Getting Started

This page covers everything you need to install RVZStudio and convert your first disc image.

System requirements

RVZStudio's primary engine is the built-in RVZSharp library (pure managed code). DolphinTool from the Dolphin Emulator project is used as a fallback conversion/verification engine when available, and 7za (7-Zip) is the fallback archive extractor. 7za ships with every release package; DolphinTool ships with the Windows packages and can be added manually on Linux/macOS.

Helper executable names

RVZStudio locates the helper tools next to the application binary. The expected file names are:

Installation

Windows

1. Download release_<version>_win-x64.zip or release_<version>_win-arm64.zip from the Releases page.
2. Extract the archive to a permanent folder (avoid running directly from an archiver's temporary folder).
3. Run RVZStudio.exe.

Linux

1. Download release_<version>_linux-x64.zip or release_<version>_linux-arm64.zip.

2. Extract the archive, for example:

   mkdir -p ~/apps/RVZStudio
   unzip release_2.5.0_linux-x64.zip -d ~/apps/RVZStudio
   cd ~/apps/RVZStudio
   chmod +x RVZStudio 7za*
   ./RVZStudio
   

3. Optionally create a desktop entry or launcher for RVZStudio.

macOS

1. Download release_<version>_osx-x64.zip or release_<version>_osx-arm64.zip.

2. Extract the archive and run the binary:

   mkdir -p ~/Applications/RVZStudio
   unzip release_2.5.0_osx-arm64.zip -d ~/Applications/RVZStudio
   cd ~/Applications/RVZStudio
   chmod +x RVZStudio 7za*
   ./RVZStudio
   

3. If macOS Gatekeeper blocks the unsigned binaries, allow them in System Settings → Privacy & Security or remove the quarantine attribute:

   xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine .
   

Tip: RVZStudio automatically adds the execute permission to the bundled helper tools when it can. If your extraction tool stripped permissions, the manual chmod above is all you need.

First launch

When RVZStudio starts it performs three checks:

1. Dependencies — it checks whether the platform-specific DolphinTool executable exists in the application folder and reports the result. DolphinTool is optional: when it is missing the native RVZSharp engine still handles conversion, extraction and verification, and the log notes that the fallback is unavailable.
2. Update check — the application queries GitHub for the latest release and logs whether a newer version is available.
3. Usage statistics — an anonymous launch statistic is sent to the developer's stats service. Network failures are ignored silently.

Logs are written to:

Quick start: convert a folder of disc images

1. Open the Convert to RVZ tab.
2. Click Browse… next to Input Folder and select the folder containing your game files, or drag the folder onto the file list.
3. Click Browse… next to Output Folder and select an empty folder for the RVZ files. The output folder must be different from the input folder and cannot be nested inside it.
4. (Optional) Expand Compression Settings and choose the compression method, level and block size. The defaults — zstd, level 5, block size 128 KB — are a good balance of speed and size.
5. Ensure the files you want are checked in the list, then click Start Conversion.

Progress is shown in the status bar, the two progress bars and the statistics cards. When the batch finishes, a summary dialog reports how many files succeeded and failed.

Next steps

• Learn every screen in the User Guide.
• Tune output size and speed with the Settings Reference.
• If something goes wrong, see Troubleshooting.