Retroized · Overlay vs shader
OpenEmu · RetroArch · Steam
CRT overlay vs emulator shaders
A slang preset lives inside one emulator window. A live overlay is a layer on the display. Pick one CRT. Do not run both.
| OpenEmu / RetroArch shader | Retroized overlay | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it lives | Inside that emulator | On the display, over whatever is there |
| Steam / video / editor | No — different app, no slang | Yes, same overlay |
| Install | Slang / HUD filter in the emulator | Mac app, Screen Recording permission |
| Play path | The game window is the tube | Virtual display 2, or click-through on the laptop |
Use the in-emulator CRT if you only ever play in that one window and you already like CRT-Royale, Guest, or OpenEmu’s built-in look. Use an overlay when you want the same tube on OpenEmu and Steam, or when you want named living-room / PVM / arcade looks without packaging slang.
If you run Retroized, set the emulator to nearest-neighbor (no CRT, no scanlines). Two masks and two curves on the same pixels is mud.
Retroized is not ShaderGlass and not a RetroArch core. Same job as ShaderGlass: live shader on top of the screen. People looking for a CRT emulator usually mean this overlay, not a new SNES core. ShaderGlass for Mac explains the Windows app and how the Mac play setup differs from a frozen glass window.