Hi 
I will try to make some TV Borders from good screens of 4:3 TVs.
Can anyone explain how to make the tv screen on the picture transparent… Or how is this working with these Borders?
Maybe there is already a guide for?
Thanks 
Greetz
There are 2 main ways to do it: overlay or border shader. In either case, you just need to make a png image with a transparent square in the middle for the game to show through.
I would recommend starting with overlay, since they’re easier to work with. There are already some bezel/border overlays, so just overwrite one of those png images with your own.
Nice this is easy 
Thank you hunterk !
So I could take any PNG image and just cut out the middle (using PS or something) and Retroarch will know where to place the video? Is there a specific size the hole has to be, or a common pixel measurement I should try to stick to? Thanks!
RetroArch will always place the video in the center, so you need your hole to be there. You can, however, use the custom viewport options to move it around and/or resize it as necessary. Most people use the borders with integer scaling, which is ~1280x960 for a 1080p screen. This may change a little, though, depending on whether you use ‘crop overscan’ and/or a shader that does screen curvature, etc. The best thing is just to play around with it.
It’s difficult to find a really nice high resolution image of a TV to use since it has to at least be the native resolution of your display to look good. I was never able to find a picture I really liked in at least 1080p.
Anyway, the middle part that you cut out kinda depends and what core you are going to use it with. It’s best to setup your game exactly how you want it first, such as aspect ratio, integer scaling off or on, and if you will be using geometry like a curved screen, etc. Then you take a screenshot of a game playing, this way you can match up that screen to where the hole needs to be in the tv image.
Since I doubt i can get it dead center, I’m guessing i’d use the custom viewport settings. Is that the x, y values (-1, 0, 1) i’ve seen near the integer scaling options? I thought i played with that and it didn’t seem to change anything. Integer scaling simply locks the resolution to common resolutions, correct?
ATM, I’m currently focusing on NES/SNES using the BSNES and Nestopia cores, with Solid12345’s retro TV shaders that have the curved effect. I’m trying to make it look as close to an 80’s tv as possible, and am kinda picky If i could find a border that had a classic tv that looked similar to what i’ve used, i would just use that. There doesn’t seem to be many options out there, which is surprising. Is there some mega-pack out there that i could download to pick from?
Where do i adjust the curvature? In the shader’s config file somewhere? Sorry, I’m a noob but this has become my new favorite hobby! Thanks guys.
Best way to make sure your overlay fits perfectly is to make a print screen of a game running at your desired resolution and than use it as a guide.
Try searching for “CRT TV” or try to find a TV that you like and than search for the type or model. For example you can try searching for Sony Trinitron. And set image size to large.
Thanks for the reply. I’m planning on taking a pic of an old TV to use as the template. Basically if I can manage to get the screen dead center, cut out the screen, and convert to a PNG, I should be good? I would use a screen cap as a guide, but am looking out for any “gotchas” that I’m not aware of. Maybe it’s just beyond my crude Photoshop skill level anyway I’m assuming it can’t be easy since there aren’t many out there.
Is there a way to make one image more transparent so I can line up the TV pic and my screenshot and essentially use them like one would use tracing paper?