xanalogtv(6)

📦
version 6.15 · 2 versions
, in alpine 3.24, arch rolling, nixpkgs unstable

💖 xanalogtv — the XScreenSaver manual page, but make it cute 💖

okay so real talk, bestie: this is xanalogtv(6) from the XScreenSaver manual, and it's literally the most nostalgic thing ever. it's a screensaver module that fakes an old analog TV set. no cap, it's iconic.

✨ NAME ✨

xanalogtv — simulate reception on an old analog TV set 📺🦋

🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

xanalogtv [--display host:display.screen] [--window] [--root]
[--window-id number][--install] [--visual visual] [--cycle] [--no-cycle]
[--fps]

🎀 DESCRIPTION 🎀

so xanalogtv shows you a simulation of an old TV set — like, the big chunky CRT kind your grandparents had — displaying test patterns and any other images you've given it. it reproduces a whole wide range of TV reception bummage (that's the technical term, iykyk): snow 🍓, bloom, ghosting, and loss of vertical and horizontal sync. it also simulates the TV warming up, which honestly is main character energy.

it cycles through 12 channels — some with images you give it, and some with just color bars or nothing but static. like, some channels are literally just vibes and snow. 💀

the images it uses get grabbed from the portion of the screen underlying the window, or from the system's video input, or from a random file on disk, as indicated by the grabDesktopImages, grabVideoFrames, and chooseRandomImages options in the ~/.xscreensaver file. see xscreensaver-settings(1) for more deets. it looks best with a video input or your digital photo collection. 💅✨

💅 OPTIONS 💅

xanalogtv accepts the following options, and yes, you need to know all of them:

  • --window — draw on a newly-created window. this is the default, so if you do nothing, this is what you get. 🫶
  • --root — draw on the root window.
  • --window-id number — draw on the specified window. you give it a number, it draws there. simple as that. 🎯
  • --install — install a private colormap for the window.
  • --visual visual — specify which visual to use. legal values are the name of a visual class, or the id number (decimal or hex) of a specific visual. fr fr, decimal or hex, pick your fighter. 🌈
  • --fps — display the current frame rate and CPU load. ngl this is the one you turn on to flex how hard your machine is working. 🔥

🧚 ENVIRONMENT 🧚

  • DISPLAY — to get the default host and display number.
  • XENVIRONMENT — to get the name of a resource file that overrides the global resources stored in the RESOURCE_MANAGER property.
  • XSCREENSAVER_WINDOW — the window ID to use with --root.

👑 X RESOURCES 👑

notable X resources supported include the following, which correspond to standard TV controls like the knobs on the front of the set:

  • analogTVTint
  • analogTVColor
  • analogTVBrightness
  • analogTVContrast

they range from 0 to 100, except for tint, which is an angle between -180 and +180. yes bestie, an angle. tint is different like that. 🌀

🦋 SEE ALSO 🦋

X(1), xteevee(6), apple2(6), bsod(6), xscreensaver(1), xscreensaver-settings(1), xscreensaver-getimage(6)

Copyright © 2003 by Trevor Blackwell. Permission to use, copy, modify, distribute, and sell this software and its documentation for any purpose is hereby granted without fee, provided that the above copyright notice appear in all copies and that both that copyright notice and this permission notice appear in supporting documentation. No representations are made about the suitability of this software for any purpose. It is provided "as is" without express or implied warranty.

⚠️ okay so that last bit is the legal stuff and it's not a vibe to skip — "as is", no warranty, keep the notices in all copies. periodt. 💀

💜 AUTHOR 💜

Trevor Blackwell <tlb@tlb.org>

and that's the whole page, bestie! 🎀 this one's from X Version 11, version 6.15, dated 30-Mar-2026 — so yeah, she's fresh. go forth and enjoy your fake analog TV static. obsessed. 💖✨🫶

📦 where this page comes from