CRT: Bring Back the 1987 TV Set

> The Short Answer

CRT mode stacks three analog artefacts at once: horizontal scanlines between pixel rows, phosphor bloom that leaks bright pixels into their neighbours, and a slight RGB sub-pixel shift. Scanline is the setting that matters — 0-20% is almost subliminal, 20-60% is the classic television look, and above 60% it starts fighting the image. It works on street photos, night scenes and anything with a visible light source, and fails on detailed text, already-soft images and pure black backgrounds, where bloom has nothing to glow from.

What CRT Does

CRT simulates a cathode ray tube display. Three things happen at once:

Scanlines — horizontal dark stripes between every row of pixels
Phosphor bloom — bright pixels glow into their neighbors
RGB sub-pixel shift — red, green, blue phosphors lit slightly apart

The combined effect is the unmistakable look of analog video, before everything was 4K and surgically sharp. You can test CRT scanlines in your browser on our Texture Studio.

CRT Algorithm Diagram

Why It Works on Photos

Modern photos are too clean. Every pixel is exactly where it should be. CRT adds the imperfection your eye associates with "video" — the artifact set that says this was on a screen, not paper.

Suddenly that bright window becomes a glowing rectangle. Skin tones get a slight color separation. Dark areas pick up a glow. It reads as 1987 instead of 2026, and your brain fills in the rest.

Parameters

Intensity (0–100%)
Master dial. Everything else scales with this.

Scanline (0–100%)

0–20%: faint, almost subliminal
20–60%: clearly visible, classic look
60–100%: aggressive, almost interfering

Bloom (0–100%)
How far bright pixels leak.

Low: clean retro
High: dreamy haze, late-night TV signal

Good Subjects

Street photos: instant Liquid Sky / cyberpunk vibe
Night scenes: bloom does heavy lifting on neon and streetlights
Portraits: phosphor shift on skin = unsettling but stylish
Still life with screens: looks like the photo was also shot on a CRT

What to Avoid

Detailed text: scanlines fight legibility
Already-soft images: bloom on top of bokeh just becomes mush
Pure black backgrounds: nothing to glow, you get scanlines on void

Combinations

CRT + RGB Shift: amplifies the analog feel. Use RGB shift at low intensity, CRT will do most of the work.
CRT + Pixel Sort: melting CRT broadcast. You can stack CRT scanlines with sorting directly in our Pixel Sorting Online tool or experiment in the full Texture Studio.
CRT + ASCII Art: terminal in a terminal. Cursed and beautiful.

The Idea

CRT isn't nostalgia. It's a different optical contract. Pixels become objects instead of math. That's the whole appeal.

> Frequently Asked

What does the CRT effect actually do to a photo?

Three things simultaneously: it draws dark scanlines between rows of pixels, blooms bright pixels outward into their neighbours the way phosphor does, and separates the red, green and blue sub-pixels slightly. Together they read as analog video rather than a printed photograph.

What scanline setting should I use?

Between 20% and 60% for the classic look. Below 20% the effect is nearly subliminal and mostly adds texture. Above 60% the stripes start competing with the subject, which is only worth it when you want the screen itself to be the subject.

Which photos should I avoid using CRT on?

Images with detailed text, because scanlines cut across the letterforms; already-soft or heavily blurred images, where bloom on top of bokeh just turns to mush; and photos on pure black backgrounds, since there is nothing bright for the phosphor bloom to work with.