@ Intruder
Yes, I use the Infognition plugin for Avisynth, but wrote a custom script for combining the super resolution upscales in different color spaces, and in different directions to minimize artifacts, and get more details at the same time.
@ dclarkg
Thanks, I will keep at it. Luckily there are plenty of members here with good advice that has certainly benefited the project.
By tomorrow the first 7-8 min of Star Wars should be finished. I will post the first part here as another sample. The script now takes up so much memory I have to process the movie 10.000-15.000 frames at a time (taking about 48 hours to process). Here's one of the iconic shots from the opening from Star Wars in yet another screenshot comparison ;-):
http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/124203
Aside from the enhanced detail, it's interesting to note how much brighter the stars are in the super resolution version.
Just saw your Japanese laserdisc capture. Great work! Despite the slightly lower resolution than dvd, I never thought Star Wars could look this good.
@ Spaced Ranger
Very interesting indeed! The non-linear filter I used in the 2nd step indeed filters the lighter areas more strongly than the darker ones. Because I wanted the grain to more or less match the original grain in the GOUT, I filtered a standard upscale in the same way as the super resolution upscale. The grain I want to add is then the difference between the simple GOUT upscale and the filtered simple GOUT upscale.
@ Spaced Ranger
Which base picture are you refering to? The standard definition original?
Here's the frame for the standard definition original (712x274):
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8_LYKyZDiajdFBGRmxCWEtIVm8/view?usp=sharing
To give you an idea how the HD GOUT is created, I will roughly describe the steps to create it.
First a raw super resolution upscale is created with the super resolution script I wrote:
http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/123952
This raw upscale has the enhanced detail, but also has enhanced grain and unwanted noise. Therefore in the next step the raw upscale is filtered with a non-linear filter I wrote to get rid of the grain and excess noise:
http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/123956
Some of the detail is removed in this intermediate step, but this can be recovered. By applying the same filter on the Spline64Resize upscale and adding the difference to the filtered super resolution upscale the final result is obtained:
http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/123957
As you can see below, the final result has the detail of the raw super resolution upscale and the grain and noise structure of the original GOUT:
@ Spaced Ranger
Thanks for the suggestion. Although the function seems to work very well for the dark halos, the light halos are much less affected (I've tried multiple settings). Also, the edges are generally softened, which to a certain extend visually reduces the detail enhancement. I will try some other settings to see if the result improves.
@ Zyrother
Thanks! I think it looks pretty good too. :-)
@ Darth Lucas
The flickering of the stars is actually part of the source (when R2D2 & C3PO are in the pod). You can see the same thing in the Spline64Resize sample I posted (and in the dvd itself).
Here finally is the video sample for super resolution v7.
Upscale with the Avisynth Spline64Resize:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8_LYKyZDiajcW5jVVBHVWxnT28/view?usp=sharing
Upscale with super resolution v7:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8_LYKyZDiajLXA2S3MyUWF3V00/view?usp=sharing
Please download for full quality.
Here are two examples of a 4K upscale for the Star Wars blu ray with super resolution v7. You can see the enhanced detail in the soldiers faces:
@ lpd
I've tested the up and downscaling of The Force Awakens teaser and sadly it didn't have a noticable effect.
I've decided to follow the critics suggestions. I'm keeping the grain. So the high definition GOUT will look the way you remember it only with a significantly higher resolution, and therefore more detail. It will sadly also have some enhanced ringing and aliasing as some of you noted, but that's a price I'm willing to pay for the higher resolution. I'm preparing a movie sample as we speak. It will take another few hours before it's finished, so please be patient ;-).
Here are a few more examples from the first scenes of Star Wars:
http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/123815
http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/123822
http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/123823
I have to agree with the critics, it does look a whole lot better with the grain put back in during the last step of processing. Here's another example:
@ CapableMetal
Here's a comparison with all of the grain put back in:
http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/123779
I agree that it looks far more natural.
@ althor1138 & camroncamera
Here's a screenshot comparison, where I've added back some of the GOUT grain.
Super resolution v7 vs super resolution v7 + grain:
http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/123776
Avisynth SplineResize vs super resolution v7 + grain:
http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/123777
@ stretch009
Sadly, the release has been postponed a bit. The version I'm working on get's rid of the GOUT's excessive grain. The different grain levels in different scenes forces me to optimize the noise filter on a scene by scene basis. Today I finished the first 30.000 frames. Hopefully I wil have the remaining 144.000 frames finished at the start of next week. So, it may take a week or two before Star Wars is finished. However, it is worth the wait. I'm preparing a 4 min sample that should be available here tomorrow.
@ althor1138
The ringing is actually not due to sharpening. The ringing itself is already present in the GOUT. However, because it is literally everywhere, it is present around objects in each frame, and therefore the super resolution assumes it is part of the object and it get's enhanced. Sadly, there's no way around this. The same is true for some of the aliasing. This is also present around objects across frames and under certain circumstances gets enhanced like the ringing. These artifacts are unfortunate, but that is the price for a significantly higher resolution.
No sharpening has actually been applied. Like any digital restoration tool super resolution leaves it's marks. However, to only focus on a methods artifacts, while playing down it's virtues is like throwing out the baby with the bath water.
I see somebody who has nothing constructive to contribute...
Four more frame restorations with super resolution v7:
http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/123591
http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/123592
Considering the capabilities of what may now be called the restoration engine of super resolution v7, I thought I would push the boundaries even further. In these examples two of the worst examples of GOUT frames with incredible amounts of grain are completely restored:
It's interesting to see that the detail enhancement and noise reduction also restores the color to a certain extend.