4 ms·

why is the video quality of UFO sightings always so terrible, in a world increasingly filled with high quality cameras?

reactor 6y ago
https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1374167754404630528?s=20 https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1374167754404630528?s=20
KingOfCoders 6y ago
The same reason loud speakers in trains and airports sound like loudspeakers were just invented five years ago.
- nradov 6y ago
  Loudspeakers in trains and airports are typically constant voltage systems. This allows for long cable runs with minimal power loss, but there's a separate transformer at each speaker which introduces a lot of distortion.
  - KingOfCoders 6y ago
    Thanks for the explanation. Glad my Spotify+Sonos is not constant voltage with long cables from Sweden but works with fiber/Wifi.
Pyramus 6y ago
This has become quite the meme [1] but that doesn't make it true. We do have indeed very little (arguably no) evidence for extraterrestrial UFOs but we do have high-quality data on UFOs in general. Most of them are explained by simple physical phenomena. Some of them, however, actually do relate to unexplained phenomena or projects by state level actors. [1] https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1374167754404630528?s=20 https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1374167754404630528?s=20
the-dude 6y ago
CCTV material of criminals is similarly atrocious. + zhe objects are far away.
trasz 6y ago
I'm guessing it's because it comes from lipstick cameras inside the cockpit, recorded on an analog VCR behind the pilot's seat.
ssully 6y ago
Cellphone cameras are good, but not great at taking pictures of objects in a distance. I live in a flight path for a landing approach of an airport. Planes get low enough where I can sometimes read writing on them, but taking clear pictures of them with my iPhone 11 is still not great. A year or two ago the President came to my city and leading up to and on the day of his visit there were V-22 Ospreys flying this path regularly. Seeing it in person was very cool, but the pictures I took look like I caught a picture of a neighborhoods kid toy helicopter from 100 yards away; tons of noise, artifacting, and lost detail.
- baja_blast 6y ago
  100% smart phone's cameras are designed to photos of people at a close distance. Any "Zoom" on a smartphone is just digital, it does not have the ability to take clear photos from a distance due to it's lack of optical zoom.
weego 6y ago
Because videos of good quality quickly go from UFO to IFO and only the worst are left. Wheat from the chaff.
partiallypro 6y ago
It's simple, far away objects are hard to video even with modern tech to untrained people. You can zoom in on your iPhone now but holding a steady position would be hard and still even with the zoom the level of detail wouldn't be great to something in the sky.

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1374167754404630528?s=20 https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1374167754404630528?s=20

KingOfCoders 6y ago

The same reason loud speakers in trains and airports sound like loudspeakers were just invented five years ago.

nradov 6y ago
Loudspeakers in trains and airports are typically constant voltage systems. This allows for long cable runs with minimal power loss, but there's a separate transformer at each speaker which introduces a lot of distortion.
- KingOfCoders 6y ago
  Thanks for the explanation. Glad my Spotify+Sonos is not constant voltage with long cables from Sweden but works with fiber/Wifi.

Pyramus 6y ago

This has become quite the meme [1] but that doesn't make it true. We do have indeed very little (arguably no) evidence for extraterrestrial UFOs but we do have high-quality data on UFOs in general. Most of them are explained by simple physical phenomena. Some of them, however, actually do relate to unexplained phenomena or projects by state level actors. [1] https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1374167754404630528?s=20 https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1374167754404630528?s=20

the-dude 6y ago

CCTV material of criminals is similarly atrocious. + zhe objects are far away.

trasz 6y ago

I'm guessing it's because it comes from lipstick cameras inside the cockpit, recorded on an analog VCR behind the pilot's seat.

ssully 6y ago

Cellphone cameras are good, but not great at taking pictures of objects in a distance. I live in a flight path for a landing approach of an airport. Planes get low enough where I can sometimes read writing on them, but taking clear pictures of them with my iPhone 11 is still not great. A year or two ago the President came to my city and leading up to and on the day of his visit there were V-22 Ospreys flying this path regularly. Seeing it in person was very cool, but the pictures I took look like I caught a picture of a neighborhoods kid toy helicopter from 100 yards away; tons of noise, artifacting, and lost detail.

baja_blast 6y ago
100% smart phone's cameras are designed to photos of people at a close distance. Any "Zoom" on a smartphone is just digital, it does not have the ability to take clear photos from a distance due to it's lack of optical zoom.

weego 6y ago

Because videos of good quality quickly go from UFO to IFO and only the worst are left. Wheat from the chaff.

partiallypro 6y ago

It's simple, far away objects are hard to video even with modern tech to untrained people. You can zoom in on your iPhone now but holding a steady position would be hard and still even with the zoom the level of detail wouldn't be great to something in the sky.