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Author Topic: Topaz Gigapixel 2.0: 5X faster  (Read 8192 times)

plugsnpixels

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Topaz Gigapixel 2.0: 5X faster
« on: September 27, 2018, 12:59:05 pm »

As expected, Topaz is continuing to improve A.I. Gigapixel with the new version (2.0.0) making a huge breakthrough in performance. See my tests here.

Topaz says, "Using GPU mode is now 5x faster! With some optimizations to the GPU processing in A.I. Gigapixel, we've improved the speed of processing by around 5x on full-size images (it scales based on the size of your image, so a small image might be 3x) with the same 1-2 million calculations per pixel and the same amazing results."

People who have tried Gigapixel have mentioned the unsurpassed quality of the results, but also the loooooong time it took to get them. So this new speed boost is welcome news.

New Features:
•Improved processing speed increased up to 5X

Bug Fixes:
•Made Cancel terminate processing immediate and clears the image list

•Note: Topaz is not promoting a coupon code or discount for A.I. Gigapixel but see my blog post to save 15% off the retail price (this discount also applies to ALL Topaz products). The latest update is FREE for existing users, as per Topaz's longstanding policy for all of its software.
« Last Edit: September 27, 2018, 03:21:53 pm by plugsnpixels »
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Paul Roark

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Re: Topaz Gigapixel 2.0: 5X faster
« Reply #1 on: September 28, 2018, 10:46:29 am »

My older version upgraded automatically last night when I used it.  The upgrade speed is very apparent and welcomed.

While we're talking adding features, any chance of removal of Jpeg artifacts from the original file?

Paul
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faberryman

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Re: Topaz Gigapixel 2.0: 5X faster
« Reply #2 on: September 28, 2018, 11:09:03 am »

While we're talking adding features, any chance of removal of Jpeg artifacts from the original file?
Does the software work from the RAW file? Can you choose the output format, e.g. 16-bit TIFF?

The way to avoid jpg artifacts is not to shoot jpgs, or if you must, choose the uncompressed kind. It seems silly to use this kinds of software if you are just trying to restore data you have thrown away by using compressed jpgs to begin with.
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Bart_van_der_Wolf

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Re: Topaz Gigapixel 2.0: 5X faster
« Reply #3 on: September 28, 2018, 12:06:47 pm »

Does the software work from the RAW file? Can you choose the output format, e.g. 16-bit TIFF?

Hi,

Yes, it does convert Raws, but by doing that one misses the opportunity to create a better source image (e.g. Chromatic Aberrations) before scaling.

Quote
The way to avoid jpg artifacts is not to shoot jpgs, or if you must, choose the uncompressed kind. It seems silly to use this kinds of software if you are just trying to restore data you have thrown away by using compressed jpgs to begin with.

Yes, but sometimes a JPEG is all one has/gets (e.g. most smartphone images, or from a Social Network).

Cheers,
Bart
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Bart_van_der_Wolf

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Re: Topaz Gigapixel 2.0: 5X faster
« Reply #4 on: September 28, 2018, 12:19:24 pm »

My older version upgraded automatically last night when I used it.  The upgrade speed is very apparent and welcomed.

Hi Paul,

Good to know. My graphics card is not supported, so my scaling is mostly done with the CPU, and that speed is not all that much different.

Quote
While we're talking adding features, any chance of removal of Jpeg artifacts from the original file?

The "reduce Noise and Blur" selection also changes the way that JPEG artifacts are handled.

One also has the option to use multiple rescalings, e.g. one on "Strong" (to suppress the gravest of artifacts) and layer that in Photoshop with a version that was scaled on "None", and then blend them with a mask that transitions between the 8x8 pixel block edges.

Or, maybe better, is to preprocess the JPEG e.g. with Topaz DeJPEG (https://topazlabs.com/dejpeg/).

Cheers,
Bart
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kirkt

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Re: Topaz Gigapixel 2.0: 5X faster
« Reply #5 on: September 28, 2018, 12:25:08 pm »

I was notified that it was updated, now to v2.0.  Unfortunately, my trial period from the original download of v1.0 has expired so I cannot test it.  I'm not sure I understand why I cannot - it is a completely new version, so I would expect that I could get another 30 days out of a trial.  Oh well.

kirk
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Bart_van_der_Wolf

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Re: Topaz Gigapixel 2.0: 5X faster
« Reply #6 on: September 28, 2018, 01:06:19 pm »

I was notified that it was updated, now to v2.0.  Unfortunately, my trial period from the original download of v1.0 has expired so I cannot test it.  I'm not sure I understand why I cannot - it is a completely new version, so I would expect that I could get another 30 days out of a trial.  Oh well.

Hi Kirk,

I do not know the exact reason why they changed the major version number within some 2 months, but it has 'only' changed processing speed (which presumably required a significant enough architecture change to justify the new version numbering). But then for Topaz products, there are no upgrade fees for life, for previous buyers, so maybe they thought it was too soon for another 30 days trial. The purchasing risk is low, and the potential benefits (as promised) are already materializing. That's why I decided to take the plunge, even with a non-supported graphics chart.

The basic functionality has not changed, so maybe they considered that that was not enough to warrant a new 30 day (re)evaluation term. I do understand that a few users want to reassess the processing speed to see if the processing time fits in their specific workflow restrictions.

All I can say is that the output quality surpasses anything that I used/tried before (and that were many solutions), so I have no regrets. Others may have other considerations.

Cheers,
Bart
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Doug Gray

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Re: Topaz Gigapixel 2.0: 5X faster
« Reply #7 on: September 28, 2018, 01:13:29 pm »

As expected, Topaz is continuing to improve A.I. Gigapixel with the new version (2.0.0) making a huge breakthrough in performance. See my tests here.

Topaz says, "Using GPU mode is now 5x faster! With some optimizations to the GPU processing in A.I. Gigapixel, we've improved the speed of processing by around 5x on full-size images (it scales based on the size of your image, so a small image might be 3x) with the same 1-2 million calculations per pixel and the same amazing results."

People who have tried Gigapixel have mentioned the unsurpassed quality of the results, but also the loooooong time it took to get them. So this new speed boost is welcome news.


I'm impressed with the AI results in extrapolating based on deep knowledge of real images. Quite impressive.
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plugsnpixels

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Re: Topaz Gigapixel 2.0: 5X faster
« Reply #8 on: September 28, 2018, 01:16:58 pm »

Thanks Bart for your comments. I too was going to mention Topaz DeJPEG (one of their classic products), which would help prep the image going into AI Gigapixel. I also did some experiments using A.I. Clear to prep noisy film-based images, but this might apply to bad JPEGs as well.

kirkt, I wrote Topaz about the trial reset situation and they said: "We can't actually reset [Gigapixel] trials anymore as they're all the same product. However, if they purchase and are unsatisfied they can refund their purchase within 15 days, no questions asked."

Hope that helps.
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Bart_van_der_Wolf

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Re: Topaz Gigapixel 2.0: 5X faster
« Reply #9 on: September 28, 2018, 01:31:26 pm »

However, if they purchase and are unsatisfied they can refund their purchase within 15 days, no questions asked."

Good point. I was offered a refund (for the unsupported Graphics Card, although I could have known before purchasing) as well, but since the CPU/GPU selection was added I had no reason to pursue that option.

Cheers,
Bart
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plugsnpixels

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Re: Topaz Gigapixel 2.0: 5X faster
« Reply #10 on: September 28, 2018, 01:42:36 pm »

Thank Bart, that CPU option was a nice surprise.

What hardware are you using again? So far I haven't used Gigapixel on anything newer than 2013 Macs and it's been fine with GPU.
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kirkt

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Re: Topaz Gigapixel 2.0: 5X faster
« Reply #11 on: September 28, 2018, 02:16:35 pm »

Thanks for the explanation and advice - sounds like I will just bite the bullet and purchase it and see how it evolves.

By the way, as more and more products in the image processing arena are released with these machine learning approaches, consider watching a couple of incredibly well made video series regarding:

Machine learning: "Learning to see" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8D90DkCLhI&list=PLiaHhY2iBX9ihLasvE8BKnS2Xg8AhY6iV

Neural Networks: "neural Networks Demystified" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxe2T-V8XRs&list=PLiaHhY2iBX9hdHaRr6b7XevZtgZRa1PoU

These are some of the most well-made and communicative videos you will find on a topic.  The combination of the clear and well articulated narrative, along with the well-produced and succinct graphical presentation of the information is top notch.

Kirk
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plugsnpixels

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Re: Topaz Gigapixel 2.0: 5X faster
« Reply #12 on: September 28, 2018, 03:51:21 pm »

Great videos explaining a difficult subject!
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Wolfman

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Re: Topaz Gigapixel 2.0: 5X faster
« Reply #13 on: September 28, 2018, 05:44:04 pm »

The newest version still takes some time while Iridient takes about 10 seconds to do the same thing. Gigapixel has slightly better detail but a slight sharpening
on the Iridient version would make it just about equal. Here's a 50% view of the 2 processed at 250% upscale from a file from the Sony a7r3.

plugsnpixels

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Re: Topaz Gigapixel 2.0: 5X faster
« Reply #14 on: September 28, 2018, 06:07:23 pm »

Thanks Wolfman. Is this with Iridient Transformer? Doesn't seem like it, though Developer doesn't seem to have upsampling ability (??).
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Wolfman

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Re: Topaz Gigapixel 2.0: 5X faster
« Reply #15 on: September 28, 2018, 06:37:26 pm »

It is Iridient Developer. It has many scaling methods. I have not tested all of them yet. Many to choose from.


plugsnpixels

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Re: Topaz Gigapixel 2.0: 5X faster
« Reply #16 on: September 28, 2018, 06:46:17 pm »

Here's what I see (first time checking out the product). Version 3.2.3 demo.
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Wolfman

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Re: Topaz Gigapixel 2.0: 5X faster
« Reply #17 on: September 28, 2018, 07:15:27 pm »

On the upper right it says out...you click on that and you get these windows.

plugsnpixels

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Re: Topaz Gigapixel 2.0: 5X faster
« Reply #18 on: September 28, 2018, 07:48:04 pm »

Oh I see, the settings are on the way out the door! "Normally" that gets set up first, but OK.
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Bart_van_der_Wolf

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Re: Topaz Gigapixel 2.0: 5X faster
« Reply #19 on: September 28, 2018, 07:56:36 pm »

It is Iridient Developer. It has many scaling methods. I have not tested all of them yet. Many to choose from.

Hi,

Yes, these are common interpolation methods. The Lanczos methods are popular, but they produce ringing artifacts that need to be suppressed. Topaz Gigapixel doesn't produce ringing artifacts or halos. AIG also adds detail that's smaller than the original detail times the scaling factor.

Your example was at 50% zoom scale which halves the resolution and somewhat hides the traditional artifacts and noise magnification.

Cheers,
Bart
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