by BGRA Entertainment·Motion Graphics
Images © BGRA Entertainment. Used for product review; image policy.
RetroDither earns a spot for its breadth — 20 palettes and 12 dithering methods — paired with wide host support that stretches from CS-era releases through After Effects 2024. Version 1.8 added Apple Silicon native support and an external palette feature.
RetroDither, developed by BGRA Entertainment, uses dithering and color schemes to re-create the look of 1980s home computers and video games. It runs as a GPU-accelerated plugin for Adobe After Effects and also supports Premiere Pro, applying stylized images built from the palettes and dithering patterns of retro game consoles and home computer platforms.
The plugin ships with 20 color palettes, including C-64 and Apple II. Its adaptive palettes work similarly to Photoshop's Save for Web dialog, while the hardware-named palettes such as CGA, ZX Spectrum and C64 mimic the limitations of the original machines. Twelve dithering methods cover both error diffusion — Floyd-Steinberg, Jarvis-Judice, Stucki, Atkinson, Burkes, Siera and Stevenson-Arce — and ordered dithering using a Bayer matrix.
Additional controls include 0 to 8x downscaling for a more stylized result, a threshold slider that alters Bayer dithering and manages 1-bit palette mapping, and a grayscale conversion applied before the palette so shades of gray map to the output palette's colors. A serpentine scan option changes how the non-Bayer algorithms render. The whole effect is fully GPU accelerated.
RetroDither is best for adding an authentic retro-computer or video-game look to motion graphics or footage.
RetroDither is completely free to download and use.
RetroDither supports After Effects going back several versions — 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, and the CC and CS6 releases before them. It also runs in Premiere Pro, with compatibility listed from 2022 down through the older CC, CS6, CS5.5 and CS5 versions. That range covers most Adobe installations you're likely to have on hand. For the exact build that matches your setup and any late-breaking version support, check the developer's page before installing.
RetroDither added native Apple Silicon support in version 1.8, released July 30, 2022. The same update introduced an external palette feature. Earlier maintenance releases addressed framework updates and Catalina issues, so if you're on a recent Apple Silicon Mac, running version 1.8 or later gives you the native build. For the current version and download link, check the developer's page.
RetroDither offers 12 dithering methods across two types. Its error-diffusion algorithms include Floyd-Steinberg, Jarvis-Judice, Stucki, Atkinson, Burkes, Siera and Stevenson-Arce, while ordered dithering uses a Bayer matrix. A threshold slider adjusts the Bayer methods and handles 1-bit color palette mapping, and a serpentine scan option alters the error-diffusion (non-Bayer) algorithms to produce a slightly different result. These pair with 20 color palettes to build the retro look.
RetroDither is listed as free here in the catalog. Licensing and pricing can change over time, so for the current terms — and to confirm what's included with the download — check the developer's page or BGRA Entertainment's own listing directly. The most recent update recorded here is dated January 23, 2024, and version 1.8 is the latest entry in the changelog.
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