videobeaux/docs/programs/effects/xrgb.md

xrgb

Description

Applies an extreme RGB color treatment that aggressively remixes channel intensity, contrast, and chromatic balance.
This effect pushes the video into hyper-saturated, unnatural, or neon-driven territory — producing explosive color distortions ideal for glitch, psychedelia, or high-impact stylization.

Purpose

xrgb is designed for creators who want:

• radical RGB manipulation with a single command,
• intense chromatic shifts far beyond standard grading,
• neon, glitch, or chemically warped color palettes,
• an exaggerated look that feels synthetic and electrified,
• a quick way to break naturalistic color and enter surreal aesthetics.

How It Works

1. RGB Channel Rebalancing
   Each color channel (R, G, B) is amplified, crushed, or redistributed.
2. Color Explosion
   Standard hues may break apart into aggressively tinted regions.
3. Chromatic Distortion
   Highlights and shadows may shift toward extreme primaries, producing:
   • glowing neon edges
   • warped color bands
   • digital-chemical tonality
4. Encoding
   Output is encoded using Videobeaux global settings for codec, CRF, and pixel format.

Program Template

videobeaux -P xrgb \
  -i input.mp4 \
  -o output.mp4

Arguments

• (No additional program-specific arguments; uses global videobeaux options only.)

Real World Example

videobeaux -P xrgb \
  -i myvideo.mp4 \
  -o xrgb_styled.mp4

Program Output

Technical Notes

• Bright, high-contrast footage produces the most dramatic RGB explosions.
• Low-saturation footage transforms into hard-edged neon fields.
• Compression interacts strongly with extreme channel imbalance; high CRF yields noisy rainbowing.
• Works exceptionally well before glitch modules such as crossmosh or lsd_feedback.

Recommended Usage

• Psychedelic music videos.
• Glitch-art edits requiring aggressive color disruption.
• Abstract collage or RGB-driven montage.
• Visualizer loops with electric chromatic energy.
• Maximalist stylization pipelines that reject naturalistic color.

Quality Tips

• Lower CRF helps maintain smooth gradients inside extreme color zones.
• Higher CRF introduces chaotic grain — useful for grunge or noisy RGB corruption.
• Combine with slight_smear for neon-blooming distortion.
• Apply blur_pix afterward for soft neon haze; apply beforehand for sharpened RGB breaks.
• For a colder palette, chain steel_wash after xrgb; for warmer neon, chain wbflare.