay on your device. Supporting software is downloaded from Minitooler and an external host; your video is not sent to either. External software availability is required for first use.
Can I export a GLB 3D model?
Yes, as an experimental Beta. After a scene finishes, Download GLB opens a box crop around the original splat; choose Standard or Refined (slower, not always better) and build a photo-textured mesh you can inspect before downloading. It uses the photos and camera positions saved during creation, so it needs the finished scene in the same browser — an imported PLY alone is not enough. Expect possible holes, rough edges and unphotographed surfaces. Scale is arbitrary rather than real-world measurements, the crop is a box rather than automatic cutout, and it needs a capable desktop computer. Check the model before 3D printing or marketplace use.
How long does creation take?
It depends on your computer, the capture and the finish settings. First use also downloads supporting software. Start with Quick look and a small test. Higher coverage and longer improvement settings can take substantially longer without fixing missing angles or poor footage.
Can I pause, stop or cancel?
Pause holds scene improvement so you can continue while this tab remains open. Stop keeps the available result. Cancel ends the current job. After reloading, saved previews or completed results may be recoverable, but the interrupted improvement process cannot resume.
Can I recover a scene after closing the page?
If this browser still has the saved data, you can recover a saved preview or completed scene and download it. Previous preparation can also be reused. This is local browser storage, not account cloud storage, and it can be evicted or cleared. Save important PLY/SPZ files to your device.
Why is the result blurry or missing parts?
The camera may not have covered those angles clearly, or the subject, lighting or zoom changed. Thin details, reflections, plain surfaces and motion blur are difficult to reconstruct. Film again with sharper overlapping views; longer processing cannot recover information the video never captured.