(this is a spin-off from the synthetic aperture camera article I posted last night)

Using sub-pixel image registration, and a sliding window of the last <N> frames (for real-time processing) or a window of <N> frames both before and after the displayed frame (for non-real-time, such as normal DVD play), it should be possible to increase the true resolution of each frame in a DVD. Obviously this will fail when there is significant movement in a scene, but eye/brain dynamics combine so that this case is less important anyway (same as mpeg compression takes liberties when there is movement in a scene)

This is semi-baked as there is already software to capture enhanced single frames from video, but I don't know of anyone doing it for multiple frames to create enhanced video. It should be possible in real time, if not with existing software, then with a silicon implementation.

This could be the basis of a new range of upconverting DVD players...
-- gtoal, Sep 19 2006

the single-image version... http://www.topazlab...ts/topaz_moment_pe/
resolution-enhance frame grabbing from video [gtoal, Sep 19 2006]

Bollocks. It's baked :-( http://www.topazlab...ucts/topaz_enhance/
should have had a better look around the Topaz site before I posted :-( [gtoal, Sep 19 2006]

This would indeed require a lot of processing, which would require a more powerfull processor than a regular mpeg decoder chip, making the player expensive. But hey, quality comes at a price.

Very intriguing.
-- Veho, Sep 20 2006


True, this would require substantially more powerful processors than what's required to simply decode and play back recorded content, but since DVD drives are capable of playing back at much higher than real-time rates, all that would be required is a much faster processor and the appropriate code, which would read ahead and play into a buffer.

Is current hardware fast enough to keep up with real-time playback while doing this? I don't know, but if not, it's only a matter of time.

Or, if it's not fast enough, this could be done as a one-time pre-process as part of a transcoding rip to hard-disk.
-- Freefall, Sep 20 2006


This is completely baked... search for 'upconversion' many dvd players do this.
-- craigts, Sep 20 2006


aren't dvds hd already?
-- tcarson, Sep 21 2006


craigts - I know all about current upconversion technology. I can assure you *no* DVD players are using sub-pixel registration "super-resolution" to do it.
-- gtoal, Sep 21 2006


Well people aren't cutting down trees with herrings either.
-- craigts, Sep 21 2006


Not surprising that it's baked. It's a good idea and achievable with current technology.
-- wagster, Sep 21 2006



random, halfbakery