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 added a bit of sharpen because it looked blurry, resized the image to 395 pixels and compressed the image at 67% jpeg quality.

Someone else resized the image to 326 pixels and compressed the image at 50% jpeg quality.

Then someone resized the image to 387 pixels and compressed the image at 24% jpeg quality.

Someone resized the image to 373 pixels and compressed the image at 69% jpeg quality.

Then they reduced to a 43 color gif.

Then they added a bit of contrast, resized the image to 409 pixels and compressed the image at 39% jpeg quality.

Someone else reduced to a 33 color gif.

Someone else resized the image to 503 pixels and compressed the image at 30% jpeg quality.

Someone resized the image to 439 pixels and compressed the image at 15% jpeg quality.

Someone else added a bit of contrast, resized the image to 459 pixels and compressed the image at 31% jpeg quality.

Then they resized the image to 530 pixels and compressed the image at 34% jpeg quality.

After that, they resized the image to 470 pixels, compressed the image at 12% jpeg quality and then they resized the image to 384 pixels and compressed the image at 34% jpeg quality.

Someone reduced to a 11 color gif and then someone resized the image to 302 pixels and compressed the image at 28% jpeg quality.

Someone resized the image to 453 pixels, compressed the image at 31% jpeg quality and someone else resized the image to 437 pixels and compressed the image at 22% jpeg quality.

Then someone resized the image to 373 pixels, compressed the image at 24% jpeg quality and then someone resized the image to 438 pixels and compressed the image at 9% jpeg quality.

Someone else resized the image to 385 pixels, compressed the image at 8% jpeg quality and someone added a bit of contrast, resized the image to 327 pixels and compressed the image at 34% jpeg quality.

Someone added a bit of contrast, resized the image to 530 pixels, compressed the image at 24% jpeg quality and someone else resized the image to 384 pixels and compressed the image at 8% jpeg quality.

Then someone resized the image to 382 pixels, compressed the image at 35% jpeg quality and someone resized the image to 483 pixels and compressed the image at 24% jpeg quality.

Then they added a bit of contrast, resized the image to 341 pixels, compressed the image at 21% jpeg quality and then they resized the image to 367 pixels and compressed the image at 12% jpeg quality.

Someone else added a bit of contrast, resized the image to 555 pixels, compressed the image at 33% jpeg quality and then they resized the image to 429 pixels and compressed the image at 20% jpeg quality.

Finally someone resized the image to 468 pixels and compressed the image at 20% jpeg quality.

Oh my, that got pretty bad.

Website by Joachim Michaelis