--- title: "Channel Surf" url: "https://help.maxon.net/rg/en-us/Content/html/channel-surf.html" description: "Mimic the look of changing channels on an old analog television set from one shot to the next using this stylized transition." --- # Channel Surf Universe ## CHANNEL SURF [Video: Uni_ChannelSurf_hero.mp4](https://help.maxon.net/rg/en-us/Content/Resources/Multimedia/Uni_ChannelSurf_hero.mp4) Mimic the look of changing channels on an old analog television set from one shot to the next using this stylized transition. If you'd like a quick video-based overview of Channel Surf, check out [our tutorial on Cinversity](https://cineversity.maxon.net/en/tutorials/getting-started-with-universe-channel-surf). --- ### Presets These handy Channel Blur presets can accelerate your color- and blur-focused transition down to one click. Find the presets via the blue **Open Dashboard...** button or the **Choose a Preset...** button below it. [![Image: Uni_Transitions_ChannelBlur_presets.png](https://help.maxon.net/rg/en-us/Content/Resources/Images/Uni_Transitions_ChannelBlur_presets.png)](https://help.maxon.net/rg/en-us/Content/Resources/Images/Uni_Transitions_Stretch_presets.png) As with all other Universe tools, you can modify or create a Channel Blur look and then save it under its own name by pressing the **Save Preset...** button. ### Presets Pick from over a dozen Channel Surf presets to quickly emulate a range of videotape-era cut glitches. Find these presets via the blue **Open Dashboard...** button or the **Choose a Preset...** button below it. [![Image: Uni_Transitions_ChannelBlur_presets.png](https://help.maxon.net/rg/en-us/Content/Resources/Images/Uni_Transitions_ChannelBlur_presets.png)](https://help.maxon.net/rg/en-us/Content/Resources/Images/Uni_Transitions_Stretch_presets.png) As with all other Universe tools, you can modify or create a Channel Surf look and then save it under its own name by pressing the **Save Preset...** button. --- ### Getting Started in a Timeline ![Premiere_icon](https://help.maxon.net/rg/en-us/Content/Resources/Images/premiere-pro_universe.png) ![FinalCutPro_icon](https://help.maxon.net/rg/en-us/Content/Resources/Images/final-cut-pro-x_universe.png) ![Vegas_icon](https://help.maxon.net/rg/en-us/Content/Resources/Images/sony-vegas-pro_universe.png) ![Resolve_icon](https://help.maxon.net/rg/en-us/Content/Resources/Images/resolve_universe.png) ![Image: avidmedia_universe.png](https://help.maxon.net/rg/en-us/Content/Resources/Images/avidmedia_universe.png) 1. Drag the transition over your edit in the timeline, placing it at the end or beginning. Alternatively, you can place it between two successive clips. 2. Modify the **Duration** of the transition either by entering a length in the field or dragging directly in the timeline. 3. You can choose the **Alignment** (**Center at Cut**, **Start at Cut**, **End at Cut**, or **Custom Start**) either by positioning the transition in the timeline or by choosing from the **Alignment** drop-down in some host applications. ### Getting Started in a Compositor ![AfterEffects_icon](https://help.maxon.net/rg/en-us/Content/Resources/Images/after-effects_universe.png) ![Motion_icon](https://help.maxon.net/rg/en-us/Content/Resources/Images/motion_universe.png) 1. Apply the transition to the layer from which you want to transition. 2. Choose the footage layer you would like to transition to in the **Transition B** drop-down menu. *(Note for Motion users:* Drag the footage layer up to the **Transition B** box.) 3. Animate your transition using the **Mix** slider from 0% to 100 percent. Set a keyframe for 0% where the transition should start, then set another at 100% for the end. --- ### Modify the Transition - **Source** lets you pick whether the first part of the transition is the **Video** to which the transition is applied (default), **Color Bars,** or just **Black** video. - **Video Transition** affects whether the transition behaves as a flat **Cut**, a **Dissolve** from one shot to the next (default), or if it will **Slide Down** or **Slide Up** off the frame. You can see an example of **Slide Down** in the "hero" clip atop this page. Compare that to this same implementation of the Analog Roll preset with **Video Transition** changed to **Dissolve**: [Video: Uni_ChannelSurf_Transition-Dissolve.mp4](https://help.maxon.net/rg/en-us/Content/Resources/Multimedia/Uni_ChannelSurf_Transition-Dissolve.mp4) - **Noise** determines the fuzziness of the shot using a typical fractal noise pattern. Shown below are values of 0 (left), 50 (center), and 100 (right).\ ![Image: Uni_Transitions_ChannelSurf_Noise.png](https://help.maxon.net/rg/en-us/Content/Resources/Images/Uni_Transitions_ChannelSurf_Noise.png) - **Skew** controls the distortion's angle during the transition. Shown below are values of -1 (left) and 1 (right).\ ![Image: Uni_Transitions_ChannelSurf_Skew.png](https://help.maxon.net/rg/en-us/Content/Resources/Images/Uni_Transitions_ChannelSurf_Skew.png) - **Brightness Flicker** scales how much the source's brightness gets boosted. - **Glow** customizes how much or how little the brightness-boosted parts of the shot glow during the transition. Below, we compare values of 5 (left) and 75 (right).\ ![Image: Uni_Transitions_ChannelSurf_Glow.png](https://help.maxon.net/rg/en-us/Content/Resources/Images/Uni_Transitions_ChannelSurf_Glow.png) - **Tint** controls what color to tint the footage during the transition. Note that a **Tint Amount** (see below) value of 0 results in no Tint adjustment, regardless of what color you select. - **Tint Amount** adjusts how much the **Tint** color selected above affects the footage. Shown below are values of 0 (left) and 70 (right) applied with a medium blue **Tint**.\ ![Image: Uni_Transitions_ChannelSurf_Tint.png](https://help.maxon.net/rg/en-us/Content/Resources/Images/Uni_Transitions_ChannelSurf_Tint.png) - **Secondary Image Overlay** applies a distorted copy of the source image over the undistorted original during the transition. In the image below, we've used arrows to show how facial features in the original source translate into larger versions in the overlay. Note that this capture occurs early in the transition, before a noticeable amount of distortion occurs.\ ![Image: Uni_Transitions_ChannelSurf_Overlay.png](https://help.maxon.net/rg/en-us/Content/Resources/Images/Uni_Transitions_ChannelSurf_Overlay.png) - **Overlay Scale** affects the size of the distorted overlay image. Higher values create larger image sizes. - **Overlay Mix** controls how much the overlaid image blends into the footage. You can think of this as an opacity control for the overlay. - **Turbulence** twirls down controls that customize how the image distorts during the channel switch. - **Speed** affects how fast the distortion changes. - **Displacement** determines how heavily the image is distorted. Below, we show values of 50 (left) and 500 (right).\ ![Image: Uni_Transitions_ChannelSurf_Turbulence.png](https://help.maxon.net/rg/en-us/Content/Resources/Images/Uni_Transitions_ChannelSurf_Turbulence.png) - **Scanlines** are the rows of raster scanning patterns common in legacy CRT displays. This subgroup contains controls for these scrolling horizontal lines that cover the footage. - **Opacity** controls how much scanlines blend into the footage. Below, we start with the Color Bars Noise preset and show values of 10 (left) and 100 (right).\ ![Image: Uni_Transitions_ChannelSurf_ScanlinesOpacity.png](https://help.maxon.net/rg/en-us/Content/Resources/Images/Uni_Transitions_ChannelSurf_ScanlinesOpacity.png) - **Count** determines how many scaliness cover the footage. - **Thickness** customizes the scanline width. To illustrate, we reduce **Count** from 200 to 40, then show **Thickness** at 2 (left) and 8 (right).\ ![Image: Uni_Transitions_ChannelSurf_ScanlinesThickness.png](https://help.maxon.net/rg/en-us/Content/Resources/Images/Uni_Transitions_ChannelSurf_ScanlinesThickness.png) - **Color** sets the color of the scanlines. - **Ease In Distortion** toggles whether the distortion occurs at the beginning of the transition or eases in gradually. - **Hold A/B Frames** toggles whether the first frame of the transition is the original *A* source and the last frame of the transition is the original *B* source. This is primarily meant for After Effects, where the transition (by default) affects every single frame to which it's applied unless this toggle is enabled. Enabling this checkbox gives slightly more control over how the effect begins and ends. *(Note:**If you are not using After Effects, this toggle will likely have no visible effect.)*