CRT
Render CRT curvature, phosphor masks, convergence error, beam bloom, scanlines, and glass glare.
Add CRT
Open an image or build the source composition first. Put this effect after the content it should process in stack processing order. Choose Optics → Display → CRT in the effects picker, or search for CRT with Cmd/Ctrl + F. Select the new layer in Layers to open its Effect Panel.
Build the tube
Set Curvature and Overscan for the screen shape, then choose Mask and tune Mask Pitch or Pitch for its visible structure.
Tune the signal
Adjust Scanline Intensity, Beam Width and Convergence before adding Bloom, Glare or Vignette. View at full quality to judge fine mask patterns. Animate supported controls in Video or Live when adding changing signal motion.
Set an individual colour
Click the relevant colour swatch to open its picker. Colors and Palettes explains colour values, transparency and the canvas sampling controls where available.
Compare and finish
Toggle the layer eye to compare with the incoming composition. Use the Effect Panel footer for opacity and blend mode, or add a mask to limit the affected area. In Video or Live, use the function menu on a supported control to add keyframes or a driver.
Control reference
Show individual controls
| Control | What it does | Values and animation |
|---|---|---|
| Beam Width | Changes the width of each bright scan beam relative to its spacing. | 0% to 100% Default: 50% Continuous keyframes |
| Bloom | Adds a glow extracted from bright screen pixels. | 0% to 200% Default: 30% Continuous keyframes |
| Bloom Radius | Sets how far the extracted screen glow spreads. | 0 to 100 %; 1 to 2000 px (typed input: 1 to 8000) Default: 0.4 % Continuous keyframes |
| Saturation | Controls how much source color remains in the screen glow. | 0% to 200% Default: 100% Continuous keyframes |
| Soft Knee | Softens the transition into the screen-glow threshold. | 0% to 100% Default: 15% Continuous keyframes |
| Threshold | Chooses how bright a pixel must be to contribute to screen glow. | 0% to 100% Default: 55% Continuous keyframes |
| Tint | Tints the extracted screen glow. | Colour Default: #FFFFFF Colour keyframes |
| Center X | Horizontal centre point for radial modes. | 0 to 1 Default: 0.5 Continuous keyframes |
| Center Y | Vertical centre point for radial modes. | 0 to 1 Default: 0.5 Continuous keyframes |
| Chroma Angle | Rotates the colored interference pattern. | 0° to 360° Default: 45° Continuous keyframes |
| Highlights | Restricts colored interference to the brighter parts of the picture. | 0% to 100% Default: 35% Continuous keyframes |
| Chroma Saturation | Controls the color strength of the chroma interference. | 0% to 200% Default: 30% Continuous keyframes |
| Chroma Size | Sets the spatial scale of the colored interference. | 0 to 20 %; 1 to 500 px (typed input: 1 to 2000) Default: 8 % Continuous keyframes |
| Chroma Moiré | Highlight-gated RGB interference independent of the phosphor mask | 0% to 100% Default: 0% Continuous keyframes |
| Convergence | Separates the red, green and blue image alignment to imitate CRT convergence error. | 0 to 20 %; 1 to 500 px (typed input: 1 to 2000) Default: 0 % Continuous keyframes |
| Corner Radius | Rounds the visible CRT tube corners. | 0% to 50% Default: 6% Continuous keyframes |
| Curvature | Bends the image outward or inward to imitate CRT tube geometry. | 0% to 100% Default: 25% Continuous keyframes |
| Glare | Adds the simulated glass reflection over a CRT tube. | 0% to 100% Default: 0% Continuous keyframes |
| Intensity | Mixes the complete simulated display with the original picture. | 0% to 100% Default: 100% Continuous keyframes |
| Mask Angle | Rotates the second luminance screen relative to the phosphor mask. | 0° to 360° Default: 90° Continuous keyframes |
| Mask Moiré | Angle a second luminance screen across the phosphor mask | 0% to 100% Default: 0% Continuous keyframes |
| Mask Pitch | Sets the spacing of the second luminance screen crossing the mask. | 0 to 20 %; 1 to 500 px (typed input: 1 to 2000) Default: 0.6 % Continuous keyframes |
| Pitch | Sets the spacing of the repeating phosphor mask. | 0 to 20 %; 1 to 500 px (typed input: 1 to 2000) Default: 0.5 % Continuous keyframes |
| Mask Strength | Controls the visibility of the CRT phosphor or subpixel mask. | 0% to 100% Default: 50% Continuous keyframes |
| Mask | Selects the arrangement of simulated phosphors or subpixels. | Aperture Grille / Shadow Mask / Slot Mask / Vertical Pills / Quad Aperture / Brick Subpixels / Luma Matrix Default: Aperture Grille Not keyframeable |
| Overscan | Zooms the picture into the tube, cropping its outer edges. | -90% to 50% Default: 0% Continuous keyframes |
| Persistence | Pulls a shifted copy of the CRT bloom downward to simulate phosphor afterglow; this is a spatial glow, not stored frame history. | 0% to 100% Default: 0% Continuous keyframes |
| Scanline Intensity | Controls how strongly the gaps between simulated scan beams darken the picture. | 0% to 100% Default: 40% Continuous keyframes |
| Seed | Selects a repeatable realization of the display noise and damage. | 0 to 9999 Default: 0 Discrete keyframes |
| Vignette | Darkens the edges of the CRT tube. | 0% to 100% Default: 30% Continuous keyframes |