Retrospecs is a free photography and video processing application that enables you to turn the look of your images and video clips into pixel retro art style from the ‘70s, 80's and ‘90s. Solely developed by John Parker, it allows you to view files as they would appear on various home computers and consoles. Moreover, it also allows you to make your own custom mode that’s based around four different graphics engines and a wide array of color palettes and character fonts.

Explore various retro effects and animations

With Retrospecs, you have the capability to exhibit the picture or video you took from your file library in over 40 antique systems, such as Sinclair ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, IBM PC (DOS, CGA, EGA, and VGA), Commodore Amiga, Atari ST, Sega Mega Drive, Nintendo Game Boy, Apple Macintosh 1984 model, and more. On top of that, it also offers more than 10 animation effects that you can apply to your still photos, including Agitator, Progressive, and Smear.

Retrospecs provides some tips and tricks that could help you get the best out of it and generate the best results. One of the tips they provide is that you should take into consideration the use of different systems that generally favor different dither styles, for instance, as most of ZX Spectrum images usually work well with Floyd-Steinberg dithering. The addition of noise also greatly contributes to producing great outcomes in character emulations. Furthermore, this photo and video app provides a tutorial if you are interested in creating an Apple ][ style custom emulation.

Retrospecs is a must-have application for you, especially if you are into 8-bit and 16-bit nostalgia and if retro computing and photography are your interests. This image-processing app is the perfect choice for making pixel art as it is capable of offering a wide range of old-style home computers' and consoles' effects and animations, as well as a highly-personalized custom mode. Moreover, you can enjoy all of these for free—although the systems and dither modes available for you are limited in number and require purchasing to unlock other features.