After a two-month wait since the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro first launched in October, an interesting and seemingly promising Video Boost mode is now rolling out. pixel 8 pro Used in smartphones around the world, it looks like we were lucky to be the first to receive the update…or were we? Apple’s iPhone is the gold standard for smartphone videography, so the Pixel’s new I’ve decided to include Video Boost in the face of testing for Apple’s flagship product, and let’s just say my feelings are very mixed.
However, we’ll leave it up to you to decide whether the results Video Boost delivers are worth the effort. So let’s go…
Pixel 8 Pro Video Boost: One of Google’s most “magical” camera features is also one of the weirdest Pixel experiences I’ve ever had
Google’s Video Boost is pixel 8 Standard video in Pro: Night mode, HDR+, and deblurring. In other words, Google Video Boost is an attempt to bring the magic of Google’s computational photography to video.
Night mode makes the video brighter and cleaner. HDR+ is expected to bring out more information in the dark and bright parts of the image, and Unblur is thought to improve video stabilization.
But as you can imagine, bringing computational photography tricks to video is a much more difficult task, and Video Boost seems to prove that…
In my experience, a 30 second video takes 1-2 hours to process. This is an hour or two longer than waiting for the video to become available.
- First, Video Boost takes forever to complete. That’s because Video Boost requires you to shoot a regular video, back it up to the cloud for Google to process, and then Google sends back the Video Boost-processed video.
- Then there’s the size of the Boosted video, and here’s where things get even more confusing. Video Boost turns the 20MB video into his 250MB video, but his 90MB video of 30 seconds takes up 1.2GB. pixel 8 pro Video Boost version. What’s strange is that the backed up Video Boost processed videos appear to be of normal size in the cloud (taking up a lot of storage on my phone).
- Additionally, Video Boost has some simple limitations, such as a 10-minute limit on videos shot with Video Boost turned on. Google seems to realize that shooting long videos with Video Boost is not a good idea. Because when you exit the camera app and come back, your phone will always default to shooting regular video.
- Video Boost video can only be recorded with 1x primary camera. pixel 8 proThis seems counterintuitive considering that the ultra-wide snapper and zoom snapper benefited even more compared to the main camera. These snappers shoot noisy and low-quality videos (there’s also no video boost feature for selfie takers).
Issues with transferring and sharing Video Boost videos from Pixel 8 Pro
Transferring video boosted videos from Pixel 8 Pro without losing the video boost effect was a tedious experience.
A strange thing happened and finally I was able to get the video boosted video. pixel 8 pro When I used the Google Photos app on my Galaxy S23 Ultra, it backed up automatically.
Transferring videos from Galaxy to Google Drive worked fine, but I was puzzled as to why it didn’t work when I tried the same operation on Galaxy. pixel 8 pro As such – you know…the cell phone that took the video?! Other members of our team were unable to transfer the video boosted video samples at all.
How good is Video Boost mode on the Pixel 8 Pro compared to the iPhone 15 Pro Max? Can you actually use it?
But what about the video quality? pixel 8 Professional videos with Video Boost?
- Without a doubt, the main benefit of using Video Boost is that it reduces video noise, especially in low lighting. pixel 8 It cannot be processed by default. Typically handles the noisiest videos in the industry. I noticed that the boosted video was more stable under certain lighting conditions, and at least felt less jerky when panning.
- Ironically, turning on Video Boost completely degrades the dynamic range. This is because Google’s algorithm (or editorial team?) lifts shadows too much, making daytime (and nighttime) videos look unnatural. This may cause highlights to be blown out, but this highlight pixel 8 Professional standard video.
- When shooting videos of people, Video Boost seems to exaggerate skin tones and generally oversaturate the image. In other words, if you’re recording videos of people (or want your videos to have accurate colors), it’s best not to use Video Boost.
- That being said, it’s not all bad. Where Video Boost makes a big (positive) difference is in low-light environments, where videos appear brighter and have much less noise. pixel 8 Professional standard video.the difference is really big
Given the time it takes to apply this noise reduction algorithm in Google’s cloud and send the video back, tech-savvy people may be better off downloading a video editor like DaVinci Resolve and applying the noise reduction themselves. may be good. That takes less time. And you’ll get similar (if not better) results.
The Pixel 8 Pro’s Video Boost works, proving just how far ahead Apple is in smartphone videography.
Pixel 8 Pro Standard Video, Pixel 8 Pro Video Boost, iPhone 15 Pro Max Video.
So, pixel 8 Is the Pro’s video boost enough to match the iPhone 15 Pro’s video quality? The short answer to this question is no, but you might be surprised why that’s the case.
My testing shows that the iPhone still produces more stable, more color accurate, and often sharper video (using all cameras), but more importantly here, Apple That’s what Video Boost on Pixel’s flagship product is going to do by default. – No more hassle or waiting 2-5 hours before your 1-minute video is ready to share.
That said, some nighttime videos on the Pixel (with Boost turned on) look very nice and have more detail than the iPhone, but there’s too much noise reduction (which Apple will probably fix sooner or later). problem needs to be addressed). Not to mention, when the light isn’t perfect, Boosted video looks much better than standard Pixel video.
But again, even if some of the Pixel’s Boosted videos are dramatically better than standard videos, short videos of 10 to 30 seconds are processed and sent back to your phone by Google. Isn’t it common knowledge that people have to wait for hours? In a time when shooting quick, short, and shareable videos is “all the rage,” we’re happy to do so.
Does Pixel 8 Pro’s Video Boost show why making phones isn’t Google’s “primary job”?
Video Boost (right) is another example of Google’s incredible AI, cloud, and data capabilities. But since it can’t run natively on the Pixel 8 Pro, it just makes the iPhone’s video quality look more impressive than before.
iPhone can perform most of Video Boost’s functions without sending the video to the cloud. To get similar results, you need to edit the video with different software and hardware. Using Video Boost, on the other hand, is essentially the same as sending your video to someone to edit it. Except maybe they’ll do it sooner.
I have a hard time calling Video Boost a “Pixel 8 Pro feature.” That’s because the Pixel 8 Pro’s only job in the video boost equation is (or at least appears to be) to send regular video to the cloud. Video editing software and hardware have the job of improving the quality of your video, rendering it, and sending back the edited version.
Video Boost is the type of feature that Apple would be embarrassed to release for the iPhone, and I believe it speaks volumes about how Google portrays itself in the smartphone race. Now, don’t get me wrong – the slow implementation of the long-awaited Video Boost feature is pixel 8 pro There’s an even worse phone – Video Boost, and it’s up to you to decide whether to use it or not. But the fact that Google is willing to make people wait up to 5 hours to find a decent-looking video is not a good sign (if you ask me).
And Video Boost isn’t the only thing that’s “AI-powered.” pixel 8 pro “Function” performed on an external computer with the help of external software – the whole pixel 8 and pixel 8 pro The Magic Editor suite also relies on cloud processing.
