<p><strong>SEG-D is a specialized format, while SEG-Y is a general-purpose format.</strong></p>

<p>In general, SEG-D is intended for field recordings of seismic data, and SEG-Y is intended for 'seismic data exchange'. Having said this, SEG-Y is so general-purpose, and so ubiquitous, that I'm not surprised to hear (anecdotally) that people are using it for data acquisition. Certainly, the recent release of Revision 2 — which allows for high sample rates, variable trace lengths, long records, and large files — facilitates this.</p>

<p>As an interpreter, I use SEG-Y all the time, whereas I've never come into contact with SEG-D. Thus, I don't know enough about it to go into any detail, but a quick look over the SEG-D specification suggests it has better support for describing receivers, channels, sources, and including things like observer logs. Which is what you'd expect in an acquisition format.</p>

<p>SEG's formats are notoriously, er, flexible. So converting directly between the two formats may or may not be possible, depending on which fields have been used, and the lengths to which you're prepared to go to 'adapt' the target format to your use case. The usual way to convert, as it were, would be to process (i.e. demux, sort, image, and maybe stack) the field data in the SEG-D file(s), and write out one or more SEG-Y files.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

<p><strong>References</strong></p>

<ul>
<li><a href="https://seg.org/Portals/0/SEG/News%20and%20Resources/Technical%20Standards/seg_d_rev3_1-oct2015.pdf" rel="noreferrer">SEG-D Rev 3.1 description</a>, SEG Technical Standards Committee, 2015.</li>
<li><a href="https://seg.org/Portals/0/SEG/News%20and%20Resources/Technical%20Standards/seg_y_rev2_0-mar2017.pdf" rel="noreferrer">SEG-Y Rev 2.0 description</a>, SEG Technical Standards Committee, 2017.</li>
</ul>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-02-14T17:55:48.823Z
Just to elaborate a bit on the use of the SEG-D format: It's commonly produced as raw data from sensors, with no source data applied. As a survey tech, I normally deal with Seg-D, then the QC department processes this into Seg-Y for delivery.
Jarmund
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-01-04T19:50:21.587Z
2018-01-04T19:50:21.587Z
Matt Hall
<p>What is the difference between a segd recorded data and a segy recorded data and can we convert from segd to segy and vice versa?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-09-14T07:14:42.683Z
Maybe with this tool: http://users.chariot.net.au/~witek/segd2segy.htm
daniel.heydebreck
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-09-15T03:44:26.117Z
You can also try Seismic Unix SEGDREAD I had success with that.
user2821
<geophysics><seismology><seismic><data-formats><field-measurements>
SEGD and SEGY recorded data
Kunal Rathod
# SEGD and SEGY recorded data

(Asked by: username_0 on 2017-09-14)

What is the difference between a segd recorded data and a segy recorded data and can we convert from segd to segy and vice versa?

**Tags:** geophysics, seismology, seismic, data-formats, field-measurements

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Maybe with this tool: http://users.chariot.net.au/~witek/segd2segy.htm  
> **username_2**: You can also try Seismic Unix SEGDREAD I had success with that.  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_3 on 2018-01-04. Score: 8 | Accepted answer

**SEG-D is a specialized format, while SEG-Y is a general-purpose format.**

In general, SEG-D is intended for field recordings of seismic data, and SEG-Y is intended for 'seismic data exchange'. Having said this, SEG-Y is so general-purpose, and so ubiquitous, that I'm not surprised to hear (anecdotally) that people are using it for data acquisition. Certainly, the recent release of Revision 2 — which allows for high sample rates, variable trace lengths, long records, and large files — facilitates this.

As an interpreter, I use SEG-Y all the time, whereas I've never come into contact with SEG-D. Thus, I don't know enough about it to go into any detail, but a quick look over the SEG-D specification suggests it has better support for describing receivers, channels, sources, and including things like observer logs. Which is what you'd expect in an acquisition format.

SEG's formats are notoriously, er, flexible. So converting directly between the two formats may or may not be possible, depending on which fields have been used, and the lengths to which you're prepared to go to 'adapt' the target format to your use case. The usual way to convert, as it were, would be to process (i.e. demux, sort, image, and maybe stack) the field data in the SEG-D file(s), and write out one or more SEG-Y files.

Good luck!

**References**

* [SEG-D Rev 3.1 description](https://seg.org/Portals/0/SEG/News%20and%20Resources/Technical%20Standards/seg_d_rev3_1-oct2015.pdf), SEG Technical Standards Committee, 2015.
* [SEG-Y Rev 2.0 description](https://seg.org/Portals/0/SEG/News%20and%20Resources/Technical%20Standards/seg_y_rev2_0-mar2017.pdf), SEG Technical Standards Committee, 2017.

> **Comments:**
> **username_4**: Just to elaborate a bit on the use of the SEG-D format: It's commonly produced as raw data from sensors, with no source data applied. As a survey tech, I normally deal with Seg-D, then the QC department processes this into Seg-Y for delivery.  

---

