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 404 pixels and compressed the image at 65% jpeg quality.

Someone else resized the image to 552 pixels and compressed the image at 30% jpeg quality.

Someone resized the image to 389 pixels and compressed the image at 24% jpeg quality.

Then someone reduced to a 37 color gif.

Someone reduced to a 54 color gif.

After that and they reduced to a 38 color gif.

Then they reduced to a 38 color gif.

After that, they resized the image to 457 pixels and compressed the image at 19% jpeg quality.

After that and they reduced to a 63 color gif.

Then someone reduced to a 35 color gif.

Someone resized the image to 506 pixels and compressed the image at 10% jpeg quality.

Someone resized the image to 523 pixels, compressed the image at 23% jpeg quality and someone resized the image to 450 pixels and compressed the image at 24% jpeg quality.

Then they added a bit of contrast, resized the image to 462 pixels, compressed the image at 15% jpeg quality and then someone resized the image to 321 pixels and compressed the image at 21% jpeg quality.

Someone reduced to a 36 color gif and after that, they resized the image to 464 pixels and compressed the image at 22% jpeg quality.

Someone added a bit of sharpen because it looked blurry, resized the image to 319 pixels, compressed the image at 20% jpeg quality and someone else resized the image to 334 pixels and compressed the image at 34% jpeg quality.

Someone else resized the image to 377 pixels and compressed the image at 9% jpeg quality and then they reduced to a 43 color gif.

Then they added a bit of sharpen because it looked blurry, resized the image to 482 pixels, compressed the image at 14% jpeg quality and then they resized the image to 529 pixels and compressed the image at 11% jpeg quality.

Then they reduced to a 32 color gif and someone else resized the image to 528 pixels and compressed the image at 12% jpeg quality.

Then they resized the image to 579 pixels and compressed the image at 35% jpeg quality and someone reduced to a 48 color gif.

Someone else resized the image to 320 pixels and compressed the image at 30% jpeg quality and someone reduced to a 18 color gif.

Finally someone reduced to a 22 color gif.

Oh my, that got pretty bad.

Website by Joachim Michaelis