CRTme
Physics-based CRT display simulation. Real phosphor masks, electron beam physics, analog signal chains, and temporal phosphor decay. Not just stacked filters.
Included with the Filmit Studio - $20/month for every tool
Filter Stacking Chaos
Getting a convincing CRT look requires 10+ stacked effects: scanlines, glow, barrel distortion, color shift, noise, blur, vignette. Fragile, slow, and impossible to version.
No Real Physics
Scanline overlays are just dark bars. Real CRT scanlines have gaussian beam profiles where brightness affects line width. No existing plugin models this.
Inconsistent Results
Every project starts from scratch. No standard for "1985 VHS look" vs "arcade cabinet" vs "broadcast monitor." Each artist reinvents the wheel differently.
Phosphor Mask Modeling
Three real mask types: shadow mask, aperture grille (Trinitron), and slot mask. Generated as actual tiled textures at your comp's resolution.
Electron Beam Physics
Gaussian beam profile scanlines with brightness-dependent bloom. Bright pixels widen the beam. Dark areas show crisp separation. Edge defocus increases from center to corners.
Analog Signal Chain
Four signal formats: RF, Composite, S-Video, and Component/RGB. Each with physically accurate degradation: dot crawl, color bleed, noise, and ghosting.
Temporal Phosphor Decay
Per-channel persistence with accurate P22 decay rates. Green persists longest, blue decays fastest. Creates the characteristic warm motion smear of real CRTs.
12 Era-Accurate Presets
From 1975 Arcade Cabinet to Sci-Fi HUD. Each preset configures all 7 pipeline stages to match a specific real-world CRT type. Customize from there.
Expression-Linked Controls
Every parameter is expression-linked to a control null. Change values in the panel, see results instantly in your comp. No re-generation needed for tweaks.
Three real mask geometries.
CRTme generates the actual phosphor mask pattern as a tiled texture at your comp's resolution. Each mask type produces a fundamentally different subpixel structure, not just a color overlay.
- Shadow mask: circular RGB triads in hexagonal grid
- Aperture grille: vertical phosphor stripes (Trinitron)
- Slot mask: rectangular RGB groups in brick pattern
- Adjustable pitch, intensity, and blur per mask type
Four input formats, four looks.
Different input signals produce radically different image quality on a CRT. CRTme models the actual bandwidth and artifact characteristics of each format, not just a "more noise" slider.
- RF: dot crawl, rainbow fringing, multipath ghosting
- Composite: color fringing, ~330 lines resolution
- S-Video: clean luma, separated chroma, ~420 lines
- Component/RGB: full bandwidth, CRT artifacts only
Scanlines that actually behave.
Real scanlines aren't binary on/off. The electron beam has a gaussian intensity profile where the center is brightest and edges fade smoothly. Bright content causes the beam spot to widen into adjacent lines.
- Gaussian beam profile with smooth falloff
- Brightness-dependent bloom (bright = wider beam)
- Edge defocus from curved beam sweep path
- Beam current sag on bright frames (AGC simulation)
Per-channel decay, like real P22.
Real CRT phosphors have different decay rates per color channel. Green persists longest (~1.5ms), red is medium (~1ms), blue decays fastest (~0.5ms). This creates the characteristic warm smear on motion that makes CRTs feel "alive."
- Independent R/G/B decay rate controls
- Calibrated P22 phosphor defaults
- Halation from internal glass light scattering
- Configurable bloom radius and threshold
Open the Panel
Install via the Filmit Studio. Launch After Effects. CRTme appears under Window → Extensions.
Choose Preset or Customize
Pick from 12 era-accurate presets (Arcade Cabinet, VHS Tape, Broadcast Monitor) or dial in every parameter manually.
Generate Pipeline
One click creates a self-contained precomp with the full CRT signal chain. Tweak parameters live via expression-linked controls.
CRTme models the actual physics of CRT displays: phosphor mask geometry, gaussian beam profiles, per-channel phosphor decay, and analog signal degradation. Most CRT effects just overlay dark bars and call them scanlines. CRTme generates a 7-stage pipeline that simulates how a real cathode ray tube renders images.
Yes. Every parameter is expression-linked to a control null layer. Change a value in the panel and all pipeline layers respond instantly via expressions. You only need to re-generate if you switch mask type or signal format.
Each of the 12 presets models a specific real-world CRT display type: 1975 Arcade Cabinet, 1982 Living Room TV, 1985 VHS Tape, 1988 Broadcast Monitor, 1990 PC CRT, 1993 Console TV, 1998 Security Camera, 2002 Flat CRT, plus stylized presets for Broken TV, Green Phosphor, Amber Terminal, and Sci-Fi HUD.
The generated pipeline uses native AE effects (Gaussian Blur, Optics Compensation, Echo, etc.) which are GPU-accelerated. You can also bypass individual pipeline stages via the panel to reduce render load during editing.
Yes. $20/month gets you every Filmit tool, overlay, and course.