Hi everyone,
I’m running into an issue with loading certain PLY files in
Point File In POP (and Point File In TOP) on TouchDesigner 2025.32460.
The problem appears to depend on a specific combination of TouchDesigner
build and NVIDIA driver version, so I wanted to report it in case
others have seen something similar.
Issue
PLY files exported from iPhone-based 3D scanning apps fail to load in
TouchDesigner 2025.32460 after a recent NVIDIA driver update.
- I have confirmed the issue with PLY files exported from both
Scaniverse and Polycam (two separate iOS 3D scanning apps). - Point File In POP: node does not turn red, no error in Textport,
but data is empty (0 points loaded). - Point File In TOP: outputs “Warning: Failed to open file:
Error opening PLY file.”
Standard built-in sample PLYs (e.g., the banana PLY shipped with
TouchDesigner) load without any issue. The problem is specific to
PLY files generated by these scanning apps.
What’s interesting: it depends on the build/driver combination
I have observed the following pattern:
| TouchDesigner build | NVIDIA driver | Scanned PLY load |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | older driver | FAIL |
| 2025.32460 | older driver | SUCCESS |
| 2025.32460 | 32.0.15.9155 (new) | FAIL |
So the issue isn’t purely a TouchDesigner bug or purely a driver bug —
it seems to be a compatibility issue between specific combinations
of the two, possibly related to how the PLY parser handles
non-standard or app-specific PLY structures.
What I’ve checked
- The PLY files themselves are not corrupted: MeshLab opens them
correctly without errors. - Restarted TouchDesigner and the PC — no change.
- Tested PLY files placed in different folders
(inside/outside OneDrive sync) — no change. - Tried both Point File In POP and Point File In TOP — both fail
on the same files. - Confirmed with PLY exports from two different iOS scanning apps
(Scaniverse and Polycam), so the issue is not specific to one app.
My environment
- TouchDesigner: 2025.32460 (Official build)
- OS: Windows 11, Version 23H2 (Build 22631)
- Device: Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio (1st generation)
- GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Laptop GPU (4 GB VRAM)
- NVIDIA Driver: 32.0.15.9155 (591.55), DCH, signed by
Microsoft Windows Hardware Compatibility Publisher - Driver source: Microsoft-distributed Surface firmware/driver package
(SurfaceLaptopStudio_Win11_22631_26.040.2269.0.msi)
Source of PLY files
- Scaniverse (iOS app) — binary PLY export
- Polycam (iOS app) — binary PLY export
- Scanning device: iPhone 13, iOS 18.4
(no LiDAR sensor, so the scans are photogrammetry-based)
Timeline
- Two days ago: updated TouchDesigner from 2023 to 2025.32460.
Scanned PLY loading worked correctly for the first time. - Two days ago (later): installed the Surface firmware/driver package
from Microsoft Download Center, which included a new NVIDIA driver. - Today: re-opened the same .toe file. Scanned PLYs no longer load,
but the built-in banana PLY still works.
Additional notes
- The “Roll back driver” option in Device Manager is grayed out,
so reverting the driver via Windows is not possible. - Microsoft does not seem to provide archived versions of this specific
Surface package for the 22631 build. - I can share sample PLY files (from both apps) if it would help
with reproduction.
If anyone has experienced something similar, or has suggestions on
how to debug this further, I’d be very grateful. Happy to provide
more information or test files.
Thanks in advance!