Old candids restoration

[ayreon22]

I shoot candid photos & videos since 2005, back then the best recording resolution was around 640*480 (or worse), my first camera was recording at 13 frames per second... Not great by today's standards 
So, what about all these old videos i shot between 2005 and 2008? Or even some 720p videos that may look a bit crappy today?

I tried a tool to enchance the visual quality and the framerate of this kind of videos: it uses AI to generate images with a better resolution (and it can "create" the missing frames to generate a solid 60 fps video).

From a 320x240 video to 4K (2008): 
 

From a 720p video to 4K (2011):
 
-> Link to a video sample (4K 60fps)

Her feet look even more smelly now 

A test from one of my first real decent candid shoot in 2007, with this girl studying (at ease...) at the campus library:
  
From a crappy 320x240 video to a nice photo (well ALMOST nice, you can see some artifacts here and there. But first one looks pretty good in my opinon!)

Here's the original video file for comparison (and for FEET).

Let's not forget nylon (from a 720p noisy video):


What do you think? Do you want me to try with some more?
(Here's the software i use, but of course there are more to try, possibly some free ones)

[Collegetownstudios]

I shoot candid photos & videos since 2005.....
What do you think? Do you want me to try with some more?

Topaz Labs is definitely the best program for this.
Which setting do you use on your videos?

[nyllover]

OMG...these are AMAZING...and could certainly open up MANY possibilities!

I need to give it a try!

[Collegetownstudios]

OMG...these are AMAZING...and could certainly open up MANY possibilities!

I need to give it a try!

It's SO GOOD Nyllover.
But for most computers in a regular home, it can take a while to process a video.
You need a good graphics card and stuff to really get the most out of it.

I've been doing it for my own videos for the past year. It's super delightful.

[Leopard]

That's great news! Some old great videos with bad quality can be improved

[nyllover]

It's SO GOOD Nyllover.
But for most computers in a regular home, it can take a while to process a video.
You need a good graphics card and stuff to really get the most out of it.

I've been doing it for my own videos for the past year. It's super delightful.

I tested it with a very old video (20+ years old) that came from a camcorder...not that happy with the result but...I was asking too much
I'll need to test it with some easier tasks, like simply bringing to 4K some Full HD videos I have

[ayreon22]

Which setting do you use on your videos?

I'm still a beginner with this tool, i kept the default settings with the "4K & 60 fps " preset.
I'll have to check the other AI models, maybe some of them works better depending of the original quality of the video and the kind of scenery / lights.
If you know the perfect preset for feet, don't hesitate

A bit more from the latest serie:


But as Collegetownstudios mentioned, it can take a while to upscale a video, even with a correct graphic card (Topaz AI mostly (only?) uses the GPU).

[Collegetownstudios]

It's SO GOOD Nyllover.
But for most computers in a regular home, it can take a while to process a video.
You need a good graphics card and stuff to really get the most out of it.

I've been doing it for my own videos for the past year. It's super delightful.

I tested it with a very old video (20+ years old) that came from a camcorder...not that happy with the result but...I was asking too much
I'll need to test it with some easier tasks, like simply bringing to 4K some Full HD videos I have

It's much easier to get the HD videos to 4k than it is to get a 320px video to 4k. I might make a video on it.

[ayreon22]

Yes, the IA can't make miracles on very low resolution unfortunately.

Another try from a 2008 "Asian girl soles at the campus library" video (320x240):


This one looks a bit better (still from a very low resolution video):

[Collegetownstudios]

Yes, the IA can't make miracles on very low resolution unfortunately.

Another try from a 2008 "Asian girl soles at the campus library" video (320x240):


This one looks a bit better (still from a very low resolution video):

Definitely not miracles, but you can get them to a good quality using a couple 9f different models on there.

[nyllover]

I think the one I tested (which was a personal video) was WAY worse than that one. It was from an old analog camcorder, so it also had to be deinterlaced.... I asked too much

[ayreon22]

There may be some settings to take this configuration into account, and make old VHS videos better but you'll have to find the right one.
I found this video, with this comment:

Currently, to get the best image quality from low res’ DV footage, firstly run a de-interlace pass using Video Enhance’s Dionne model. Re-import the rendered file & choose Proteus model. Adjust settings on this model - including up-scaling - & render. To make matters more complicated I have discovered the de-interlace model that processes video at 50fps is the best. This means if your footage is shot at 25fps you need to re-import it & run a time remapping pass at 25fps before finishing with proteus de-noise, de-block & sharpen. PS: the added texture spoken of in the above video is probably due to the noise slider on when rendering. All of this is to say post processing of video, or film to video is a trial & error process. And if you are serious about this you will compliment your post production with other plugins, such as those made by REVision FX & Boris FX.

Does not look like an easy task


Some more from an already decent 1080p video, upscaled to 4K:


 

(one of my personal favorite btw)

[nyllover]

Does not look like an easy task

No, but thanks for looking into it!

[Collegetownstudios]

It sounds difficult, but it is very easy. The program is set and forget.

[Leopard]

Unbelievable feet and soles

There may be some settings to take this configuration into account, and make old VHS videos better but you'll have to find the right one.
I found this video, with this comment:

Currently, to get the best image quality from low res’ DV footage, firstly run a de-interlace pass using Video Enhance’s Dionne model. Re-import the rendered file & choose Proteus model. Adjust settings on this model - including up-scaling - & render. To make matters more complicated I have discovered the de-interlace model that processes video at 50fps is the best. This means if your footage is shot at 25fps you need to re-import it & run a time remapping pass at 25fps before finishing with proteus de-noise, de-block & sharpen. PS: the added texture spoken of in the above video is probably due to the noise slider on when rendering. All of this is to say post processing of video, or film to video is a trial & error process. And if you are serious about this you will compliment your post production with other plugins, such as those made by REVision FX & Boris FX.

Does not look like an easy task


Some more from an already decent 1080p video, upscaled to 4K:


 

(one of my personal favorite btw)

[assy]

Note that if you are using Topaz Video AI stick to v2.6.4 for now. The new 3.x versions are buggy as hell and (believe it or not) the quality has deteriorated.

[Collegetownstudios]

Note that if you are using Topaz Video AI stick to v2.6.4 for now. The new 3.x versions are buggy as hell and (believe it or not) the quality has deteriorated.

Indeed. v.2.6.4 is what I use, and I have no plans of updating anytime soon.

[ayreon22]

Some more upscaled videos screenshots:
 




I am 9 versions late for Topaz AI Video, i'm on version 3.0.12. I didn't encounter any issues, but i can't compare against versions 2.*.*

[Collegetownstudios]

Some more upscaled videos screenshots:
 




I am 9 versions late for Topaz AI Video, i'm on version 3.0.12. I didn't encounter any issues, but i can't compare against versions 2.*.*

I have the newest version of Video Enhance.
What processes do you use to enhance your videos? I had a good groove with the previous version, but now I'm starting from square 1.

[ayreon22]

I usually stick to the basic settings (upscale to 4K + 60 fps with Proteus), i don't have the time (or the processing power ) to do a lot of tests.

College girl chilling on the grass:



The weather was exceptionally hot for this time of year (Februrary, 2 or 3 years ago).