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Will Smith's concert crowds are real, but AI is blurring the lines

(waxy.org)
363 points jay_kyburz | 3 comments | 26 Aug 25 04:11 UTC | HN request time: 0.634s | source
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ulrikrasmussen ◴[26 Aug 25 06:15 UTC] No.45022875[source]▶
I think AI-"upscaled" videos are as jarring to look at as a newly bought TV before frame smoothing has been disabled. Who seriously thinks this looks better, even if the original is a slightly grainy recording from the 90's?

I was recently sent a link to this recording of a David Bowie & Nine Inch Nails concert, and I got a serious uneasy feeling as if I was on a psychedelic and couldn't quite trust my perception, especially at the 2:00 mark: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Yyx31HPgfs&list=RD7Yyx31HPg...

It turned out that the video was "AI-upscaled" from an original which is really blurry and sometimes has a low frame rate. These are artistic choices, and I think the original, despite being low resolution, captures the intended atmosphere much better: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1X6KF1IkkIc&list=RD1X6KF1Ikk...

We have pretty good cameras and lenses now. We don't need AI to "improve" the quality.

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1. maplethorpe ◴[26 Aug 25 10:55 UTC] No.45024842[source]▶
Your post just made me realise that as soon as the technology is ready, built-in AI upscaling will be just as ubiquitous as motion smoothing.
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2. incone123 ◴[26 Aug 25 11:55 UTC] No.45025280[source]▶
Not sure if you're serious, but wouldn't it be more efficient to upscale at source and stream the result? Extra bandwidth versus a million TVs all doing the same computation.
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3. queenkjuul ◴[26 Aug 25 14:23 UTC] No.45026978[source]▶
Yeah but that wouldn't let them slap AI on the TV box as a selling point