DrDre

@ Spaced Ranger

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

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. 

Here are a couple of more comparisons for the Avisynth Spline64Resize and super resolution upscales of the NTSC GOUT Star Wars.

http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/119288

http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/119289

http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/119290

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.

@ 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.

Update: Clips removed to make space for new clips.

Here are two more screenshot comparisons (Avisynth Spline64Resize vs super resolution).

Frame 1:

http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/119148

Frame 2:

http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/119153

Note the enhanced detail in the walls for frame 1, and Luke's eyes, lips and hair for frame 2.

@ Laserdisc Master

Update: Clips removed to make space for new clips.

@ Laserdisc Master

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

@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.

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.

@ 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. 

@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

First comparison upscale NTSC GOUT. The difference for the first frame is very small (hair and eyes), however for the second frame the reconstructed detail is more substantial, which is particulary visible for Darth Vader's helmet. 

Frame 1:

Avisynth Spline64Resize vs super resolution:

http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/118947

Frame 2:

Avisynth Spline64Resize vs super resolution:

http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/118951

@You_Too 

Here is a comparison of two frames between the Avisynth Spline64Resize and super resolution for the Star Wars blu ray. As before the 1080p sample was dowscaled to 540p, and then upscaled back to 1080p.

Frame 1:

1080p original vs Avisynth Spline64Resize:

http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/118932

1080p original vs super resolution:

http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/118497

Avisynth Spline64Resize vs super resolution:

http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/118935

Frame 2:

1080p original vs Avisynth Spline64Resize:

http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/118936

1080p original vs super resolution:

http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/118506

Avisynth Spline64Resize vs super resolution:

http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/118938

It seems to me that the super resolution upscale is much more detailed. The Avisynth Spline64Resize upscale looks more more blurry. 

The super resolution upscale of the NTSC version of Star Wars is indeed looking much better than the PAL version. Much more detail is recovered due to the obviously better source material. Clips coming soon...

@intruder I haven't yet looked in detail at the results after a scene change. I'm pretty sure it won't be as good, but by how much I don't know. Since we are dealing with commercial software the precise way they implement the super resolution concept is not known. It is one of the fastest implementations though, with upscaling speeds that approach real time.

@towne32 The lables are correct. Any upscaling algorithm will have some artifacts. Some of the "details" reconstructed will be phony details caused by apparent structure in noise. Whether these are acceptable I guess is a matter of taste. In the end it's all about the improvement compared to the low resolution version, and to what extend you can approach the 1080p original. Personally I think the amount of detail that is reconstructed is pretty impressive, and that it is a massive improvement over the bicubic upscale. All things considered, I find the artifacts to be pretty minor. 

@LaserDisc Master I used handbrake to downscale the 1080p original using the h264 codec at 8000kps.  

No problem, I will upscale the blu ray and then downscale it back to 1080p and will hopefully have a sample by next week.

Thanks, I'm working on upscaling the NTSC GOUT. It's looking pretty good. Star Wars is being upscaled as we speak, and Empire is next in line. 

You could try that, but I would say that a 1080p video from a true 4K source will always be better than one from a super resolution 4K upscale. Although you can reconstruct a good part of the detail with super resolution, some information is always lost in the downscale that can never be retrieved. The 4K upscale from 1080p would contain more detail than the 1080p original, though. 

@lpd You can apply the algorithm to the 1080p original. In that case you would get a 4K ultra high definition video. I would expect it would be about as accurate to the true 4K film (if it were ever released) as the 1080p upscale is to the true original 1080p transfer, provided the 1080p transfer is of good enough quality.

I guess once the powers that be decide to give us the blu ray's of the theatrical editions, this is the next project in line: a 4K upscale for those of us with a UHD TV. 

The great thing is that anyone can try it for themselves, and it's done in a few hours. The infognition software has a free demo for 30 days with full functionality. 

Here is another screenshot comparison. From these examples it is very clear the super resolution is able to reconstruct texture in the skin and clothes, hair, eye lashes and other details. To say that it is only acts as a noise filter is shortchanging many years of scientific research, in my opinion. 

1080p original vs super resolution:

http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/118506

Precise bicubic (A = -0.75) vs super resolution

http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/118507

1080p original vs precise bicubic

http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/118822

1080p original vs super resolution:

http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/118497

Precise bicubic (A = -0.75) vs super resolution:

http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/118500

1080p original vs precise bicubic (A = -0.75) 

http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/118821

Here is a test of the super resolution upscaling on the 2011 Star Wars blu ray. The original sample is 1080p and has been resized to 540p at 8000kps. Subsequently the lower resolution sample has been upscaled to 1080p with the super resolution algorithm.

Update: there is an audio synching problem with the video files. I will fix them and put them back up.

Below are some screenshot comparisions between the original 1080p, the super resolution upscale, and the precise bicubic upscale.

Here is a sample of the PAL GOUT upscale SR-v2.

Update: Clips removed to make space for new clips.