HomeComputingMobileInternetGamingElectronicsExtremeDealsHomeComputingDepixelating porn: Is it really possible to restore 8-bit genitals to their former glory?Depixelating porn: Is it really possible to restore 8-bit genitals to their former glory?By Sebastian Anthony on February 27, 2014 at 12:22 pmComment
Share This article As some of you may know, one of the defining features of Japanese porn is that genitals are pixelated. This might seem a little odd, considering the reputation that Japan has for being slightly on the sexually depraved side, but for decades there has been a law that requires all domestic porn to be censored. Unpixelated porn is produced, but because it’s illegal (and actually policed) it’s usually only produced by smaller studios or enterprising sole traders. Now, for the discerning porn watcher, there’s finally another solution: A depixelation machine!
Depixelation is a topic that’s particularly close to ExtremeTech’s heart — not because of porn, you understand, but because of 8-bit art. To this day, an 8-bit depixelation algorithm developed by Microsoft Research was one of the site’s most popular stories of all time. Given how new technologies are nearly always first adopted by the gaming and sex industries, we’re actually rather surprised that it took this long for depixelation machines so long to appear. (And yes, I’m as curious as you about whether these machines could be used to more effectively upscale your old NES games. I’ve emailed one of the machine makers to ask for a review unit, and hope to report back with my findings soon.)
The devices, called mosaic removal machines (???????, mozaiku jyokyo-ki), essentially consist of a video pass-through box with a bunch of knobs on. Sadly, there don’t appear to be any photos of what’s inside these boxes, but given that the boxes sport composite and coaxial input/output, we’re probably not talking about hyper-advanced tech. Going by the labels, it seems you get a targeting reticule that depixelates everything beneath it. It doesn’t appear to automatically target the pixelated regions; instead, you have to move a little joystick around and twiddle a “zoom” knob to match the size of the genital in question. (Read: Just how big are porn sites?)
According to Kotaku, there is a mass debate over whether these machines actually work. (Kotaku also says that Japanese porn is painstakingly censored by hand, earning the highly skilled laborers $15 per hour.) Scientifically speaking, it depends on how the original censorship mosaic is produced. Similar to how Photoshop can de-blur photos if it can work out what camera movement caused the blur, if the pixelation algorithm is known, it might be possible to rebuild the original image. Ultimately, though, the main problem with pixelation is that you can’t recreate data that doesn’t exist; if you imagine that each censored pixel has been replaced by a block of 32×32 pixels, there is no way to recover all 1024 pixels. At best, by analyzing its neighbours and using some other more complex methods, you might get a handful of pixels that are the correct color — at worst, you’ll get just a single pixel of the correct color. So, while this machine might unscramble the mosaic, it won’t miraculously restore the genitals to their original high-definition glory. One Japanese website (which doesn’t contain nudity but isn’t work-safe) claims the de-mosaic device costs almost $900; I really hope that isn’t the case.
As I wrote this story, another possible solution came to mind: Genital replacement. Rather than trying to salvage what little detail is left, it should be possible to write some software that removes the pixelated region, and then splices in a matching organ from a database of porn. It obviously wouldn’t match perfectly, but it would be easy enough to match skin tone, and perhaps a few other features.
The other option, of course, is that Japanese porn watchers should just start appending “uncensored” to their BitTorrent searches.
Tagged In hardwaresoftwaregadgetssocietyfunjapancensorshipcultureporn8-bitdeblurdepixelationShare This Article .article {margin:0px !important;}.AR_1 {margin :0 0 20px 0 !important;}.AR_2 {margin:0 0 20px 0;} CommentPost a Comment hugoalvesPutting aside all jokes related with the specific use, I believe it should be possible to remove the pixelation because we are talking about a movie. In a photo you only have a single “frame” to work with, and for that reason it is impossible to “retrieve” information that was removed from the original image. But in a movie, and assuming that the algorithm applied to the image doesn’t destroy the same information every time and in the same way. It should be possible to restore a image very close to the original by analysing the slight differences created by the process in each frame.
http://www.mrseb.co.uk/ Sebastian AnthonyThat’s true, I guess!
I think it depends heavily on the algorithm being used to create the mosaic. (And sadly, I don’t have much info about it.)
hugoalvesPutting aside all jokes related with the specific use, I believe it should be possible to remove the pixelation because we are talking about a movie. In a photo you only have a single “frame” to work with, and for that reason it is impossible to “retrieve” information that was removed from the original image. But in a movie, and assuming that the algorithm applied to the image doesn’t destroy the same information every time and in the same way. It should be possible to restore a image very close to the original by analysing the slight differences created by the process in each frame.
PhobosGoing through all that trouble for that? Couldn’t they put that technology to good use instead of depixelating genitals?
PhobosGoing through all that trouble for that? Couldn’t they put that technology to good use instead of depixelating genitals?
Angel HamNever underestimate how far a horny man can go to satisfy his urges.
Phobosspooky
Angel HamWell, there’s a reason why the porn industry as a whole has bigger revenues than the NBA, the NFL and the MLB combined :)
5up Mushroom900 dollars? Seems like a prostitute would be cheaper…
standardGarbage in, garbage out.
Not pun intended.
“Kotaku also says that Japanese porn is painstakingly censored by hand”
Funny
DustymackHahah this is so funny! Never get in the way of a man and his porn….
I can see millions of guys on the other side of this “magical device” trying to put the pieces together on each frame like a jig saw puzzle. They even got the guys from NASA to put in overtime…..
Rob CI think you are missing the most important point of this Article:
> (Kotaku also says that Japanese porn is painstakingly censored by hand, earning the highly skilled laborers $15 per hour.)
Where do we apply for the Job ?
DannyBoyJrFinally! I can watch Akira Fubuki in all her penetrated glory! <3
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