Ntsc-rs – open-source video emulation of analog TV and VHS artifacts

For those born after an era it can be easy to romanticize an era. And for those who lived through it, it can be easy to remember the good, and forget the bad.

Growing up in the 80s with no cell phones meant it was much harder to co-ordinate schedules, events, social events etc. No "I'm outside, where are you?"

Ultimately each era is different. Some good, some bad. But in 20 years expect your kids to be idolizing the "20s". "Such a simpler time than now..."

"You got to stay home for a year? What fun...."

But the quality/color was always a noticeable downgrade from broadcast quality video (and that was a noticeable downgrade from film). But the sacrifice was absolutely worth it.

It is notable that LaserDisc only came out two years after VHS (and before it reached mass adoption), and it could produce (and often exceed) prefect broadcast quality video. Anyone could see the improvement.

Yet LaserDisc never had much success outside of enthusiasts, simply because it couldn’t match the convenience of VHS. Well… it was mostly the lack of recording, but that’s an aspect of convenience too.

DVD resolution seemed fine to me at the time - it does not seem fine anymore.

Cassettes were not great, not terrible compared to CDs. That is still the case because stereo audio doesn't get much better than CDs.

Conclusion: Whether something seems good at the time depends on availability of something similar but better.

Yes, yes we will. And we'll throw random ad breaks in there in the middle of the dialog just for shits and giggles, unskippable of course, at a +10db volume too.

Yes, just like we make remakes of Windows 95 in typescript, we will make retro video streaming platforms with spinners and buffering effects.

now, i am not so optimistic we will get there, however.

Related is that a lot of cultures embrace intentional imperfections in art for spiritual reasons, as it conveys authenticity and humility in the face of perfection. E.g. Persian flaw [2].

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gimme_Shelter

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persian_carpet#cite_note-68

In Islamic art, the artist often leaves a mistake in a pattern, or a little blob, or some error somewhere in it, because only God is perfect.

In Japan, craftsmen will leave a tiny scratch on an immaculately polished piece of wood, to show how perfect the rest is.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantization_(signal_processin...

Maybe. I lived through the 90s as a cd purchaser and I tend to agree, CDs were real nice, but different. By the time I had a cd player, tapes had exotic coatings and EQ-trickery to mask the hiss and whatnot of tape media.

It can't be that hard for someone with skill and determination!

See also: Picture At Last!

See also: System Essentially Contrary to the American Method

It's not "VHS footage" though, but it can generate all kinds of analog video signals, some of which my decoder can decode.

That said, I would not be surprised to see camcorders, DV or VHS or whatever, rise up as a Polaroid-like alternative to smartphone cameras! Old digital point and shoots are already popular that way.

The imaging device used in electronic camcorders before the transition to CCD had visibly gray whites. They weren't so great by any standards. Hence very few chases it, with nostalgia being the sole reason to do it.

Except PAL/SECAM don't have any of the color issues of NTSC.

  #include <math.h>
  #include <stdio.h>
  #include <stdlib.h>
  #include <string.h>
  
  #define TAU (6.283185307179586476925286766559005768394)
  
  static unsigned char head[16];
  static float fopt[127];
  static int iopt[127];
  static float*tab;
  static float*buf;
  static float y,i,q,v,phase;
  static int n,s,width;
  
  #define R(a) ((a)>=0?buf[a]:0.0)
  #define C(a) (tab[((a)+iopt['t']+(int)fopt['m'])%iopt['t']])
  
  int main(int argc,char**argv) {
    fopt['1']=0.966882;
    fopt['2']=0.623557;
    fopt['3']=-0.274788;
    fopt['4']=-0.635691;
    fopt['5']=-1.108545;
    fopt['6']=1.709007;
    iopt['y']=12;
    iopt['i']=iopt['q']=24;
    fopt['y']=12.0;
    fopt['i']=fopt['q']=24.0;
    fopt['l']=-11.0;
    fopt['h']=92.0;
    fopt['c']=0.009574;
    fopt['s']=0.8;
    fopt['a']=fopt['m']=fopt['p']=fopt['f']=0.0;
    fopt['t']=12.0;
    iopt['t']=12;
    iopt['v']=0;
    iopt['z']=0;
    fread(head,1,16,stdin);
    width=(head[8]<<24)|(head[9]<<16)|(head[10]<<8)|head[11];
    for(n=1;n<argc;n++) if(argv[n][0] && argv[n][1]=='=') {
      iopt[argv[n][0]&127]=strtol(argv[n]+2,0,10);
      fopt[argv[n][0]&127]=strtof(argv[n]+2,0);
    }
    buf=malloc(width*sizeof(float));
    tab=malloc(iopt['t']*sizeof(float));
    if(!buf || !tab) {
      fprintf(stderr,"Allocation failed\n");
      return 1;
    }
    while(fopt['m']<=0.0) fopt['m']+=fopt['t'];
    while(fopt['p']<=0.0) fopt['p']+=fopt['t'];
    if(!iopt['v']) iopt['v']=(3*iopt['t'])/4;
    for(n=0;n<iopt['t'];n++) tab[n]=sinf(fopt['f']+TAU*((float)n)/fopt['t']);
    fwrite(head,1,16,stdout);
    if(iopt['z']) for(;;) {
      if(!s) y=i=q=fopt['a'];
      n=fgetc(stdin);
      if(n==EOF) break;
      n=(n<<8)|fgetc(stdin);
      buf[s]=v=(fopt['h']-fopt['l'])*((float)n)/65535.0+fopt['l'];
      fgetc(stdin); fgetc(stdin); fgetc(stdin); fgetc(stdin); // unused input channels
      y+=v-R(s-iopt['y']);
      i+=v*C(s)-R(s-iopt['i'])*C(s-iopt['i']);
      q+=v*C(s+iopt['v'])-R(s-iopt['q'])*C(s+iopt['v']-iopt['q']);
      // Red
      v=fopt['s']*y/fopt['y'];
      n=(int)fmax(fmin(v*65535.0,65535.0),0.0);
      putchar(n>>8); putchar(n);
      // Green
      v=fopt['s']*i/fopt['i'];
      n=(int)fmax(fmin(v*65535.0,65535.0),0.0);
      putchar(n>>8); putchar(n);
      // Blue
      v=fopt['s']*q/fopt['q'];
      n=(int)fmax(fmin(v*65535.0,65535.0),0.0);
      putchar(n>>8); putchar(n);
      // Alpha
      putchar(fgetc(stdin)); putchar(fgetc(stdin));
      if(!(s=(s+1)%width)) fopt['m']+=fopt['p'];
    } else for(;;) {
      if(!s) y=fopt['a'],i=q=0.0;
      n=fgetc(stdin);
      if(n==EOF) break;
      n=(n<<8)|fgetc(stdin);
      buf[s]=v=(fopt['h']-fopt['l'])*((float)n)/65535.0+fopt['l'];
      fgetc(stdin); fgetc(stdin); fgetc(stdin); fgetc(stdin); // unused input channels
      y+=v-R(s-iopt['y']);
      i+=v*C(s)-R(s-iopt['i'])*C(s-iopt['i']);
      q+=v*C(s+iopt['v'])-R(s-iopt['q'])*C(s+iopt['v']-iopt['q']);
      // Red
      v=y*fopt['c']/fopt['y']+i*fopt['1']*fopt['c']*fopt['s']/fopt['i']+q*fopt['2']*fopt['c']*fopt['s']/fopt['q'];
      n=(int)fmax(fmin(v*65535.0,65535.0),0.0);
      putchar(n>>8); putchar(n);
      // Green
      v=y*fopt['c']/fopt['y']+i*fopt['3']*fopt['c']*fopt['s']/fopt['i']+q*fopt['4']*fopt['c']*fopt['s']/fopt['q'];
      n=(int)fmax(fmin(v*65535.0,65535.0),0.0);
      putchar(n>>8); putchar(n);
      // Blue
      v=y*fopt['c']/fopt['y']+i*fopt['5']*fopt['c']*fopt['s']/fopt['i']+q*fopt['6']*fopt['c']*fopt['s']/fopt['q'];
      n=(int)fmax(fmin(v*65535.0,65535.0),0.0);
      putchar(n>>8); putchar(n);
      // Alpha
      putchar(fgetc(stdin)); putchar(fgetc(stdin));
      if(!(s=(s+1)%width)) fopt['m']+=fopt['p'];
    }
    return 0;
  }