Upscaling SD video

JackWhite wrote on 3/19/2022, 7:10 AM

Hi

I've got loads of SD footage captured from an old DV camcorder (PAL 720x576) and was wondering whether I can render it out as HD (1920x1080).

I've been playing with the Smart Upscale in my VP16, and also tried the new AI upscale in a trial of VP19, but can't really work out what I should be doing. I know to add it pre-crop, but when I adjust the settings / sliders in Smart Upscale it doesn't do anything? I'm assuming my project settings should be set to HD.

Or I am seeking to do the impossible anyway and should just render the DV out in it's native resolution?

Thanks

Comments

Dexcon wrote on 3/19/2022, 7:31 AM

With Vegas Pro 19, your computer (based on your signature info about your computer) might be the limitation with VP 19's upscaling - Vegas Pro 19 Upscale is an AI VFX. The recommended minimum specs for Vegas Pro 19 are: https://www.vegascreativesoftware.com/us/specifications/#productMenu

Even for SD, an i3 CPU is below the recommended spec for VP19 which might explain why you're not seeing any change with VP 19's Upscale settings - it's a lot different to Smart Upscale in VP16.

Cameras: Sony FDR-AX100E; GoPro Hero 11 Black Creator Edition

Installed: Vegas Pro 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21 & 22, HitFilm Pro 2021.3, DaVinci Resolve Studio 19.0.3, BCC 2025, Mocha Pro 2025.0, NBFX TotalFX 7, Neat NR, DVD Architect 6.0, MAGIX Travel Maps, Sound Forge Pro 16, SpectraLayers Pro 11, iZotope RX11 Advanced and many other iZ plugins, Vegasaur 4.0

Windows 11

Dell Alienware Aurora 11:

10th Gen Intel i9 10900KF - 10 cores (20 threads) - 3.7 to 5.3 GHz

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER 8GB GDDR6 - liquid cooled

64GB RAM - Dual Channel HyperX FURY DDR4 XMP at 3200MHz

C drive: 2TB Samsung 990 PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 PCIe SSD

D: drive: 4TB Samsung 870 SATA SSD (used for media for editing current projects)

E: drive: 2TB Samsung 870 SATA SSD

F: drive: 6TB WD 7200 rpm Black HDD 3.5"

Dell Ultrasharp 32" 4K Color Calibrated Monitor

 

LAPTOP:

Dell Inspiron 5310 EVO 13.3"

i5-11320H CPU

C Drive: 1TB Corsair Gen4 NVMe M.2 2230 SSD (upgraded from the original 500 GB SSD)

Monitor is 2560 x 1600 @ 60 Hz

JackWhite wrote on 3/19/2022, 8:00 AM

Thanks @Dexcon. I'm not sure it's the CPU. As I understand the min specs for VP19 it is i5 6th gen "or better", and the i3 10505 is around 30% faster / more threads etc than any i5 6th gen. Otherwise VP19 including all the other AI FX works fantastic on my PC, so I think I just don't know what I'm doing with upscaling!

Any advice form anyone on the Smart Upscale in VP16 though welcome!

RogerS wrote on 3/19/2022, 8:13 AM

I've had trouble seeing much difference with the AI scaling, it seems hit or miss and takes a while. I'd try adding a sharpen fx (try to avoid haloes on edges) and then smart upscale and see if it looks acceptable.

Musicvid wrote on 3/20/2022, 11:05 AM

I have been testing Vegas AI Upscale since it was released; it is better than ordinary bicubic, and still has many limitations. For your DV tapes, the highest upscale I would ever recommend is 1280x720, an enlargement of 1.5x. There is a good example of that in my signature, my 2010 highlight reel, which was actually upscaled from the DVDs.

Be aware that as it stands now, using Smart Deinterlace and Upscale require a fundamental change in procedure from using their legacy counterparts:

  • Unlike legacy deinterlacing, Project Properties must be set to match the resulting output, not the source. For instance
  • The Smart Upscale filter must be applied at the Media Level, like this. Note that using Sharp Modeling presets require a lot of extra rendering time. I just use a Light Unsharp Mask instead, and live with some softness.

In any event, don't expect miracles. An alternative paid solution is called Topaz Video Upscale.

@JackWhite

rraud wrote on 3/20/2022, 11:09 AM

MusicVid usually states that a hardware upscale is best, so it may be best leave it at the original size and let the hardware display device upscale.
I am not a video expert, so I would take MusicVid's advice as gospel. Hopefully MV will comment.

JackWhite wrote on 3/20/2022, 2:47 PM

Thanks @Musicvid have just upgraded to VP19 anyway so will do some further testing 👍

Musicvid wrote on 3/20/2022, 4:42 PM

MusicVid usually states that a hardware upscale is best, so it may be best leave it at the original size and let the hardware display device upscale.
I am not a video expert, so I would take MusicVid's advice as gospel. Hopefully MV will comment.

You may consider me as temporarily conflicted. "A" is always true; "B" is far enough along as to be useful for Youtube, where SD will never get viewed, and for including FHD scenes in 4k projects, when one does not wish to detract from the good stuff by catering to the lowest common denominator.

I have trialed the the Topaz Video Upscaler, and it is promising for the transition from HDV / AVCHD tape to UHD. And I know for a fact that Vegas' AI Upscale will evolve with the state of the art.

@rraud