[Technology] Old video quality / Anyone know...

[portlock seagull]

Sure lots of people have encountered this issue, anyone got any suggestions?

Remember when the iPhone etc came out and we all started taking videos? Well I've got lots of old footage of e.g. us knocking Man City out the cup (2010?) and lots of other memorable clips at Withdean.

Trouble is, watching on Mac/PC today, they're so 'blocky', they're not worth watching. And that's the rub - as video quality has improved with every upgrade, any old footage taken on an older device has seemingly become unwatchable on today's tech. platforms.

Surely there's a way to watch old footage, today, with some semblance of what's going on?! I remember the quality was great at the time, just can't watch it at all now seemingly and got some real treasured memories I'd like to see again.

Any suggestions? Apps?

 

[Dick Swiveller]

Don't watch them full screen on Full HD screens. Watch them on smaller devices with lower resolution or in a window. Sadly CSI isn't real and you can't shout ENHANCE and turn low res into 4K. Upscaling can help a bit but watching on a smaller screen is your best bet.

 

[portlock seagull]

Don't watch them full screen on Full HD screens. Watch them on smaller devices with lower resolution or in a window. Sadly CSI isn't real and you can't shout ENHANCE and turn low res into 4K. Upscaling can help a bit but watching on a smaller screen is your best bet.

Thanks DS, not sure I can watch on anything smaller than a tiny QuickTime pop-up box. Annoying to think that footage taken today will be unwatchable in 10 years. What's the point taking?!

 

[Springal]

What's the point taking?!

Excellent point. Which is why I despair at people who seem to live life through their phone cameras. How many people that film in Clubs, at gigs, football matches etc actually go back and watch it? Just enjoy the moment

 

[portlock seagull]

Excellent point. Which is why I despair at people who seem to live life through their phone cameras. How many people that film in Clubs, at gigs, football matches etc actually go back and watch it? Just enjoy the moment

I think I answered my own question there! Anyway, doesn't seem to be a way, I've scanned the Google too. It's annoying that we were able to look back at footage 10 years ago and enjoy it...but subsequently, it's just got increasingly 'minecraft' and picture quality is rubbish now. May as well delete all those family memories etc. Its why 2-D still beats video and probably always will do.

 

[Knocky's Nose]

You can't improve resolution that's just not there. If it was filmed in Tetris quality, it'll always be Tetris quality.. The best you can do is sharpen it up and smooth out the colours.

I'm sure Adobe can fix this, but it won't be cheap...I think it's 'Adobe Premiere' which has that feature, but I'm not that proficient. I just use LightRoom.

 

[Wardy's twin]

I think I answered my own question there! Anyway, doesn't seem to be a way, I've scanned the Google too. It's annoying that we were able to look back at footage 10 years ago and enjoy it...but subsequently, it's just got increasingly 'minecraft' and picture quality is rubbish now. May as well delete all those family memories etc. Its why 2-D still beats video and probably always will do.

I just did a search 'best software to watch low resolution video' and that came up with a few options which might be worth trying - https://www.apowersoft.com/faq/convert-normal-video-to-hd.html.

I have converted VHS tape to DVD and that has been ok. Its not 4k ultra HD but is watchable.

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

Damn. I thought this might be a thread about mucky videos.

 

[ferring seagull]

Damn. I thought this might be a thread about mucky videos.

As in old videos of mucky content etc.

 

[Baldseagull]

Excellent point. Which is why I despair at people who seem to live life through their phone cameras. How many people that film in Clubs, at gigs, football matches etc actually go back and watch it? Just enjoy the moment

It's not for watching back, it's for showing people they barely know how cool their life is, on Facebook. It's like those blokes when you were younger that would enjoy telling their mates about the shag they got last night, more than the actual shag they got last night.

 

[PeterOut]

Sure lots of people have encountered this issue, anyone got any suggestions?

Remember when the iPhone etc came out and we all started taking videos? Well I've got lots of old footage of e.g. us knocking Man City out the cup (2010?) and lots of other memorable clips at Withdean.

Trouble is, watching on Mac/PC today, they're so 'blocky', they're not worth watching. And that's the rub - as video quality has improved with every upgrade, any old footage taken on an older device has seemingly become unwatchable on today's tech. platforms.

Surely there's a way to watch old footage, today, with some semblance of what's going on?! I remember the quality was great at the time, just can't watch it at all now seemingly and got some real treasured memories I'd like to see again.

Any suggestions? Apps?

Try (free) video upscaling, see how you get on - this page has links and simple tutorials -
http://www.ilovefreesoftware.com/04/featured/free-video-upscaling-software-for-windows.html

I suggest you try upscaling the same clip with each of these, see which one you get on with / understand best / gets the best results, then start converting your collection

 

[Knocky's Nose]

As in old videos of mucky content etc.

Pressing 'pause' on the VCR at the right moment was an art form. Teenagers don't know how lucky they've got it these days, etc...

 

[Wardy's twin]

xxx

 

[Durlston]

My old VHS tapes are now getting worn out and the quality is poor, either through sound or picture. It happened when I lived in a rented house which was very damp in the winter.

Luckily my porn collection is all on DVD.

 

[Notters]

My old VHS tapes are now getting worn out and the quality is poor, either through sound or picture. It happened when I lived in a rented house which was very damp in the winter.

Luckily my porn collection is all on DVD.

It's the Esrth's magnetic field which gradually destroys VHS durlo old chap.

 

[Shropshire Seagull]

If you have stuff on tape, first step is to get it digital - as already mentioned, if you want to enhance the original quality, only very expensive software is likely to achieve this.

Getting from tape to digital is relatively easy - quite a few cheap/free applications out there to help.

Next choice is what video digital format - I tend to work mostly to .AVI as the common denominator - quality is acceptable [not HD but 4:3 pr 16:9 are options] and works on Windows, Android and (Cr)Apple AFAIK