Effects / Glitch

Glitch VHS

The VHS effect simulates the analog distortion of worn VHS tapes and old CRT monitors. It combines scanlines, color bleeding, noise, and tracking errors for authentic retro video aesthetics.

glitch-vhsFree

Effect ID: glitch-vhs

Example Configuration

glitch-vhs.json

{
  "effectId": "glitch-vhs",
  "glitch": {
    "grain": 0.5,
    "glitchBlocks": 0.5,
    "rgbShift": 0.5,
    "scanlines": 0.3,
    "noise": 0.2,
    "distortion": 0.3
  }
}

Settings

Property	Type	Default	Description
`grain`	number	0.5	Film grain amount (0-2)
`glitchBlocks`	number	0.5	Random block glitch intensity (0-4)
`rgbShift`	number	0.5	Chromatic aberration amount (0-2)
`scanlines`	number	0.3	Scanline visibility (0-2)
`noise`	number	0.2	Noise displacement (0-2)
`distortion`	number	0.3	VHS-style vertical bar distortion (0-2)

Effect Components

The VHS effect combines multiple distortion types:

Scanlines - Horizontal lines simulating CRT display
Color Bleed - RGB channel misalignment from analog signal degradation
Noise - Static/snow from magnetic tape degradation
Tracking - Horizontal displacement simulating tape head misalignment
Jitter - Random horizontal shake from unstable playback

Suggested Presets

Style	Settings
Subtle	intensity: 0.3, scanlines: true, colorBleed: 0.2
Worn Tape	intensity: 0.6, tracking: 0.5, noise: 0.4
Broken VCR	intensity: 0.9, tracking: 0.8, jitter: 0.5

API Usage

render-request.json

POST /api/v1/render
{
  "state": {
    "canvas": {
      "aspectRatio": "16:9",
      "backgroundColor": "#1a1a1a"
    },
    "layers": [...],
    "selectedLayerId": null,
    "effect": {
      "effectId": "glitch-vhs",
      "enabled": true,
      "glitch": {
        "grain": 0.7,
        "glitchBlocks": 0.5,
        "rgbShift": 0.6,
        "scanlines": 0.4,
        "noise": 0.3,
        "distortion": 0.4
      }
    }
  },
  "format": "png",
  "width": 1920,
  "height": 1080
}

Tips

Combine with video layers for animated glitch effects
Lower intensity for subtle vintage feel
High tracking + jitter creates dramatic "bad tape" effect
Works especially well with 4:3 aspect ratio
Add grain post-processing for extra authenticity