Opinions on video quality

[ArkAlpha1]

I am planning on making my next amv with multiple anime, but I have a bit of a problem. All of the anime I am using I have in 720p-1080p. However, one of them is only in 480p. Do you think it would still be a good idea to include the 480p anime, or should I leave it out?

[Otohiko]

That's a tricky one. Honestly, unless you are planning to edit/release the video in 480p, the difference is going to be obvious. There's ways you can clean upscale footage a bit, but the difference is still going to show. I would leave it out.

[ZephyrStar]

Agreed. Unless it's pivotal somehow to what you are trying to do.
You could figure out a clever way to cameo it in though?
Masking it out and tracking it to a video monitor for example?

[Rider4Z]

if the 480p footage serves a specific purpose, then keep it in. upscale first, then clean.

[Koopiskeva]

Vector it. Yes.

[Pwolf]

I would downscale everything else to 480p. Upscaling and cleaning it so it looks "passable" is difficult to pull off without knowing what your doing and even then, it's still noticeable sitting next to true 720+p sources. 480p is still a viable and widely accepted standard.

[AMVGuide]

Standard Video Quality is actually a critique I try to address in my other web project: THE424SHOW.

A higher quality camera @480p can outperform a lower quality camera @720p. For example, the rear-camera on my S3 will never be as good as the front-camera, even at 720p. I would further argue that a 720p recording can look better than 1080p since it averages out the noise during the downscale, which makes it less distracting. Of course, it depends on the equipment you are working with, and how much detail needs to be displayed. In terms of Anime, it comes down to the Original Source; or taken to an abstract extreme: The Original Animators. I mean --all things taken into account-- an artist that knows what they are doing can produce better work at 480p than an artist that doesn't know what they are doing at 1080p.

Granted, it depends what the purpose of the piece is: If it's quality for the sake of quality, then yeah-- High Definition is needed; otherwise it all comes down to what your work is trying to say.

So, in terms of AMVs, just ask yourself: "What does my AMV say?"
Is it trying to say: "Hey! look at how sharp these lines are?!" or does it try to communicate something else?
[Partially] based on that, I think one can decide how much priority should be allocated towards Quality.