CRT and glitch effect
Break the signal on purpose
Drop a clip or photo and a CRT shader takes over: tracking distortion, block glitches, scanlines and tube curvature. Export a flawless MP4.
What is the scanline effect?
Scanline is the broken-broadcast look: VHS tracking bands crawl up the frame, colors fringe apart, compression blocks tear across the picture, and thin CRT lines sweep over everything. It turns clean digital footage into something that feels taped, re-taped and half-lost.
zlabz runs the whole effect as a GPU shader in your browser. Analog, digital and CRT layers each have their own dials, glitch surges hit on a cycle you control, and six presets from subtle wear to full signal collapse get you there in one click. Photos work too: a still becomes an animated glitch loop.
How it works
Four steps to the broadcast look
Drop in a clip or photo
MP4, MOV, WebM, JPG or PNG up to 150MB. A demo clip is already glitching when you arrive, so you can explore before you upload.
Pick a preset
Full, Analog, Digital, Subtle, VHS or Matrix. Each one is a complete look you can then pull apart dial by dial.
Tune the damage
Tracking speed, chroma fringe, block coverage, tube curvature, vignette, noise and scanlines all repaint the preview live.
Export a flawless MP4
Every frame renders offline at its exact timestamp, so nothing drops. Videos keep their original audio.
Why zlabz
Built to beat the other glitch tools
Plenty of tools draw scanlines. The difference shows up when you press export.
How the alternatives stack up
Artkit Scanline
The original browser tool this mode is measured against. Solid shader look, but export captures the live preview in real time and still-image export sits behind a paywall.
ASCII Magic
Fun browser toy for VHS and CRT stills and clips with quick one-click styles. Less dial-level control over the individual glitch layers.
Effect.app CRT Screen
Clean CRT screen simulation for images and videos with bloom and glow. More display emulation than glitch: no tracking surges or block tearing.
After Effects templates
Endless template packs with full manual control, if you own the license and the render time. Heavy for a look you want out today.
Feature notes reflect the public versions of these tools as of July 2026. All names belong to their owners. Try them and compare the exports yourself.
Made for every feed
The broken-signal look reads instantly on any platform.
Music visuals
Run album art or performance footage through full signal collapse for synthwave and phonk edits.
Retro gaming content
Give gameplay captures and thumbnails the tube-monitor look they were born for.
Horror and analog aesthetics
Found-footage intros, haunted broadcasts and VHS tapes that should have stayed lost.
Meme edits
Caught in 4K, then degraded to 480 lines. The glitch sells the joke.
Titles and transitions
Open on a glitching still, surge the signal, then cut clean to your content.
VJ loops
Turn any photo into a looping analog-noise texture for live sets and installations.
Questions, answered
Is the scanline effect free?
Yes. Every preset and dial is free. Generating uses free daily credits, and free exports carry a small watermark you can remove with Pro.
Do I need to install anything?
No. The shader, preview and export all run in your browser. Your file never uploads to a server, it stays on your device.
Can I use a photo instead of a video?
Yes. Drop a JPG or PNG and the effect animates over it. The export becomes a looping MP4 whose length follows your glitch cycle.
Does the exported video keep its audio?
Yes. The original track is decoded and rendered into the export in full sync. You can switch it off if you want a silent file.
Why does my export look better than other tools?
Most browser glitch tools record their own preview in real time, so heavy scenes drop frames. zlabz renders every frame offline at its exact timestamp before encoding.
How long can my clip be?
Up to 30 seconds per export at up to 150MB. Longer uploads are trimmed to the first 30 seconds automatically.
Ready to lose the signal?
Open the editor and the demo is already glitching. Drop your clip and export in minutes.
Try Scanline free