TL;DR
Open the Ouster PCAP Inspector, choose your PCAP and its matching sensor metadata JSON, then inspect the recording diagnostics and step through the 3D frames. You can load the two files together or in either order.
No installation or login is required. Local recordings are processed in your browser without being uploaded to Klar3D.
1. Find the PCAP and matching sensor JSON
You need both the packet recording and the sensor metadata saved for that capture. The JSON supplies the packet profile, beam calibration, scan geometry, ports, and active column window used to reconstruct the cloud. A PCAP alone does not provide everything the inspector needs.
Keep the original pair together. If you received only the PCAP, ask the person who recorded it for the corresponding metadata rather than substituting JSON from a different sensor or configuration.
2. Open the recording
Choose or drop the PCAP and JSON. A ZIP containing exactly one PCAP and a valid sensor JSON candidate is also accepted. For archived PCAP entries above 2 GB, select the PCAP and JSON separately: ZIP extraction materializes the archived capture, whereas separate PCAP files retain range-based reading.
Allow the inspector to index the recording before interpreting the frame count or moving through it.
3. Review packet and frame health
Inspect the reported packet totals, complete and incomplete frames, missing or duplicate columns, skipped frame IDs, malformed packets, and truncated capture records.
The first and last frames can be partial simply because capture began or ended during a scan. Incomplete frames inside the recording deserve a closer look. These diagnostics show what is present in the file; they do not by themselves prove whether a problem originated at the sensor, network, or recording computer.
4. Preview and step through the cloud
Use the frame controls to move to a region of interest, play the recording, or inspect adjacent scans. Fit the cloud in the preview and check whether the geometry looks plausible for the scene.
Compare a frame flagged by the diagnostics with its neighbours. The compact preview is limited to 500,000 points for responsiveness. A sparse preview alone is not evidence that the capture lost packets.
5. Save a useful sample
When you have identified the relevant frames, choose PCD or LAZ output. Start with one frame to verify the result before preparing a larger range. Follow the Ouster PCAP to LAZ or PCD tutorial for the export workflow and ZIP options.
Supported captures and limits
This inspector supports classic Ethernet/IPv4/UDP PCAP with the fixture-verified Ouster LEGACY profile. Specified Rev8 RGB single- and dual-return layouts have provisional support based on source documentation and synthetic tests; representative real captures still need validation. Rev8 geometry currently uses the first return.
PCAPNG, other sensor families, unsupported packet layouts, IP fragmentation, and motion compensation are outside this workflow. For ROS 2 recordings containing PointCloud2 messages, use the separate MCAP guide.
For other local formats, explore the Klar3D Point Cloud Converter or browse all tutorials.