Master CRT Shaders & Handheld LCD Filters Guide
Stop playing 90s classics with razor-sharp blocky pixels. Discover how modern CRT aperture grilles, phosphor bloom, and GBA sub-pixel grids restore the nostalgic warmth intended by original game artists.
Interactive Shader Comparison Demo
Click the modes below to see how scanlines and phosphor masks transform pixel art.
Authentic CRT Scanline Rendering Active (Shadow Mask V2)
Ranked RetroArch Shaders for Handhelds
Choose the optimal shader based on your handheld chipset power score:
crt-royale
(Photorealistic CRT (Trinitron Aperture Grille))True museum-grade Sony PVM look with phosphor glow, dynamic bloom, and authentic glass reflection.
High-End (Snapdragon 865+, Odin 2, Steam Deck)
Recommended For:PS1, SNES, Genesis, Saturn on 1080p OLED screens
crt-geom
(Lightweight CRT with Curvature)Classic arcade cabinet look with adjustable corner roundness and clean horizontal scanlines.
Mid-Range (Dimensity 1100, Unisoc T820 / T618)
Recommended For:Arcade MAME, Neo Geo, CPS2, Capcom fighting games
crt-hyllian
(Ultra-Fast Scanline Filter)Sharp integer scanlines without muddying text or colors. Zero frame drops on cheap chips.
Budget Linux (Allwinner H700, RK3566, Miyoo Mini)
Recommended For:Anbernic RG35XX SP, Miyoo Mini Plus, TrimUI Smart Pro
lcd3x (Handheld Package)
(Authentic LCD Pixel Grid)Simulates the physical sub-pixel spacing of the original Game Boy Advance and WonderSwan screens.
Any Handheld (Negligible GPU load)
Recommended For:GBA, Sega Game Gear, Neo Geo Pocket
gameboy-pocket / dmg-shader
(Dot-Matrix Phosphor Simulation)Recreates the iconic greenish-yellow 4-shade LCD ghosting and dot matrix grid of 1989.
Any Handheld
Recommended For:Original Game Boy (GB) classics (Pokemon Red, Tetris)
How to Apply Shaders in RetroArch (3 Steps)
Open Quick Menu
While playing any game, press your Quick Menu shortcut (usually Hotkey + X or the physical Menu button). Scroll down to Shaders.
Load Shader Preset
Toggle Shaders to ON. Select "Load", navigate to shaders_slang > crt, and choose crt-geom.slangp or crt-hyllian.slangp.
Save Core Preset
Go back to Shaders, tap "Save", and choose "Save Core Preset". Now every SNES or PS1 game will automatically launch with this shader applied!
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Why do 2D retro games look pixelated or blurry on a modern 1080p OLED screen?
Retro consoles like the SNES and PS1 output at 240p designed for analog CRT televisions, where the electron beam created natural horizontal scanlines that smoothed out rough pixel edges. When stretched onto a sharp flat-panel LCD/OLED display, raw pixels appear harsh and jagged unless smoothed by a CRT or LCD shader.
Q: Can an Allwinner H700 or Miyoo Mini Plus run heavy CRT shaders?
Budget handhelds lack the shader ALU horsepower to run complex multi-pass shaders like crt-royale (which will drop frame rates down to 25 FPS). However, they run single-pass shaders like crt-hyllian, crt-pi, or lcd3x at locked 60 FPS without breaking a sweat.
Q: What is the difference between Integer Scaling and Bilinear Filtering?
Bilinear filtering blurs pixels to stretch them to full screen, creating a vaseline-smeared look. Integer scaling multiplies pixels by exact whole numbers (e.g. 3x or 4x), preserving razor-sharp pixels and authentic scanline spacing.
Q: How do I save a shader permanently for all games on a specific console in RetroArch?
Load your game in RetroArch, press your Hotkey + Menu button, go to Shaders > Load Shader Preset, pick your favorite filter, then go to "Save" and select "Save Core Preset". This ensures every game for that console boots with your preferred shader automatically.