Page 1 of 2
Old candids restoration
Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2023 7:43 pm
by 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)
Re: Old candids restoration
Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2023 8:22 pm
by Collegetownstudios
ayreon22 wrote: Wed Jan 18, 2023 7:43 pm
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?
Re: Old candids restoration
Posted: Thu Jan 19, 2023 12:19 am
by nyllover
OMG...these are AMAZING...and could certainly open up MANY possibilities!
I need to give it a try!
Re: Old candids restoration
Posted: Thu Jan 19, 2023 5:00 am
by Collegetownstudios
nyllover wrote: Thu Jan 19, 2023 12:19 am
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.
Re: Old candids restoration
Posted: Thu Jan 19, 2023 11:07 am
by Leopard
That's great news! Some old great videos with bad quality can be improved

Re: Old candids restoration
Posted: Thu Jan 19, 2023 11:11 am
by nyllover
Collegetownstudios wrote: Thu Jan 19, 2023 5:00 am
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

Re: Old candids restoration
Posted: Thu Jan 19, 2023 5:53 pm
by ayreon22
Re: Old candids restoration
Posted: Thu Jan 19, 2023 6:25 pm
by Collegetownstudios
nyllover wrote: Thu Jan 19, 2023 11:11 am
Collegetownstudios wrote: Thu Jan 19, 2023 5:00 am
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.
Re: Old candids restoration
Posted: Thu Jan 19, 2023 11:15 pm
by 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):

Re: Old candids restoration
Posted: Fri Jan 20, 2023 4:25 am
by Collegetownstudios
ayreon22 wrote: Thu Jan 19, 2023 11:15 pm
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.
Re: Old candids restoration
Posted: Fri Jan 20, 2023 10:27 am
by 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


Re: Old candids restoration
Posted: Mon Jan 23, 2023 8:54 am
by 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)
Re: Old candids restoration
Posted: Mon Jan 23, 2023 10:32 am
by nyllover
ayreon22 wrote: Mon Jan 23, 2023 8:54 am
Does not look like an easy task
No, but thanks for looking into it!

Re: Old candids restoration
Posted: Mon Jan 23, 2023 5:09 pm
by Collegetownstudios
It sounds difficult, but it is very easy. The program is set and forget.
Re: Old candids restoration
Posted: Mon Jan 23, 2023 7:50 pm
by Leopard
Unbelievable feet and soles
ayreon22 wrote: Mon Jan 23, 2023 8:54 am
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)
Re: Old candids restoration
Posted: Tue Jan 24, 2023 2:54 pm
by 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.
Re: Old candids restoration
Posted: Wed Jan 25, 2023 1:36 am
by Collegetownstudios
assy wrote: Tue Jan 24, 2023 2:54 pm
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.
Re: Old candids restoration
Posted: Sat Mar 25, 2023 10:47 am
by ayreon22
Re: Old candids restoration
Posted: Sat Mar 25, 2023 9:29 pm
by Collegetownstudios
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.
Re: Old candids restoration
Posted: Fri Mar 31, 2023 11:37 am
by ayreon22