Graphics

Internet Image Degradation

Do things grow old in cyberspace? The answer is "yes"...

When pictures are constantly copied from website to website, and recompressed and rescaled every time, an interesting loss of quality occurs gradually over time. This page tries to simulate and display this gradual devolution. The first picture is the original.

First someone resized the image to 380 pixels and compressed the image at 44% jpeg quality.

Someone reduced to a 53 color gif.

Then someone reduced to a 36 color gif.

Then someone added a bit of contrast, resized the image to 518 pixels and compressed the image at 48% jpeg quality.

Then someone resized the image to 488 pixels and compressed the image at 55% jpeg quality.

Someone else reduced to a 35 color gif.

After that, they resized the image to 388 pixels and compressed the image at 46% jpeg quality.

Then someone resized the image to 305 pixels and compressed the image at 22% jpeg quality.

Someone reduced to a 64 color gif.

Someone resized the image to 460 pixels and compressed the image at 10% jpeg quality.

Then someone reduced to a 43 color gif.

Then someone added a bit of contrast, resized the image to 448 pixels, compressed the image at 22% jpeg quality and then they resized the image to 580 pixels and compressed the image at 30% jpeg quality.

Someone else reduced to a 36 color gif and someone else added a bit of contrast, resized the image to 415 pixels and compressed the image at 32% jpeg quality.

Then someone resized the image to 538 pixels and compressed the image at 25% jpeg quality and someone else reduced to a 19 color gif.

Then someone resized the image to 446 pixels, compressed the image at 15% jpeg quality and someone else resized the image to 573 pixels and compressed the image at 30% jpeg quality.

Then someone resized the image to 380 pixels, compressed the image at 33% jpeg quality and after that, they added a bit of contrast, resized the image to 458 pixels and compressed the image at 19% jpeg quality.

Then someone resized the image to 439 pixels, compressed the image at 32% jpeg quality and someone else added a bit of contrast, resized the image to 397 pixels and compressed the image at 28% jpeg quality.

After that and they reduced to a 12 color gif and then someone reduced to a 29 color gif.

Then they added a bit of contrast, resized the image to 486 pixels, compressed the image at 26% jpeg quality and someone resized the image to 336 pixels and compressed the image at 15% jpeg quality.

After that, they added a bit of contrast, resized the image to 499 pixels and compressed the image at 15% jpeg quality and someone else reduced to a 23 color gif.

Finally they resized the image to 477 pixels and compressed the image at 33% jpeg quality.

Oh my, that got pretty bad.

Website by Joachim Michaelis