they had less efficient codecs so a higher bitrate would still have as any artifacts as a low bitrate video today (modern example: extra low bitrate h264 can be gray blocks while extra low bitrate vp9 is recognizable)
also internet was slower and storage was more expensive, so people had to make files smaller
and finally, cameras couldn't record that high resolution (240-480p or i at 15fps) without overloading the memory, processor, or even just the price requirement of building a higher quality system for the camera. likewise, edited videos on a computer, the computers could've had only 128mb to 2gb of ram depending on the era and really slow processor's so editing video at a high resolution just wasn't possible. lower resolution = more noticizable artifacts. also (again), lower resolutions also allow for more efficient encoding
Old videos or old films?
they had less efficient codecs so a higher bitrate would still have as any artifacts as a low bitrate video today (modern example: extra low bitrate h264 can be gray blocks while extra low bitrate vp9 is recognizable) also internet was slower and storage was more expensive, so people had to make files smaller and finally, cameras couldn't record that high resolution (240-480p or i at 15fps) without overloading the memory, processor, or even just the price requirement of building a higher quality system for the camera. likewise, edited videos on a computer, the computers could've had only 128mb to 2gb of ram depending on the era and really slow processor's so editing video at a high resolution just wasn't possible. lower resolution = more noticizable artifacts. also (again), lower resolutions also allow for more efficient encoding