Star Wars GOUT in HD using super resolution algorithm (* unfinished project *) — Page 22

Here is an updated sample for the first 10 min of Star Wars, which includes the intro, title track, Tantive IV scenes, and the arrival on Tatooine. The aliasing sadly is still there, but the halo and ringing artifacts have been greatly reduced. The grain has also been significantly reduced, while maintaining the level of detail. The aspect ratio is still under debate.

Edit: Video removed to make place for an SRV9 sample.

@ thorr

Sorry to hear that, but I understand where you're coming from. I hope we can leave all the hostility in the past.

I think the grain reduction came out really well. There is enough grain reduction, that it looks much cleaner, and that it brings out the color, but not so much that it looks smeared out or painted. What do you think? (if there is anyone left on this thread ;-))

Can hardly wait to check this out!

BTW, a quick look at Page 1 didn't reveal the source-capture details used in your project (must've over-looked it). I wanted to give you a heads-up for AntcuFaabl's developments in cutting edge laserdisc capture techniques and it's hardware analog-artifact removal. It should produce an even better base to ratchet-up the quality of your results (it's really good!) ..

http://originaltrilogy.com/forum/topic.cfm/THX-1138-preservations/post/768999/#TopicPost768999

DrDre said:

I think the grain reduction came out really well. There is enough grain reduction, that it looks much cleaner, and that it brings out the color, but not so much that it looks smeared out or painted. What do you think? (if there is anyone left on this thread ;-))

Quick question.

 I like streaming videos with my PS3, and onto my 1080P TV. The PS3 cant read mkv files, so would the conversion to Mp4 reduce the quality? I am just using Windows Movie Maker to convert it. I'm not terribly knowledgeable in such things. Sorry. :P

It would be easier for me to judge the quality if I was to watch with the equipment I normally watch films.

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

MP4 and MKV are only containers, so you could remux video and audio with no quality loss; my advice is to use TSmuxer and remux the mkv to m2ts, like I usually do.

 Will do, thanks!

Edit: Works perfectly. PS3 streams it no problem! :D

Very impressive. Great detail and clarity. The aliasing doesn't draw my eyes to it nearly as much. I hardly notice it. Big step up from the previous 10 minute sample.

By far, the best presentation yet! :)

@ Zyrother

Thanks! I thought the arrival on Tatooine was especially enhanced compared to the grainy GOUT when I watched it on my HDTV. The colors looked suprisingly crisp, and the degraining really brought out the detail on C3PO and R2D2. It seems the grain and artifact filters I implemented also reduces the aliasing to a certain degree. 

@ Spaced Ranger

Looks like there are some interesting developments in the Laserdisc capturing world. I noticed on their threads that Laserdisc Master and althor1138 are also refining their techniques. I remember reading about the X0 project a few years back and being really impressed with the quality of their combined captures. They showed it was certainly possible to get a better quality result than the GOUT. These new developments suggest the GOUT may have some serious competition in the near future. 

Finally finished the loading (yes, slow connection) and this latest sample is awesome!

Not to take away from the dedicated and great work on all the preservations and restorations, but I never thought, "now that looks like the first-run pristine movie". It's always something -- tint, contrast, noise, something. Even when working off better quality "special editions" or Blu-ray, it still is off. It's George Lucas, even here, getting his way ..

"When Lucas is asked which version he hopes audiences will be watching 20 years from now, his candid reply is a bit Orwellian: 'There will only be one. ... The other versions will disappear. Even the 35 million tapes of Star Wars out there won't last more than 30 or 40 years. A hundred years from now, the only version of the movie that anyone will remember will be the DVD version [of the Special Edition]...' "

- American Cinematographer: Star Wars, The Special Edition - An Expanded Universe (page 4)

I'm happy to say your minimalist approach, not trying to "fix it" with a sledgehammer, really gives it that delicate "first run" look. (Take that, George!) 

@ Spaced Ranger

You made my day! :-)

I've finally watched Team Blu's Star Wars. I have to say it's a stunning restoration. It looks great and it sounds great. I'm also glad to say there is added value to super resolution, and that both upscales are substantially different. Both methodologies have their advantages, and disadvantages. Of course I prefer mine, but my opinion is hardly objective ;-).

I've decided to go for a compromise with respect to the demand for screenshot comparisons, and also to respect DJ's wishes. I will send some screenshot comparisons via PM to anyone who wishes to see them. Of course those members that have already expressed such a wish, will recieve them as soon as I get around to it. If anyone else wants to have them: ask and you shall recieve. You can then discuss the differences via PM or on this thread. I hope this makes everybody happy...

@DrDre

That is a perfect compromise. Should make everyone happy then! :D

I'm back - things seem to be friendly again (except for an obvious exception that I don't quite understand but whatever).

The latest version looks pretty great given the source material.  I was wondering about the scroll at the beginning.  It seems to have a lot of ringing in the lettering.  Is that in the source, or is that from sharpening?

Regarding the aliasing (no I won't let it rest until it is solved), I remember ATI coming out with something called "motion adaptive de-interlacing" in their video card drivers back when video card technology was really taking off.  That technology might work well here.  Here is how you do it (lol): http://www.google.com/patents/US6459455

Thanks,
Michael

I'd say just give up on super resolution for the vertical resolution.

Here's a quick script I whipped up.

http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/126389

a=FFmpegSource2("Star Wars 10 min sample.mkv")
a.VerticalReduceBy2().Addborders(0, 1, 0, 1).MCTemporalDenoisePP(settings="very high", aa=true).eedi2(pp=2).crop(0, 0, 0, -4).merge(a, 0.1)

followed by virtual dub filters MSU smart sharpen(small overall and borders) and msharpen.. avisynth probably has better sharpening filters, but I'm far from an expert

@ ChibiMAK & thorr

Thanks for the suggestions. That screenshot certainly looks very good. I'll take a look at how it works out for the rest of the film. 

The ringing around the lettering sadly is part of the source. :-(

Screenshot comparisons with Team Blu's upscale are now available to all of you who are interested (only through PM).  

I'd be interested to see that, if you please.

DrDre said:

... to respect DJ's wishes. ... screenshot comparisons via PM to anyone who wishes to see them. ... I hope this makes everybody happy.

What's wrong with screenshot comparisons linked-to on an open forum from "in the wild" sources? Surely not this ..

  How about just leave ours out of this and do your guys own stuff?

As stunningly hostile as this seems, I was wondering if it was more the frown ...

  How about just leave ours out of this and do your guys own stuff?

Yeah, I guess the smile takes the sting out.  :D

But that doesn't take out the general fact -- there is no ours nor yours. It's George Lucas' (or Disney's now, hmm?). And if fair-used Lucas/Disney content is posted to the open Internet, those posters should have no expectation of ... anything.

I fully support DrDre doing as he likes with freely accessible sources and would recommend the good doctor ignore all else that has no standing.  :)

Thanks ChibiMak.  It will be cool to see what DrDre can do with it!  Hopefully the majority of the detail can remain in tact while the aliasing will be mostly reduced.

I've got the screencaps, thanks DrDre.

I received 8 comparisons. No doubt, all of them has extra details compared to the traditional method.

In 5 of them, the gains are tiny. I guess these frames represent the average gains in the whole movie, and sometimes they're more (than tiny), sometimes less.

In one of them (6398), the gains are more than a tiny. But possibly the brighter levels on Team Blu's play a part in the difference.

In the last two (6403 and 6409) the gains are impressive. I assume these are stand out moments. The close-up of Obi-wan was posted in the thread twice already, once zoomed in, and by far looked the most convincing. It still looks good. Man, I wish the whole movie would look like these two caps!

Thanks for letting us see the difference between the two approaches.

@ zee944

You're welcome! The Obi-Wan shot always was one of my favourites. My guess would be that for about 50% of the frames super resolution and sharpening will be very similar. These are usually the fast moving scenes or any out of focus scenes. For about 30% you will get noticable detail enhancement, and for 20% you will get significant detail enhancement. 

As the movie is still processing, and I'm kind of adjusting filter settings on a scene by scene basis, I will send a new batch of comparisons when I''m further into the movie. 

@ ChibiMAK

I've extensively tested the script (with some variations). Although it is extremely effective at reducing aliasing, there are a number of downsides to this method:

1) The detail is significantly reduced by halving the vertical resolution. It isn't as bad as you might expect, especially with sharpening, but the difference is certainly noticable.

2) Details appear and disappear between different frames. This leads to artifacts in the video, that are worsened by the sharpening applied to compensate for the loss of detail. 

So, I suppose some might take those artifacts and the loss of detail for granted. However, I choose to keep as much of the detail intact, and avoid new artifacts.

There is a promising new way of antialiasing called "Subpixel Morphological Antialiasing". Sadly, it is not available for Virtualdub or Avisynth.

I will use EEDI2 on the source, and then use SR to reconstruct the lost detail in the individual frames. Not sure how well it will work, but still worth a try.