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 436 pixels and compressed the image at 27% jpeg quality.

Someone else added a bit of sharpen because it looked blurry, resized the image to 329 pixels and compressed the image at 20% jpeg quality.

After that and they reduced to a 39 color gif.

Someone else reduced to a 28 color gif.

Someone resized the image to 334 pixels and compressed the image at 34% jpeg quality.

Then someone reduced to a 55 color gif.

After that, they added a bit of contrast, added a bit of sharpen because it looked blurry, resized the image to 564 pixels and compressed the image at 63% jpeg quality.

Then someone resized the image to 412 pixels and compressed the image at 17% jpeg quality.

Someone else reduced to a 64 color gif.

Then someone reduced to a 21 color gif.

Then someone resized the image to 500 pixels and compressed the image at 30% jpeg quality.

Someone resized the image to 452 pixels, compressed the image at 35% jpeg quality and someone resized the image to 465 pixels and compressed the image at 25% jpeg quality.

Then they added a bit of contrast, resized the image to 333 pixels, compressed the image at 17% jpeg quality and then they resized the image to 462 pixels and compressed the image at 20% jpeg quality.

After that, they added a bit of sharpen because it looked blurry, resized the image to 462 pixels and compressed the image at 9% jpeg quality and someone reduced to a 35 color gif.

Someone resized the image to 532 pixels, compressed the image at 12% jpeg quality and someone resized the image to 466 pixels and compressed the image at 11% jpeg quality.

After that, they resized the image to 406 pixels, compressed the image at 31% jpeg quality and after that, they added a bit of contrast, resized the image to 425 pixels and compressed the image at 31% jpeg quality.

Someone resized the image to 414 pixels, compressed the image at 17% jpeg quality and then they resized the image to 488 pixels and compressed the image at 21% jpeg quality.

Then they resized the image to 301 pixels, compressed the image at 23% jpeg quality and someone else resized the image to 389 pixels and compressed the image at 34% jpeg quality.

Then someone added a bit of contrast, resized the image to 331 pixels, compressed the image at 13% jpeg quality and then someone added a bit of contrast, resized the image to 430 pixels and compressed the image at 23% jpeg quality.

Someone else reduced to a 36 color gif and someone reduced to a 48 color gif.

Finally they reduced to a 47 color gif.

Oh my, that got pretty bad.

Website by Joachim Michaelis