Fantastic H3 Reference Splitter

If you're already routing your reference media through the Fantastic H3 Prompt Builder, you can stop reading right now. Fantastic H3 Reference Splitter exists for exactly one situation: you want H3 reference media to reach the native node without going through the Prompt Builder - say, you keep the builder off to one side, or you just want a lean graph for a reference-to-video test.

The node takes the single H3_REFS bundle - the one the Media Loader emits - and fans it out into individual picture, video, video-audio, and audio slots that plug straight into MiniMax H3 Reference to Video. The Media Loader even has a button that adds one, already wired, so you never have to hunt for the node type in the menu.

How it works

A references bundle is the loader's list of media items, grouped by kind. The splitter unpacks that list and pads each group out to its maximum: nine pictures, three videos, three video-audios, three audios. Slots with nothing behind them pass through empty and the native H3 node skips them. Slot order matches the tags the Prompt Builder would show, which is the important bit: video_audio_2 is the soundtrack of video_2, not a random third thing.

The one input

references (H3_REFS) - from the Media Loader's references output, or from the Prompt Builder's own references passthrough if you're reusing one bundle across two pipelines. That second route is worth knowing: it means the builder can gate what media flows to a ref2va side without you rewiring anything.

The outputs

picture_1…picture_9, video_1…video_3, video_audio_1…video_audio_3, audio_1…audio_3 - wire these to the matching slots on the native node. One gotcha from the pack's own FAQ: the native node's slots start at 0 while the pack's start at 1, so picture_1 goes to ref_image_0. Keep them in the same order and don't cross the streams - a soundtrack on an audio slot that expects a picture will just error.

Install

It ships in the Fantastic H3 Prompt Builder pack. ComfyUI Manager, search "Fantastic H3 Prompt Builder", or:

cd ComfyUI/custom_nodes
git clone https://github.com/Adudeguyman/ComfyUI-Fantastic-MiniMaxH3-PromptBuilder

Restart ComfyUI fully (a refresh isn't enough) and find it under conditioning → video_models. Needs ComfyUI 0.30.0+ and the H3 ref2va checkpoint; the only Python dependency is PyAV, which ComfyUI core already requires.

When to skip it

Honestly, most people never need this node. The Prompt Builder's own references output plus its per-slot pass-throughs already get media where it needs to go, and routing through the builder is what gives you thumbnails and tag previews while you write. The splitter is the light-touch alternative for when you want the loader's ordering and previews but none of the prompt machinery - and nothing more than that.