Avisynth: Blockbuster?
 

Doesn't Blockbuster.dll filter actually add noise to your picture? If so, why does everyone like it so much?

Re: Blockbuster
 

Yes :) Because the trick is to add noise on very dark parts of a movie (this is done automatically by the filter, depending on the parameters given) so that the visible DCT blocks you see on flat/dark walls, etc. will be reduced.
The problem with MPEG encodings is that when the encoder tries to quantize very low lit scenes, you can clearly see the DCT blocks. This is not the same as the blocks you see on high action scenes. Those are lack of bitrate for that particular scene.
Anyway, when we "feed" a little noise to the encoder on those low data scenes, the encoder has some small amount of data that it can quantize, and the DCT blocks are actually disguised or masked, and in most cases, the picture produces quite a natural "FILM" texture.

-kwag