Topic: Image Quality from Telegram

First time forum poster so I'm not sure which category this was supposed to be in. There's an artists (jaybeyyy) that I want to upload more of their artwork here, and besides Twitter, they also post their art in Telegram. I almost never use Telegram so it's kind of a pain to go out of the way to join and source from there, but I'm not one to be cut corners on quality control. That being said, what is the quality situation on there? There's nothing in howto:sites_and_sources talking about Telegram (though i can imagine any place is better than X/Twitter's quality)

evilfudge said:
First time forum poster so I'm not sure which category this was supposed to be in. There's an artists (jaybeyyy) that I want to upload more of their artwork here, and besides Twitter, they also post their art in Telegram. I almost never use Telegram so it's kind of a pain to go out of the way to join and source from there, but I'm not one to be cut corners on quality control. That being said, what is the quality situation on there? There's nothing in howto:sites_and_sources talking about Telegram (though i can imagine any place is better than X/Twitter's quality)

If you don't want to cut corners, the fastest way to ensure you get the highest quality is to ask the original files straight from the artist directly and request for them to the shared through cloud services, like Google Drive. Alternatively, you may also ask the commissioners/character owners of the artwork.

If you don't care and just want to post from either Twitter or Telegram, you already know Twitter to be an unfavourable source.
As for Telegram, Google Gemini mentions:

• Telegram handles upload quality differently depending on whether you send media as a Standard Photo/Video or as a File.
• 1. Standard Media Uploads (Compression)
• When you upload photos or videos using the standard "Gallery" or "Media" picker, Telegram automatically optimizes them to save data and ensure fast delivery.
• Photos: Telegram reduces the file size by up to 90% by scaling images to a maximum resolution of 1280 pixels and applying JPEG compression with a quality factor of roughly 80.
• HD Option: Newer updates allow you to select 'High Definition' (HD) when sending photos. This provides 4x more pixels (higher resolution) while still keeping the file size relatively small (usually under 0.5 MB).
• Videos: Mobile apps typically compress videos to a lower bitrate/resolution (like 480p or 720p) unless you manually adjust the quality slider in the video editor before sending.
• 2. File Uploads (No Compression)
• To bypass all optimization and send the original, bit-for-bit version of your media, you must use the "Send as File" (or "Document") option.
• No Quality Loss: Files are sent exactly as they are on your device with no re-encoding or resizing.
• Large Limits: You can send files up to 2 GB (or 4 GB with Telegram Premium).
• Drawback: Files sent this way often don't show a full-size preview or allow for instant streaming in the chat.
• 3. Platform Differences
• Mobile (Android/iOS): Always compresses standard media unless you specifically choose "Send as File" or use the HD toggle.
• Desktop: The Telegram Desktop client often defaults to sending files without compression, or provides a clear prompt to choose between "Quick" (compressed) or "Original" quality.
• 4. New Video Streaming Quality
• For large channels, Telegram now uses Dynamic Video Quality. It re-encodes uploaded videos into multiple resolutions (like 360p, 720p, 1080p). Viewers then automatically receive the best version based on their current internet speed.

Yeah, the AI is pretty much right in this case. For archival, Telegram is a terrible source for normal media, but direct file uploads bypass the issues (and look quite different in the clients, download links rather than just media).

Alright, thanks for the detailed explanation!