Could we use AI to update 4:3 media to 16:9?

snake_case@feddit.uk to No Stupid Questions@lemmy.world – 108 points –

I've been re-watching star trek voyager recently, and I've heard when filming, they didn't clear the wide angle of filming equipment, so it's not as simple as just going back to the original film. With the advancement of AI, is it only a matter of time until older programs like this are released with more updated formats?

And if yes, do you think AI could also upgrade to 4K. So theoretically you could change a SD 4:3 program and make it 4k 16:9.

I'd imagine it would be easier for the early episodes of Futurama for example due to it being a cartoon and therefore less detailed.

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Voyager and DS9 were shot on video, not film.

That's why there's HD versions of TOS and TNG but not DS9 and Voyager.

They were shot on negative 35mm film, and edited on tape in that aspect ratio.

Only some odd scenes and shots were captured on tape, but it was mostly film. They won't need to upscale any live scenes, but they would have to work on rendering all the digital effects and blue screen shots for example. As it was only ever edited on tape, it's unlikely that the digital effects could be ever rendered or upscaled, it would probably need to be entirely reworked from scratch.

Very daunting task. Although, they did it for TNG. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Edit: Someone pointed out the obvious in a reply. Yes, of course they will need to be scanned for a better resolution scan. I already pointed out it's on film, and even mentioned why it's not just that simple. (Hence the digital effects needing to be redone).

It's worth noting that edited on tape also means that to make hd versions, you have to re-scan all the camera negatives (if they even still exist), then re-edit all the scenes to be exactly the same editing as the tape editing. Plus, all the colour timing needs to be redone.

It's a huge amount of work, and the tng stuff wasn't profitable because of it. It's just too much.

Color timing?

Sometimes called colour grading

Is the origin of “color timing” refer to a relationship between color and signal on ntsc or pal or something? Just curious about the word timing.

It's too complex to go over in a comment, but for film, it's a process of exposing the film through different filters for different lengths of time to produce the final colours you want

Isn't this a perfect example where stable diffusion excels over the traditional process?

No? What? You want to ai generate the show with ai promts?

To improve the quality of each frame as you upscale it

On the other hand, recreating Voyagers CGI is doable for any home enthusiast nowadays.

I want to see AI Voyager episodes like people are doing for the Simpsons and family guy. Basic 3d models interacting with each other using generated dialog.

Just Janeway and crew wandering the Delta quadrant violating the prime directive in the name of coffee.