Hey there!
Yeah, vertical smoothing can be a bit problematic, so you can use some shaders instead of the first stock shaders in the preset.
I’m getting decent results with blurs/sharpsmoother.slang combined with dithering/jinc deditherer. Otherwise can you cambine ‘pre-shaders’ with downsampling too.
To a degree, new (negative value) bloom and halation do some general smoothing, but you usually need more intense masks for a good look.
Composite is not necessarily blurry or soft in my opinion, VHS hooked up through composite is relatively soft and blurry though. I prefer the sharper, cleaner image. The second looks out of focus to me and that might bother my eyes if I were to try to play using those settings. Maybe you can try focusing on the slight colour blending/mixing/fringing aspects to achieve your composite look, while leaving the sharpness as intact as possible or at least cutting back quite a bit on the blur that was demonstrated in the second pic for the best of both worlds.
This is just my opinion, I don’t think what you did is wrong or bad in anyway. Great job and look on this preset! Kudos to @guest.r as well!
Is it possible to add the overscan option also to the fast presets? Or would it slow down the shader? (It’s kinda hard to imagine that it would though.)
Will be added in the next release. Also need to fix some things…
New Release Version (2022-01-27-r1):
Notable changes:
Download link:
https://mega.nz/file/gkwiQKhK#MxdXdvGjjsCDuXjZ9hn2UvKGCl1FNMofxOCk8r431tQ
I also created a preset which utilizes recently added features. I guess it should go nicely with 16-bit systems, as it prefers a richer color environment.
shaders = "12"
shader0 = "shaders_slang/crt-guest-advanced/shaders/guest/advanced/stock.slang"
filter_linear0 = "false"
wrap_mode0 = "clamp_to_border"
mipmap_input0 = "false"
alias0 = ""
float_framebuffer0 = "false"
srgb_framebuffer0 = "false"
scale_type_x0 = "source"
scale_x0 = "1.000000"
scale_type_y0 = "source"
scale_y0 = "1.000000"
shader1 = "shaders_slang/crt-guest-advanced/shaders/guest/advanced/stock.slang"
filter_linear1 = "false"
wrap_mode1 = "clamp_to_border"
mipmap_input1 = "false"
alias1 = "StockPass"
float_framebuffer1 = "false"
srgb_framebuffer1 = "false"
scale_type_x1 = "source"
scale_x1 = "1.000000"
scale_type_y1 = "source"
scale_y1 = "1.000000"
shader2 = "shaders_slang/crt-guest-advanced/shaders/guest/advanced/afterglow0.slang"
filter_linear2 = "false"
wrap_mode2 = "clamp_to_border"
mipmap_input2 = "false"
alias2 = "AfterglowPass"
float_framebuffer2 = "false"
srgb_framebuffer2 = "false"
scale_type_x2 = "source"
scale_x2 = "1.000000"
scale_type_y2 = "source"
scale_y2 = "1.000000"
shader3 = "shaders_slang/crt-guest-advanced/shaders/guest/advanced/pre-shaders-afterglow.slang"
filter_linear3 = "false"
wrap_mode3 = "clamp_to_border"
mipmap_input3 = "true"
alias3 = "PrePass"
float_framebuffer3 = "false"
srgb_framebuffer3 = "false"
scale_type_x3 = "source"
scale_x3 = "1.000000"
scale_type_y3 = "source"
scale_y3 = "1.000000"
shader4 = "shaders_slang/crt-guest-advanced/shaders/guest/advanced/avg-lum.slang"
filter_linear4 = "true"
wrap_mode4 = "clamp_to_border"
mipmap_input4 = "true"
alias4 = "AvgLumPass"
float_framebuffer4 = "false"
srgb_framebuffer4 = "false"
scale_type_x4 = "source"
scale_x4 = "1.000000"
scale_type_y4 = "source"
scale_y4 = "1.000000"
shader5 = "shaders_slang/crt-guest-advanced/shaders/guest/advanced/linearize.slang"
filter_linear5 = "true"
wrap_mode5 = "clamp_to_border"
mipmap_input5 = "false"
alias5 = "LinearizePass"
float_framebuffer5 = "true"
srgb_framebuffer5 = "false"
scale_type_x5 = "source"
scale_x5 = "1.000000"
scale_type_y5 = "source"
scale_y5 = "1.000000"
shader6 = "shaders_slang/crt-guest-advanced/shaders/guest/advanced/gaussian_horizontal.slang"
filter_linear6 = "true"
wrap_mode6 = "clamp_to_border"
mipmap_input6 = "false"
alias6 = ""
float_framebuffer6 = "true"
srgb_framebuffer6 = "false"
scale_type_x6 = "absolute"
scale_x6 = "800"
scale_type_y6 = "source"
scale_y6 = "1.000000"
shader7 = "shaders_slang/crt-guest-advanced/shaders/guest/advanced/gaussian_vertical.slang"
filter_linear7 = "true"
wrap_mode7 = "clamp_to_border"
mipmap_input7 = "false"
alias7 = "GlowPass"
float_framebuffer7 = "true"
srgb_framebuffer7 = "false"
scale_type_x7 = "absolute"
scale_x7 = "800"
scale_type_y7 = "absolute"
scale_y7 = "600"
shader8 = "shaders_slang/crt-guest-advanced/shaders/guest/advanced/bloom_horizontal.slang"
filter_linear8 = "true"
wrap_mode8 = "clamp_to_border"
mipmap_input8 = "false"
alias8 = ""
float_framebuffer8 = "true"
srgb_framebuffer8 = "false"
scale_type_x8 = "absolute"
scale_x8 = "800"
scale_type_y8 = "absolute"
scale_y8 = "600"
shader9 = "shaders_slang/crt-guest-advanced/shaders/guest/advanced/bloom_vertical.slang"
filter_linear9 = "true"
wrap_mode9 = "clamp_to_border"
mipmap_input9 = "false"
alias9 = "BloomPass"
float_framebuffer9 = "true"
srgb_framebuffer9 = "false"
scale_type_x9 = "source"
scale_x9 = "1.000000"
scale_type_y9 = "source"
scale_y9 = "1.000000"
shader10 = "shaders_slang/crt-guest-advanced/shaders/guest/advanced/crt-guest-advanced.slang"
filter_linear10 = "true"
wrap_mode10 = "clamp_to_border"
mipmap_input10 = "false"
alias10 = ""
float_framebuffer10 = "false"
srgb_framebuffer10 = "false"
scale_type_x10 = "viewport"
scale_x10 = "1.000000"
scale_type_y10 = "viewport"
scale_y10 = "1.000000"
shader11 = "shaders_slang/crt-guest-advanced/shaders/guest/advanced/deconvergence.slang"
filter_linear11 = "true"
wrap_mode11 = "clamp_to_border"
mipmap_input11 = "false"
alias11 = ""
float_framebuffer11 = "false"
srgb_framebuffer11 = "false"
scale_type_x11 = "viewport"
scale_x11 = "1.000000"
scale_type_y11 = "viewport"
scale_y11 = "1.000000"
CS = "2.000000"
TNTC = "1.000000"
WP = "-75.000000"
wp_saturation = "1.150000"
SIZEHB = "3.000000"
SIGMA_HB = "0.750000"
SIZEVB = "3.000000"
SIGMA_VB = "0.750000"
bloom = "0.900000"
halation = "0.100000"
gamma_c = "1.500000"
brightboost = "1.000001"
brightboost1 = "1.000000"
gsl = "2.000000"
scanline1 = "4.000000"
scanline2 = "10.000000"
beam_min = "2.799999"
beam_max = "0.775000"
beam_size = "0.750000"
scans = "1.650000"
scan_falloff = "0.650000"
spike = "1.500000"
h_sharp = "3.000002"
s_sharp = "1.000000"
sth = "0.300000"
csize = "0.115000"
bsize1 = "0.300000"
warpX = "0.040000"
warpY = "0.050000"
shadowMask = "6.000000"
maskstr = "0.900000"
mask_gamma = "2.399999"
mclip = "0.000000"
gamma_out = "2.200000"
deconrry = "1.250000"
deconrby = "-1.250000"
decons = "1.400000"
textures = "SamplerLUT1;SamplerLUT2;SamplerLUT3;SamplerLUT4"
SamplerLUT1 = "shaders_slang/crt-guest-advanced/shaders/guest/advanced/lut/trinitron-lut.png"
SamplerLUT1_linear = "true"
SamplerLUT1_wrap_mode = "clamp_to_border"
SamplerLUT1_mipmap = "false"
SamplerLUT2 = "shaders_slang/crt-guest-advanced/shaders/guest/advanced/lut/inv-trinitron-lut.png"
SamplerLUT2_linear = "true"
SamplerLUT2_wrap_mode = "clamp_to_border"
SamplerLUT2_mipmap = "false"
SamplerLUT3 = "shaders_slang/crt-guest-advanced/shaders/guest/advanced/lut/nec-lut.png"
SamplerLUT3_linear = "true"
SamplerLUT3_wrap_mode = "clamp_to_border"
SamplerLUT3_mipmap = "false"
SamplerLUT4 = "shaders_slang/crt-guest-advanced/shaders/guest/advanced/lut/ntsc-lut.png"
SamplerLUT4_linear = "true"
SamplerLUT4_wrap_mode = "clamp_to_border"
SamplerLUT4_mipmap = "false"What does it do? 
Especially when using greater range between Scanline Shape Dark Pixels and Scanline Shape Bright Pixels parameters it can be now controlled how quick they are getting thinner.
For example, the ‘dark thinning’ can be very narrow now, but if the Scanline Falloff parameter is adjusted/decreased, the general coverage of the screen is still good enough.
This is just one example of the usage, the parameter can be used to achieve scanline beam dynamics which previously eluded control of the user.
If anyone is interested, the crt-guest-advanced-hd preset with the following options gives really great results in DOS games, both for VGA (200p/240p) as well as SVGA (400p/480p), at least with my 1440p display. I think 1080p users are out of luck?
#reference "../../shaders/crt-guest-advanced/crt-guest-advanced-hd.slangp"
interm = "0.000000"
bloom = "0.100000"
halation = "0.025000"
brightboost = "1.100000"
shadowMask = "3.000000"
maskDark = "0.800000"
maskLight = "1.200000"
A posted some screenshots in this post.
I have a 4k HDR tv that has a pretty high peak brightness. I used mask 6 at 90% strength. I’m not sure what to expect as I never had a 50 inch CRT.
At 4k you can use last two masks, depending if you dot matrix is RGB or BGR. For some color-play and beam dynamics you can definitely play a bit with deconvergence and scanline saturation. Adding slotmask with the 4x1 setting could also be interesting. Also mask 4.0… 
At mentioned resolution tweaking looks a bit different (=more viable options). I’m also sure that mega bezel shines on a large 4k display.
BTW is mask 8 supposed to be left at mask size 1 for 4k? 
Mask 8 looks nice with size 1.0 at 1080p, so it would look more or less similar with 4k and size 2.0.
color temp -50
glow 0.05
scanline beam 6-10
scanline dark 1
scanline bright 0.8
scanline fall off 0.50
mask 6
mask strength 0.5
sharpness 4.5
Not far from my Trinitron. Still blue has somehow more intense scanlines than green there. And is brighter than shown here.
@guest.r have a look at these
while on my shader
vec4 saturation (vec4 textureColor)
{
vec3 luminanceWeighting = vec3(0.28, 0.54, 0.18);
float luminance = dot(textureColor.rgb, luminanceWeighting);
vec3 greyScaleColor = vec3(luminance);
vec4 res = vec4(mix(greyScaleColor, textureColor.rgb, SATURATION),1.0);
return res;
}
......
main()
.....
....
color = saturation(color);
shows
Yeah, i’m using different luma coefficients, which decrease blue’s influence by like 2.5x compared with your setup.
It’s (0.2126, 0.7152, 0.0722) vs. (0.28, 0.54, 0.18).
There’s basically no right or wrong here, but i might promote blue to 0.11.
It was the same but i adjusted them so they are displayed properly on grayscale lol.
Mask 11 works out for my BGR TV. 9 has no mask no matter what scale I put it at.
It’s fun to crank up the masks to near 100 percent and still have everything bright and vibrant. Mask 4 is very nice as well: (Snaps of my HDR TV)
Seems the real relationship is something like .4, .5, .1
From real Sony Trinitron. Then it’s strange how magenta is almost equal to cyan lol. What the hell lol. As per my measurements light is exponentially raised.if luminance is below 0.5 then it emits much less light e.g. 0.3 is 0.2 or something
Lame method to compensate
vec4 saturation (vec4 textureColor)
{
float lum=length(textureColor.rgb)*0.5775;
vec3 luminanceWeighting = vec3(0.4,0.5,0.1);
if (lum<0.5) luminanceWeighting.rgb=(luminanceWeighting.rgb*luminanceWeighting.rgb)+(luminanceWeighting.rgb*luminanceWeighting.rgb);
float luminance = dot(textureColor.rgb, luminanceWeighting);
vec3 greyScaleColor = vec3(luminance);
vec4 res = vec4(mix(greyScaleColor, textureColor.rgb, SATURATION),1.0);
return res;
}
Or that could be wrong too lol.
