Topic: NEW Topaz upsampling product: A.I. Gigapixel (Read 19980 times)

MauriceRR · « **Reply #100 on:** September 29, 2018, 03:52:39 am »

Yes, the preview at 100% of High resolution files is different than the real input at 100%, as you can see it in photoshop for exemple. See the image I attached a few posts before.
Is it the case for you too ? I'm window10 64b user.

plugsnpixels · « **Reply #101 on:** September 29, 2018, 03:57:46 am »

No, Mac user (though I can run Win10 as well), but I don't have anything that hi-res. Can you provide some sample? I can check it tomorrow.

MauriceRR · « **Reply #102 on:** September 29, 2018, 04:10:18 am »

Something like that is enough to see a big difference at 100% :
https://www.dpreview.com/reviews/image-comparison/download-image?s3Key=5719cb5cdfcf42139e014113cabae092.jpg

Arlen · « **Reply #103 on:** September 29, 2018, 10:36:20 am »

Maurice, I believe I see what you are talking about. Images viewed in AI Clear at 100% are much less sharp than they are in Photoshop or other programs. I believe that clicking the HD Preview button at the top used to make a difference, transitioning from a rather unsharp image to one that looks similar to the Photoshop view. But clicking that button seems to do nothing now.

I am also on a Windows 64bit machine.

jim t · « **Reply #104 on:** September 29, 2018, 11:02:14 am »

I too, have this problem Maurice. When in Studio, my previews are always kind of fuzzy when zoomed into 100%! How can anyone notice the nuances in making minor changes in contrast or sharpness.... When taking the image back to photoshop the changes can be seen very clearly now at 100% I'm working on a 4k monitor. If anyone has some input, it would be appreciated.

MauriceRR · « **Reply #105 on:** September 29, 2018, 12:50:29 pm »

ok, it's what I thought, it's not a bug. It's annoying for fine tuning an algorithm like AIClear.
I'm on a regular 24"screen (1920x1200). I think it's even more obvious than on a 300dpi screen.
I made a ticket on the website, I don't know if they will reply.
I can understand that algorithm can be slow on high resolution file in preview, but there is other strategies to keep control on fine tuning than the way they do in their graphic interface.
it makes AI clear rendering as a black box on HD files, meanwhile theri algo seems very powerfull (I tried topaz gigapixel too).

plugsnpixels · « **Reply #106 on:** September 29, 2018, 02:16:28 pm »

Maurice, I did a quick test with Clear and 100% HD preview. It seems the results in PS are just slightly clearer than the preview at the default settings.

Let us know what becomes of your ticket.

PS: Thanks for the test chart! Though it is a bit soft (probably a 4x5 film capture).

MauriceRR · « **Reply #107 on:** September 29, 2018, 02:21:51 pm »

Oh, It's better than what I got. $:-\$

plugsnpixels · « **Reply #108 on:** September 29, 2018, 02:29:40 pm »

So you'll want a Mac then, ha!

jim t · « **Reply #109 on:** September 29, 2018, 04:25:46 pm »

To be more clear, our images look like Medium quality Jpegs in Topaz Studio. This happens to me in precision clarity, detail and so on.

plugsnpixels · « **Reply #110 on:** September 29, 2018, 04:29:08 pm »

Thanks Jim, I will make them aware of our discussion.

Arlen · « **Reply #111 on:** September 29, 2018, 06:27:39 pm »

Maurice and all, I thought the problem might have popped up with the latest version (1.12.0) of Studio, so I checked it on another PC that has an older version (11.5.0) installed. I see the exact same problem there, so it's not a recent version issue; nor is it restricted to just one of my computers.

I also checked to see what happens when other, non-Studio, Topaz plugins are called up directly from Photoshop rather than going through Studio. No problems there, the 100% view looks the same as it does in PS.

The HD Preview button, when invoked in Studio, induces a marked change when the image is set to FIT the screen--it becomes much sharper. After clicking the IN button one or a few times, the effect is still there but reduced. By the time I get to 100% enlargement, the HD Preview effect is completely gone.

Since Plugsnpixels' results on a Mac look good, and those of us reporting this problem are all using PC's and Windows, maybe it is the version that runs on PC's that is at the root of it. I'm wishing now that this problem was in it's own thread, so that others might more easily notice it and weigh in with more data points.

Maurice, please do let us know what happens with your support ticket. This is a pretty serious issue.

plugsnpixels · « **Reply #112 on:** September 30, 2018, 01:08:04 am »

I heard back from Topaz about the preview and here's what they say:

"The HD Preview item is built for systems that don't have the computing power to render 100% of the effect on an image when you're in fit view. If a computer can't render the effect without significant speed loss on a large image in fit, the program downsamples the image to be able to show the effect on the full image quickly. The HD Preview version, viewing at 100% zoom and exporting all use the same render method without downsampling the preview So if you're viewing at 100% you're not going to see a difference between HD preview and not.

"The effect of a non hd preview and the actual output can sometimes vary quite a bit on the more GPU intensive artistic effects like Impression, Smudge, A.I. Remix and Glow. In those instances, we advise users to work with HD preview enabled to get a true render of what their output will look like in the canvas if they're working on any magnification less than 100%.

"What they're seeing isn't a bug, it's the way the program is intended to work to allow for quick preview for most users on slower or underpowered machines. If they're not seeing results like they expect use the HD preview mode."

MauriceRR · « **Reply #113 on:** September 30, 2018, 04:45:21 am »

I expexcted à behavior like this.
I would have prefered à slow behavior at preview than an altered preview.
My machine : core I7 6700k, 24go, ssd, gtx 1050, win10 64b.

Arlen · « **Reply #114 on:** September 30, 2018, 11:46:11 am »

I agree, Maurice. There should at least be an option in Preferences to select an accurate 100% preview at the expense of slower performance.

Still not sure why Plugsnpixel's 100% preview looks so much better than ours.

plugsnpixels · « **Reply #115 on:** September 30, 2018, 01:54:48 pm »

I just did a new test for you. At left is the result; at right is A.I. Clear in Topaz Studio with before-and-after split view (all at 100%). In this case I used Medium strength settings to be different from the first test. 2013 MacBook Air and High Sierra.

I think I'm seeing little more sharpness in the final result as compared to the "after" in the split view.

At any rate, the processed version of this mushy test chart is an improvement!

MauriceRR · « **Reply #116 on:** September 30, 2018, 01:58:21 pm »

By curiosity, what is your graphic card ?

plugsnpixels · « **Reply #117 on:** September 30, 2018, 02:06:14 pm »

Intel HD Graphics 5000 1536 MB

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Intel-HD-Graphics-5000.91978.0.html

Arlen · « **Reply #118 on:** September 30, 2018, 02:28:55 pm »

Quote from: plugsnpixels on September 30, 2018, 01:54:48 pm

I think I'm seeing little more sharpness in the final result as compared to the "after" in the split view.

At any rate, the processed version of this mushy test chart is an improvement!

Thanks for continuing to look into this. I agree with you on both counts. Your processed version is better (there hasn't really been any dispute about that; AI Clear is definitely a valuable tool), and your split screen image shows a difference between before and after at 100% preview. As I read it, Topaz's explanation doesn't seem to jive with that. They say that by design HD Preview doesn't work at 100%, but it seems to for you.

So now the question is, why don't those of us on PC's see something similar to your results? Equipment differences? My GPU is an EVGA GeForce GTX 960 with 2GB RAM. CPU is an Intel Skylake i7 6700K. 32GB of DDR4 2400 RAM. Monitor is an NEC PA272W, resolution 2560 x 1440.

plugsnpixels · « **Reply #119 on:** September 30, 2018, 02:50:19 pm »

I'll refer my Topaz contact back to this thread for further comment.

Author Topic: NEW Topaz upsampling product: A.I. Gigapixel (Read 19980 times)