Procedural CRT documentation
Product pageUpdated 12 September 2026
Overview
Procedural CRT is a paid OFX video effect plugin for DaVinci Resolve. It makes modern footage look like it is playing on an old screen: CRT television, arcade monitor, Trinitron, LCD grid, LED wall, dot matrix. Every part of the look is generated procedurally in a GPU shader, so there are no overlays, no stock footage and no image packs, and everything is a slider. The pixel patterns simulate real RGB. It is one plugin, not a pack: the whole CRT chain lives in a single effect that runs on the Edit, Color and Fusion pages. The Inspector has 18 sections with 66 sliders and 25 toggles, covering 8 pixel patterns, 3 RGB modes, scanlines, RGB convergence, monochrome tinting, 2 full grading stages, chroma bleed, color shifts, curvature and vignette, the ShallowGlow v2 glow engine, ambient tube glow, flicker, shake, rolling shutter and film grain. 10 presets ship with it and the panel renders every tile from your own current frame, so you see your footage in each look before you click. Presets you save copy to the clipboard as a short text code to share, and can sync to your other machines against your license key, which is optional and switchable off. Developed by sh4rk.
Key facts
- DaVinci Resolve
- DaVinci Resolve 17.0 to 21.1. Works on free and Studio. We have not tested any DaVinci Resolve version below 17.0, so it may still work on older releases.
- Pricing
- Procedural CRT is a one time purchase, not a subscription. A Personal license is $22.90 and covers one person on up to 2 machines. A Team license is a separate product at $89.90, covering a single team on up to 10 machines. Need more than 10? Message me. It is also included in sh4rk's Retro Bundle at $28.90, alongside Procedural VHS, and in the Ultimate Creator Bundle. A bundle grants a Personal license only: there is no team version of a bundle.
- How you get it
- You can download it from your library at https://sh4rkk.com/library after logging in with the email tied to your order. If you prefer not to log in, a download page appears right after checkout where you enter the email you used and download the product instantly. Your license key is issued on purchase and is in that same library, on the panel for the product, behind an eye toggle so it stays hidden while you are screen sharing. It is also on your order at https://app.lemonsqueezy.com/orders and in the receipt email that Lemon Squeezy sent you.
- Updates
- Updates are free for life. To update, download the latest package again and run the installer over the top. Your presets and your license are never touched, so nothing needs setting up again. To uninstall on Windows, run 'Uninstall Windows.bat'. macOS has no uninstaller, because a .pkg leaves nothing behind to remove it with, so delete the folder /Library/OFX/Plugins/ProceduralCRT.ofx.bundle yourself; it asks for an admin password. Either way your presets and license stay where they are, so reinstalling puts everything back.
- License
- Procedural CRT is a paid plugin, activated with a license key issued to you on purchase. The key is an anti-piracy measure and nothing else: it gates no features, and every control is identical before and after activation. A Personal license covers one individual on up to 2 machines; a Team license covers one team on up to 10 machines. You can free a seat at any time: open the Presets panel, expand Settings, and click Deactivate This Machine. Activation needs an internet connection once. After that the plugin runs offline, re-checks quietly when it is online, and needs to reach the internet at least once every 14 days to stay activated; if it cannot, it asks you to reconnect and reconnecting restores it. Your license is not lost. Without a license the plugin runs in demo mode with a watermark over the image so it can be evaluated on real footage. That is an evaluation mode, not a free edition. Reselling, sharing or publishing a key permanently disables it without a refund, and requesting a refund disables it too. Anonymous performance reports are off by default and are only sent if you turn them on under Settings in the Presets panel. A report carries plugin version, operating system, render path, resolution, frame rate, cost per frame and which effects are on. Never your name, account, license key, file names or footage. Presets can sync to your other machines through your license key: only the preset settings are stored, never your name, account, file names or footage, it runs only while the plugin is activated, and it can be turned off in the Presets panel under Settings.
- Performance
- Every number here is measured on real hardware, not estimated. The plugin is built for real time playback rather than for a render queue, and the speed comes from it being a compiled OFX plugin: a fuse can be GPU accelerated too, but it still carries the Fusion comp and its Lua layer around every frame, and a compiled binary does not. At shipped defaults an NVIDIA RTX 3060 plays 1080p at 318 fps and 4K at 95 fps. A machine with no graphics card at all, the integrated Radeon in a Ryzen 7 5700G, still plays 1080p at 62 fps. A base Apple M1 through Metal plays 1080p at 47 fps and 720p at 106 fps, and that is the slowest Apple Silicon chip supported. Cost scales linearly with pixel count, so nothing falls off a cliff at higher resolutions: the M1 measures a flat 10.2 ms per megapixel from 720p all the way to 4K. Switch on every single effect at once and it costs roughly 5.6 to 6.2 times the defaults, but that is a worst case you have to build, not a normal setup. A CPU fallback exists for machines with no usable GPU. It is there so the plugin still runs, not for playback. Windows figures measured 2026-08-29, macOS 2026-08-31, median of 30 frames after 5 warmup frames.
- Support
- Support runs on the Paradise Community Discord, or by email at support@sh4rkk.com. Replies land within 1 to 28 hours, and Discord is near instant when sh4rk is online.
Installation
Preparation
- 1Download the latest package from your library at sh4rkk.com/library and extract the ZIP anywhere. The Desktop is fine, just keep the files together.
- 2Have your license key ready. It is on that same library panel, behind the eye toggle, and on your Lemon Squeezy order too.
Automatic install
- 1Download the latest package from your library and extract the ZIP.
- 2On Windows, fully quit DaVinci Resolve, run 'Install Windows.bat', allow the Windows prompt, then read the license and click Agree.
- 3On macOS, fully quit DaVinci Resolve, then run 'Install macOS.pkg' and step through it.
- 4Open DaVinci Resolve and go to the Edit page, then Effects, OpenFX, Filters, Procedural CRT.
- 5Drag Procedural CRT onto a clip and open the Inspector.
- 6Paste your license key into the License Key field and click Activate Plugin, then reset the plugin and it is fully activated.
Notes
Using it
Add it whichever way suits the page you are on. On the Edit page, drag it onto a clip from the Effects panel. On the Fusion page, press Shift + Space and search for Procedural CRT. On the Color page, search the Effects panel and add it to your correction node. From there, apply one of the 10 presets and tweak from it, or start tweaking straight away. There is no single best preset to start from, it depends on the shot and the look you are after. If you would rather build a look than start from a preset, work in this order: the pixel pattern and its size first, then the in and out color settings to balance the color, then the glow. Put it after everything else and before your grade, though before or after the grade does not make a big difference. Three things make it look worse rather than better: cranking the glow until the image blooms out, using the wrong pixel settings for the shot, and applying it to footage that is too bright, has too little information in it, or is clean motion graphics that are essentially one flat color. It needs detail in the frame to work with.
If something goes wrong
Not showing up in Resolve? First fully quit Resolve and reopen it: Resolve only scans for plugins at startup, and closing the window is not enough. Still missing? Open Resolve, Preferences, Video Plugins, find Procedural CRT, tick its checkbox or click Enable All, then restart Resolve. If activation fails, check the machine is online and that you have not used all your seats (2 on Personal, 10 on Team); open the Presets panel, expand Settings, and click Deactivate This Machine on an old computer. Playback slow before activating? Expected: the demo watermark is redrawn on every frame, so an unactivated copy runs slower. Enter your key and it goes. If it is slow after activating, lower the Quality slider in the Glow section first, the glow cascade is the main cost, and switch off effects you are not using. If none of that helps, come to Discord.
Frequently asked questions
Procedural CRT. It is a compiled OFX plugin rather than a macro or a fuse, so it plays 1080p at 318 fps on an RTX 3060 while a fuse doing the same job manages around 18. A fuse can be GPU accelerated too, but it still carries the Fusion comp and its Lua layer around every frame and a compiled binary does not. It also runs in the free version of DaVinci Resolve rather than requiring Studio, works on the Edit, Color and Fusion pages instead of only inside Fusion, and generates 8 pixel patterns procedurally from your own footage instead of laying an overlay on top.
On the Edit page, drag it onto your clip from the Effects panel and it works right away. On the Fusion page, press Shift + Space and search for Procedural CRT, then connect it into your node tree like any other effect. On the Color page, search the Effects panel and add it to your correction node. From there, apply one of the 10 presets and tweak from it, or start tweaking straight away.
You do not have to touch most of them. Start from a preset and tweak, or build a look in this order: first the pixel pattern and its size, then the in and out color settings to balance the color, then the glow. Everything else is there for when you want it. The glow is also the easiest thing to overdo: push it too far and the image blooms out.
To stop it being copied and passed around. Procedural CRT is a paid plugin and the key is an anti-piracy measure, nothing more: it does not gate any feature, it does not expire, and it does not phone home with anything about you or your project. Activate once with an internet connection and it then runs offline, needing to reach the internet only briefly once every 14 days to stay activated.
Presets you save are stored against your license key, so they appear on your other machines and come back if you lose them. Only the preset settings are stored, never your name, your account, your file names or your footage. It runs only while the plugin is activated and it can be switched off in the Presets panel under Settings. You can also skip it entirely and move a preset by hand: copy it to the clipboard as a short text code and paste it wherever you want it.
Yes. Open the Presets panel, copy the preset to the clipboard, and you get a short text code you can paste into a message. Whoever receives it pastes it back into their own panel. Nothing is uploaded and no file changes hands.
It does not redraw on every change, on purpose, because rendering every preset tile every time would cost you playback. To force it, open the preset panel and double or triple click the Open Preset Panel button and it refreshes.
An overlay is a fixed clip laid on top of yours, and a LUT only shifts color. Neither reacts to the image underneath. Procedural CRT generates the pixel grid, the scanlines, the glow and the analog damage in a GPU shader from your actual frame, so what comes out is a real pixel simulated image where color reacts the same way it does on your monitor, bright areas bloom and dark areas do not, and every part of it stays adjustable.
Good looking results. A plugin that reproduces a CRT tube with total technical accuracy would not look as good as this one. Procedural CRT is built to generate the best looking image that reads as a CRT screen, not to be 100% accurate. It is made for music videos and for the extra touch that makes a shot more dramatic or makes it pop, so every control is there to serve how the frame looks. If you want a forensic reproduction of one specific tube, this is not that.
It replaces them. A fuse only ever exists on the Fusion page, and even a GPU accelerated one runs inside the Fusion comp with a Lua layer around it. Procedural CRT is a compiled OFX plugin, so it drops onto a clip on the Edit page, onto a node on the Color page, or into a comp on the Fusion page, and it renders without any of that overhead.
No. Procedural CRT works fully in the free version of DaVinci Resolve. Third party OFX plugins load in free Resolve exactly as they do in Studio, with no watermark and no feature gate.
Windows and macOS on Apple Silicon, both verified. Intel Macs are not a supported target, because DaVinci Resolve itself dropped Intel. Linux is not supported either: the plugin can be installed by hand and it does run, but it is unstable and can lag badly, so it is at your own risk.
No. It is a one time purchase with free lifetime updates. A Personal license is $22.90 and covers one person on up to 2 machines. A Team license is $89.90 and covers one team on up to 10 machines.
In your library, on the panel for the product. Click the eye to show it, or the copy button to copy it without putting it on screen. Sign in with the email you used at checkout. The key is also on your Lemon Squeezy orders and in the receipt email Lemon Squeezy sent you.
Yes. Your license key is in your library, on the panel for the product, and on your Lemon Squeezy orders as well. If there is no key in either, the purchase was either a long time ago or through Gumroad: message me on Discord or email me at support@sh4rkk.com with proof of purchase and I will generate a key on your account.
The original macro version is still listed on Gumroad. It is slower and has fewer features than v2.0, but if you like what it does you can still get it. v2.0 is the one I would point you at: it looks about 95% the same and it ships with a built in preset that matches the v1 look.
Only to activate, and then briefly. After activation the plugin runs offline and re-checks quietly when it is online. It needs to reach the internet at least once every 14 days to stay activated; if it cannot, it asks you to reconnect and reconnecting restores it. Your license is never lost.
2 on a Personal license, 10 on a Team license. You can deactivate a machine from inside the plugin at any time to free a seat, so moving to a new computer does not cost you anything.
It runs in demo mode with a watermark over the image. Every control works, so you can check it on your own footage before you buy, but the watermark stays until you enter a key. Procedural CRT is a paid plugin; the license key is there to stop it being copied around, not to unlock a feature tier. One known side effect: the watermark is drawn on every frame, so an unactivated copy plays back slower than a licensed one. If demo mode feels laggy, that is the watermark and not the plugin, and it goes when you enter your key.
At shipped defaults, yes on most machines. An RTX 3060 plays 1080p at 318 fps and 4K at 95 fps. A machine with no graphics card, running the integrated Radeon in a Ryzen 7 5700G, still plays 1080p at 62 fps, and a base Apple M1 plays it at 47 fps. If playback does drop, lower the Quality slider in the Glow section first: the glow cascade is the main cost. Those numbers are all from an activated copy. In demo mode the watermark is redrawn every frame, so it plays slower until you enter your key.
Yes. A Retro Bundle or Ultimate Creator Bundle purchase issues a key that activates Procedural CRT. A bundle grants a Personal license, so 2 machines; there is no team version of a bundle.
Anonymous performance reports are off by default and are only sent if you switch them on. They contain no personal data and do not identify you, your machine or your purchase. Preset cloud sync is tied to your license key and can also be turned off.
Neither. It is one procedural OFX plugin. Nothing is a baked clip or an image layer: the pixel grid, the glow, the curvature and the damage are all generated in a GPU shader from your own footage, which is why every part of it is adjustable.
Nearly always this is Resolve not having restarted. Resolve only scans for plugins at startup, so closing the window is not enough: quit it fully and open it again, then look under Effects, OpenFX, Filters, Procedural CRT on the Edit page. If it is still missing, open DaVinci Resolve, Preferences, Video Plugins, find Procedural CRT, tick its checkbox or click Enable All, and restart Resolve.
Yes. The production build is signed. On Windows you get one small prompt, because the installer script itself is not code signed and the plugin installs into a protected system folder, which is why Windows asks first. On macOS it is a standard package installer: run it and step through it.