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 449 pixels and compressed the image at 46% jpeg quality.

Someone reduced to a 57 color gif.

Then they added a bit of contrast, resized the image to 458 pixels and compressed the image at 36% jpeg quality.

Then they resized the image to 495 pixels and compressed the image at 49% jpeg quality.

After that, they added a bit of contrast, resized the image to 555 pixels and compressed the image at 64% jpeg quality.

Then they resized the image to 516 pixels and compressed the image at 63% jpeg quality.

Then someone resized the image to 318 pixels and compressed the image at 62% jpeg quality.

Someone else resized the image to 567 pixels and compressed the image at 15% jpeg quality.

Someone else resized the image to 375 pixels and compressed the image at 9% jpeg quality.

Then they resized the image to 570 pixels and compressed the image at 31% jpeg quality.

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

After that, they resized the image to 558 pixels, compressed the image at 19% jpeg quality and then they added a bit of contrast, resized the image to 476 pixels and compressed the image at 19% jpeg quality.

Then they resized the image to 347 pixels, compressed the image at 12% jpeg quality and someone else added a bit of sharpen because it looked blurry, resized the image to 472 pixels and compressed the image at 16% jpeg quality.

After that, they resized the image to 459 pixels and compressed the image at 16% jpeg quality and then someone reduced to a 17 color gif.

Then someone resized the image to 441 pixels, compressed the image at 26% jpeg quality and someone else resized the image to 491 pixels and compressed the image at 33% jpeg quality.

After that, they resized the image to 468 pixels and compressed the image at 9% jpeg quality and then someone reduced to a 40 color gif.

Someone reduced to a 41 color gif and someone else resized the image to 509 pixels and compressed the image at 27% jpeg quality.

After that, they reduced to a 18 color gif and then someone added a bit of sharpen because it looked blurry, resized the image to 398 pixels and compressed the image at 14% jpeg quality.

Then someone resized the image to 323 pixels, compressed the image at 33% jpeg quality and someone added a bit of contrast, added a bit of sharpen because it looked blurry, resized the image to 437 pixels and compressed the image at 35% jpeg quality.

Then they added a bit of contrast, resized the image to 529 pixels, compressed the image at 16% jpeg quality and then someone resized the image to 513 pixels and compressed the image at 19% jpeg quality.

Finally they added a bit of contrast, resized the image to 536 pixels and compressed the image at 35% jpeg quality.

Oh my, that got pretty bad.

Website by Joachim Michaelis