Retro Image Converter

Retro Image Converter turns any image into a vintage computer art - Monochrome Green monitor, 4 color CGA or popular retro machines.
The process is automated, you only need to select a retro palette and wait for the conversion to finish. You can save or share the images with friends.


Palettes are inspired by historical systems:

★ Monochrome, Amber and Green are based on early PC graphics as displayed on CRT monitors.
★ GameBoy simulates the monochrome LCD handheld
★ Tandy A and B are inspired by the ColecoVision and TRS-80 Color home computers
★ CGA palettes cover most of the variations possible with the PC graphic cards, including custom modes. These palettes feature High and Low-intensity variations.
★ Apple II palette
★ MSX and compatible computers
★ Commodore VIC-20
★ Sinclair uses the RGB primaries, common on the ZX Spectrum and Teletext
★ C64 matches the Commodore 64
★ CGA 16 colors uses the full CGA palette
★ Macintosh approximates the first color Mac model
★ Windows is based on the Win 3.1 color palette.
★ Amiga is inspired by the Amiga Workbench default colors.

(Hardware and brand names mentioned for identification purposes only. No infringement intended. All trademarks acknowledged.)


Details:

- Images can be center cropped to a 4:3 aspect ratio, the same as old-school graphics. It's also possible to use the original images, with no cropping.

- Images are rendered and saved at low resolutions (ex: 256 x 192 ). They are scaled up for sharing. This is because most messaging apps will compress the images, destroying the pixelated look.

- Conversion is done by color matching. Each pixel is mapped to the closest palette color possible.

- Dither patterns are calculated, so that a two-color palette (ex: black and white) can simulate an intermediate tone. The same goes for a larger number of colors, where intermediate tones are simulated.

- Due to the precise calculations involved, conversions are slow. This ensures good color matching, even when using very limited palettes.

- The app doesn't simulate the restrictions of specific graphic modes (ex: color limitations within an ‘attribute’ pixel block).



To do:
* Image cropping defined by the user,
* Option to turn dither on/off,
* Option to use accurate resolutions and aspect ratios on some conversions
* Simulate attribute limitations