DrDre

I may have overdone the smoothing a bit. This one is better:

http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/123224

As all of you know the picture quality in the GOUT is variable, so for the master of Star Wars SRE (Super Resolution Edition ;-)), I decided to use variable filter settings for some scenes, to make the movie picture quality more consistent. The scenes where the stormtroopers enter Tantive IV required special attention. Here's what it will look like:

http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/123192

http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/123194

@ lpd

I will give it a try. Since they are 1080p I'll have to upscale to 4K and then downscale to 1080p and see if the quality improves.

@ Laserdisc Master

I just noticed some pretty bad artifacts in one of the frames of v7, so I'm inclined to agree with you. So, it's back to v6.

You're going to need to sit down for this one. Super resolution v7 enhances more detail and completely removes the nasty grain from the GOUT. Not some of it, all of it! Here are the first 7 screenshot comparisons. Lucky number 7 indeed. More to come...

http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/123070

http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/123071

http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/123072

http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/123074

http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/123075

http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/123076

http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/123077

@ towne32

I think you're right. Those color correction threads tend to be very long ;-). I also think the super resolution v6 already enhances the color perception somewhat, due to the enhanced detail and noise reduction. Thanks for the offer on the subtitles!

I may go for a slight color correction. Here are some comparisons. What do you think?

http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/122981

http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/122982

http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/122983

http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/122990

http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/122991

@ Dark Star

Thanks very much! Although there have been rumours of a Disney release, I thought it would be nice to have another HD version, besides Harmy's masterpiece. I'm glad it came out so well. 

@ stretch009

Not yet, I'm creating the master for Star Wars - SRE. This will take a whopping 7 days (it's been running for 7 hours and we're still on the Tantive IV :-D). Once the master is finished, I will post-process it and attempt to put in subtitles and such.

This frame was used in Harmy's video sources documentary about his Despecialized Edition. It was an example of the Project Blu V1 upscale. Here's what the frame looks like for super resolution v6:

http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/122931

A few more screenshot comparisons for super resolution v6:

http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/122924

http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/122925

http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/122927

http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/122928

http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/122929

Especially the last two screenshots show, that super resolution can do what no other filter can, enhance detail and reduce noise simultaneously. 

@ Darth Lucas

This is a very good possibility. With multiple sources you may be able to achieve a better result. You would have to write the algorithm from scratch, though. So that would be a lot of work. 

@ Laserdisc Master

Although I agree the jagged lines are a nuisance, I've looked at a number of antialiasing methods, and all of them tend to tend to distort other shapes. Take the following screenshot for example:

http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/118497

The antialiasing methods I tested tended to give Leia's teeth a makeover, removing the imperfections that are in the original HD shot.

Super resolution v6 successfully reconstructs their shape and imperfections:

http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/122831

This really is the final version: super resolution v6. I've implemented a far better noise filter that doesn't have (cross-frame) denoising artifacts. The frames now look much more natural. Here are the screenshots:

http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/122828

http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/122829

http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/122830

http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/122831

http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/122832

http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/122833

http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/122834

http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/122835

http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/122836

http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/122837

@ Spaced Ranger

I wrote a custom super resolution script, using the Infognition plugin as a basis. I'm playing a bit with different noise filters, as the current one shows some artifacts in motion that are not visible in still frames. Once the new filter is implemented I will release the Star Wars Trilogy - The Super Resolution Edition. My super resolution script will be released along with as bonus material ;-).

Here's another screenshot that clearly shows super resolution v5 reconstructs the tiniest details, while noise is eliminated. Look at Vader's chest plate or Tarkin's face for example:

http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/122740

To quote Han Solo: "Sometimes I amaze even myself!" ;-)

@ stretch009

That's a good suggestion... :-)

Here's a good example of how super resolution v5 greatly enhances detail, while eliminating noise:

http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/122728

@ stretch009

If somebody can tell me how to add those subtitles in Avisynth I would be more than happy to put them in.

@ stretch009

I've only seen screenshots of TeamBlu's version, but I'm pretty sure this release is far more detailed, and can really be seen as the first true high definition GOUT sourced release. TeamBlu of course did much more to restore the GOUT in many other respects though, fixing many of the GOUT's flaws. I suppose this release could serve as a starting point for someone else's restoration project. But this is where I'm going to leave it. 

I'm hoping that within a week or two we'll have the release of the Star Wars Trilogy - The Super Resolution Edition... ;-)

@ stretch009

Yes, this will be the final version, and it should be ready for release in a few days. 

Here's super resolution v5. It maintains the enhanced detail of v4, while the noise compared to the source is significantly reduced. This is the best that I can do. Here are the same 8 screenshot comparisons:

http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/122685

http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/122687

http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/122688

http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/122690

http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/122692

http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/122694

http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/122697

http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/122700

@ towne32

Yes, the enhanced halo is unfortunately a side effect of the super resolution. I wrote my own super resolution algorithm in Avisynth based on the Infognition plugin. This algorithm dramatically enhances the detail compared to the standard super resolution. The halo is present in the source in most frames, so sadly the algorithm interprets it as cross frame detail, so it get's enhanced along with the rest. I implemented an advanced noise filter to counter the effects of noise enhancement. The halo however can't be deminished without compromising the detail and crispness of the upscale. To me it's an acceptable cost, but perhaps others will prefer the smoother alternative. 

Here's a first video sample of the super resolution v4. It's part of the Tantive IV scene.

Low res source:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8_LYKyZDiajVVlQQlE2OTVITVE/view?usp=sharing

Super resolution v4:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8_LYKyZDiajYkhnUEg4X2pGb2s/view?usp=sharing

Please download for full quality.

@ Laserdisc Man

You accidentally compared your upscale to the Avisynth Spline64Resize, not to the super resolution v4. Here the correct comparison:

http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/122514

As before your upscale is cleaner with less noise, but mine contains more texture and detail. Interesting comparison!