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Star Wars GOUT in HD using super resolution algorithm (* unfinished project *) — Page 5

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@Laserdisc Master

I assumed you wanted to see the 540p upscale. Here are the comparisons. There are a few tiny differences between Video Enhancer and the Virtualdub plugin. I think this is due to the fact that I used RGB mode. This option is not available in Virtualdub (the default is YUV mode). Also I don't have a license for the VD version, so there onfortunately are watermarks in that one. If you want to see other comparisons, please let me know.

Video Enhancer SR vs Virualdub SR

http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/118981

1080p original vs Virualdub SR:

http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/118982

Avisynth Spline64Resize vs Virualdub SR:

http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/118983

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It might just be me, but I don't see too much of a difference.

Ol’ George has the GOUT, I see.

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@ FrankT

If you're refering to the blu ray I would say the difference is quite substantial. For the GOUT the differences are smaller (especially in the first screenshot), but you can see that Darth Vader's mask in the second screenshot is much less blurry in the details for the super resolution upscale. Other examples are the commanders face and hair in the same screenshot. I will post some screenshot comparisons where the differences are more substantial. 

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I have a question. I hope one of you knows the answer. I've noted some issues with the frame rate while converting the NTSC GOUT (29.97fps, 23.976 after conversion) with Handbrake that I didn't seem to have when I converted the PAL GOUT (25fps). Now, I'm a bit confused. Should I use constant or variable frame rate in the conversion for the PAL and NTSC GOUT? 

Update:

As far as I  understand it PAL uses either 25fps or 50fps (interlaced). So always multiples of 25. NTSC uses 23.976fps or 29.97fps (interlaced). However, it can also be a combination of both if film footage is combined with video, leading to the variable frame rate.

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"Same as source" and Constant Framerate is what I would choose when the input file has a constant framerate. Maybe see the Handbrake wiki for more info.

What exactly is your problem?

Darth Id on ‘Why “Ben”?’:

And while we’re at it, we need to figure out why they kept calling Mark Hamill’s character “Luke Skywalker,” since it’s my subjective opinion that his name is actually Schnarzle Shnuzzle.  It just doesn’t make sense!

Damn you George Lucas for never explaining why they all keep calling Schnarzle “Luke”!

Damn You!!!

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@Intruder

I noticed the mkv for the NTSC GOUT are jerky on my smart tv, but I guess that maybe more to do with the refresh rate. Also, I work with raw avi, and avi doesn't handle variable frame rates, although it apparently uses some kind of workaround. So, I'm in two minds about this. But I guess assuming the GOUT is 23.976fps originally, setting it to same as source with constant frame rate and a detelecine filter should do the trick.

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May you upload somewhere a 2sec lossless clip (1sec before and after the frame you have chosen for the comparison)? I'd like to make an experiment... (^^,)

Sadly my projects are lost due to an HDD crash… 😦 | [Fundamental Collection] thread | blog.spoRv.com | fan preservation forum: fanres.com

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@ Laserdisc Master

Do you mean a lossless clip at 540p, 1080p or of the super resolution 1080p? 

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@ Laserdisc Master

Update: Clips removed to make space for new clips.

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Looking good, the facial detail for Luke is very noticeable. :)

(any eta on that Blu vs Blu to sr 4k then downscale comparison?)

Preferred Saga:
1/2: Hal9000
3: L8wrtr
4/5: Adywan
6-9: Hal9000

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_,,,^..^,,,_ said:

Here you are my upscale attempt - SuperResolution Vs MagicUp:

http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/119184

 SuperResolution looks sharper but file size is almost the double of the MagicUp one, I supposed that is why.

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The statement above is false</span>

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@ Laserdisc Master The super resolution version indeed looks sharper and more detailed, but it's pretty close. What method do you use?

@ dclarkg In essence this is because the MagicUp version has less detail/noise. Both detailed and noisy images are more difficult to compress, so the png-file ends up being bigger.

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I guess this is a first. A comparison for the 4K upscale of the Star Wars blu ray for the Avisynth Spline64Resize and super resolution. The differences are much smaller, but you can still notice some improved detail in the stormtrooper helmets and Leia's face:

http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/119231

@ nightstalkerpoet

Here's are two comparisons for the 1080p original and the 4K super resolution downscale:

http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/119252

http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/119255

The differences seem to be very small.

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DrDre, MagicUp is my own upscaling script; I agree that SuperResolution retains more details, but when compressed at mid/low bitrate, probably they will be lost... plus, even if softer, MagicUp do a good job at the edges - look at the chin and teeth...

I'm curious to test both at given bitrates... I'll do it later today!

Sadly my projects are lost due to an HDD crash… 😦 | [Fundamental Collection] thread | blog.spoRv.com | fan preservation forum: fanres.com

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I actually noticed the NTSC GOUT's aspect ratio is a little bit off (as are my screenshots), 2.33:1 rather than 2.35:1. Since the super resolution algorithm only upscales by factors of 2, I get a 1428x548 output. I guess I either have to upscale to 1920x816 or downscale to 1280x544. Since the latter implies a reduction of the resolution, I guess I'll upscale with the Avisynth Spline64Resize. 

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I'm a little late to this party (missed out on the punch bowl). But the Video Enhancer with Super Resolution website crossed my travels some time ago and it's good to see this innovative approach in practical action. Thanks for a great thread that demonstrates another useful tool for our arsenal!

It manages to squeeze a little more juice out of that discarded lemon GL tossed to us.  :)

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When Lucas hands you lemons, make...slightly higher resolution lemons...

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@ Spaced Ranger

Glad to hear you enjoy the work! More coming soon...

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As far as I recall, Super-Resolution only works on footage with a certain kind of aliasing which is sort-of where the detail "gets hidden".  It also works best on footage without lots of  motion, as that can mess up the temporal portions of the algorithm.

In most cases, you end up having to rely on image interpolators, and I have never seen any that do a good enough job at magnifications higher than, about 250%. The best one I've seen for video is an Avisynth one called nnedi3, but it is slow.And you still need to follow it up with some kind of detail-faking script.

You can also go nuts and try some glacial-speed single image interpolators like the ones on this page:

http://www.general-cathexis.com/interpolation/

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@ Padawan Learner

Perhaps you should check out the screenshots for the downscaled and then upscaled blu ray of Star Wars. I think this pretty convincingly shows that super resolution works under a wide variety of consitions. Of course it all depends on the quality of the source material, but in principle it can be a very powerful tool that, if the quality is good, easily outperforms single frame upscaling methods.

Also, you don't need aliasing for super resolution to work. In principle each pixel in a image or frame contains information about the object filmed or photographed. In case of subpixel shifts of the object (which is exactly what happens during movement in a video), the information in each pixel changes. By combining these different bits of information, subpixel detail is recovered. Although it is not easy to implement mathematically, the science is sound. 

Infognition has a large number of video examples on there website (including Hollywood productions), where they objectively compare a large number of single frame and a few super resolution upscaling methods to their algorithm, including nnedi3. The infognition algorithm outperforms any of these methods by a significant margin for a magnification factor of 400%. 

Link to the comparison of upscaling methods:

http://www.infognition.com/articles/video_resize_shootout.html