Seeking to improve video quality

[jarod1005]

What sample source would you like?

[jarod1005]

Do you want me to post the video?

[jagabo]

A sample of the video you want to "improve".

[jarod1005]

Here is a sample.

[jagabo]

You said you wanted to improve an mp4 file. Why did you upload a wmv file?

[jarod1005]

I only did that to make a snippet sample. But yes, the full file is an mp4 which I would like to improve.

[jarod1005]

I will convert to an mp4.

[jarod1005]

Here it is.

[Cornucopia]

As always on this site, it is not recommended to give us a further conversion, but rather give us an un-recoded snippet of the ORIGINAL (using methods we've documented here before). That is really the only way to get an accurate base assessment.

Scott

[jagabo]

Re-encoding with a lossy codec is reducing the quality even further. And WMV is especially hard to work with. You should have used an mp4 cutter to extract a short portion of the source without re-encoding.

But from the looks of the wmv file -- you're not going to be able to do much to improve it. You can restore the original 23.976 fps frame rate to make it less jerky, make it a little brighter, and sharpen it a tiny bit.

source frame:

[Attachment 48596 - Click to enlarge]

processed frame:

[Attachment 48597 - Click to enlarge]

You might get slightly better results from the MP4 file. But I don't think it's worth the trouble. Especially since you can get better sources. You're local library probably has the series on DVD (mine does).

[jarod1005]

Thanks for the assistance.

What I did because I noticed in VirtualDub that in the drop down of file types it did not show or support an mp4, so I converted the entire file to an avi, and now, the avi file is displayed where it previously stated it did not have anything that would match.

I will proceed with your original advisement of VDub. Is it as self-explanatory as pushing a couple of buttons?

[jagabo]

What I did because I noticed in VirtualDub that in the drop down of file types it did not show or support an mp4, so I converted the entire file to an avi

Which probably decreased the quality.

Is it as self-explanatory as pushing a couple of buttons?

Video -> Add Filters... Then add and configure filters.

[jarod1005]

Is there a start button?

[jagabo]

Start what? Save a new file with your changes? File -> Save As...

[jagabo]

I happened to be at our local library a few days ago so I checked out one of the Columbo DVDs (5 discs, 10 episodes, cost me 50 cents). Here's a sample of one of the DVDs:


[Attachment 48635 - Click to enlarge]

And a similar shot from your WMV file:


[Attachment 48636 - Click to enlarge]

Stop fiddling with the poor source you have and get the DVD.

[Cornucopia]

Columbo, yeah!