Support

Phosphors CRT Support

A physical-phosphor CRT simulator for macOS.

Get help

The fastest answers are built in: open Phosphors and choose Help ▸ Phosphors Help for a full walkthrough of every display type, setting, recording option and keyboard shortcut, plus a troubleshooting section and FAQ.

Contact

Still stuck, found a bug, or have a feature request? Email sdevq@icloud.com and include:

• Your macOS version
• Your Mac model (Phosphors requires Apple silicon)
• What you were doing and what happened

Requirements

• macOS 15.6 or later on an Apple silicon Mac (M1 or later)
• 8 GB of memory minimum; 16 GB or more recommended for 4K rendering

Common questions

A video won't open.

If QuickTime Player or Preview also refuse it, the codec isn't supported. Transcode to ProRes or H.264 first. Image sequences and RAW aren't supported either; render them to a single ProRes file.

I can't see the phosphor pattern.

At 1× Pattern Scale the pattern is drawn as fine as the picture allows, which on most panels below 5K is finer than the eye resolves at a normal viewing distance, exactly as on a real tube. Raise Pattern Scale, or lean in with the viewing zoom. Triode has no pattern by design.

The pattern didn't survive in my recording.

A recording renders the pattern at its own resolution. Raise Render Res, or raise Pattern Focus toward 1 for harder-edged stripes. Below about 1080p the pattern is coarse either way; fade it toward a hint with Pattern Focus, or use Triode. Turn on Recording Preview to see exactly what will be written before you record.

My recording looks washed out, or darker than the preview.

Match the HDR setting to your delivery. Recording HDR for an SDR edit, or the other way round, shifts the brightness.

Capture stutters at a very high Render Res.

Recording shares the GPU with live rendering. Lower the Render Res, or close the Reference Monitor, for a smoother capture.

How do I restore the Pro purchase on another Mac?

Phosphors Pro is a standard App Store non-consumable purchase tied to your Apple Account. Open the upgrade screen in the Settings panel and use Restore Purchases.