Ever tried watching an old video clip from the 2000s or a VHS rip and thought, “This would look so much better if the resolution were higher”? You're definitely not alone. On Reddit and other forums, people often ask how to upscale old videos — whether it's home movies, low-quality YouTube uploads from the 2010s, vintage documentaries, or digitized VHS footage. A lot of users want to bring these videos back to life by upscaling them to 1080p, 2K, or even 4K so they look crisp on today’s screens.
These days, there are tons of video upscaler tools available. In this guide, we’ll take a closer look at three popular options — VideoProc Converter AI, Topaz Video AI, and CapCut — and show you how to use each one to upscale your videos. We’ll also take a quick look at how they perform and what kind of results you can expect.
Alright, let’s get started.
Method 1: Upscale Video with VideoProc Converter AI
If you just want something that works — no complicated setup, no heavy system requirements — VideoProc Converter AI is one of the easiest ways to upscale your videos using AI.
This is the tool I usually go to when I’m dealing with old clips from my phone, or grainy footage from a 2008 digital camera. It does video upscaling and enhancing really well.
How it works (super straightforward):
Step 1. Download and install
Hit the download below to go to VideoProc Converter AI product page and get the setup file.
If you’re unsure whether your computer can handle it, check the tech specs — but compared to most AI video upscalers, this one isn’t too demanding. It runs fine even on average laptops.
For example, I was able to use it on a machine with an Intel® Core™ i5-4460 CPU @ 3.20GHz and 16 GB of RAM without any issues.
Step 2. Launch the app and go to Super Resolution
After opening VideoProc converter AI, select the Super Resolution module — this is where the AI video upscaling happens.
Step 3. Import your video
Drag and drop the file, or click the Add Media button. You can load one video or several if you're batch-processing.
Step 4. Choose an AI model
The developers have fine-tuned four AI models for different video types — like low-res clips, anime-style content, or videos with heavy noise. Just pick the one that matches your source best. You don’t need to guess — the names and tips are pretty clear.
Step 5. Tweak the model settings
You can scale the video by 2X, 3X, or 4X — or simply pick a target resolution from the dropdown (e.g. 1080p, 2K, 4K). Go with what fits your screen or project needs.
Step 6. Preview the result
This is one of my favorite parts: the preview window on the left shows how your video will look after upscaling.
Step 7. Adjust export settings and hit RUN
You can tweak bitrate, format, and other export options if needed. Then just click RUN and let the AI do its thing.
Below, you can see the difference before and after upscaling:
- Before: This is a full-frame screenshot from the original low-resolution video.
- After: This is a cropped section from the upscaled 1920×1080 version.
We can see that Videoproc doesn’t just stretch the video — the AI actually tries to recover details and sharpen things up.
Method 2: Upscale Video with Topaz Video AI
Topaz Video AI is one of the most well-known names in the AI upscaling world — especially popular among video editors and restoration hobbyists. It uses advanced machine learning models to sharpen, denoise, and upscale footage with impressive precision. That said, it's not the most beginner-friendly tool out there, and it definitely demands a powerful GPU setup to run smoothly.
How to upscale with Topaz Video AI:
Step 1. Download and install the software
You can grab the installer from the official Topaz website. Just make sure to check the system requirements — a high-performance GPU is strongly recommended, or you might run into slowdowns.
Step 2. Load your video
Open the app and drag your video into the workspace. It’ll display its properties right away.
Step 3. Choose your upscale settings
On the right-hand side under the Video section, you'll see your original resolution and FPS (listed as IN). To upscale, go to the OUT settings and choose either a scale factor like 2X or 4X, a specific resolution like 4K, or even enter a custom resolution manually.
Step 4. Turn on Enhancement
If you want more control over quality, you can turn on enhancement models.
Topaz offers several models depending on what you’re working with — like “Artemis” for general upscaling, “Proteus” if you want to tweak sharpness and noise manually, or “Iris” for clean footage that just needs a quality boost.
Step 5. Preview and export
Check the Output settings, make any adjustments if needed, and click Export. Topaz will start generating a preview. Keep in mind, this step can be time-consuming — in my test, processing a 5-second video took around 11 minutes and 21 seconds.
Once done, click the three-dot icon and choose Show in Explorer to locate your upscaled video.
Below is a cropped section from the upscaled 1920×1080 version processed by Topaz Video AI.
Method 3: Upscale Video Online with Vmake
If you're looking for a quick, no-install way to upscale a video, Vmake Video Upscaler is one of the few online tools that actually work. It's super simple to use — just upload your clip, pick a target resolution (1080p, 2K, or 4K), and let the AI do the magic.
That said, there’s a catch: in the free version, you can only export 5 seconds of video. So it’s more of a preview tool unless you're okay with short clips or plan to upgrade.
How to use Vmake Video Upscaler:
Step 1. Go to the official Vmake Video Upscaler page
No download needed — it runs entirely in your browser.
Step 2. Upload your video
Drag and drop your file, or click to browse. It supports common formats including MP4, MOV, AVI, M4V and 3GP.
Step 3. Choose your upscale target
You’ll see options for 1080p, 2K, or 4K. Just pick one depending on your needs.
Step 4. Wait for processing
The AI takes a moment to analyze and enhance the video. You’ll see a preview once it’s done.
Step 5. Download the result (up to 5 seconds)
With the free plan, you can export a short 5-second clip to check the quality. For full-length exports, a subscription is required.
Below is a screenshot from the processed video. As you can see, the quality isn’t as sharp as what we got from VideoProc or Topaz — the image still looks quite blurry in comparison.
Which Video Upscaler Should You Use?
Not sure which tool to pick for your video upscaling needs? Here’s a quick side-by-side comparison of three popular options — VideoProc Converter AI, Topaz Video AI, and Vmake Video Upscaler. We’ve looked at their pros and cons, pricing, supported platforms, speed, quality, and more, so you can easily decide which one fits your workflow and budget.
FAQs
To upscale a video to 4K, you'll need a tool that supports resolution enhancement. All the video upscalers we recommended here let you select 4K as the target resolution directly. Just import your video, choose 4K in the resolution settings, and export. The better the original quality, the better the 4K result.
Yes, but there are usually some trade-offs — like time limits, watermarks, or restricted output quality. For example, Vmake lets you upscale videos for free, but only up to 5 seconds. Topaz Video AI offers a free trial, but the output will have a watermark. VideoProc Converter AI allows free processing for videos up to 5 minutes, with no watermark, which is a good option if you're just testing things out.
You can search for "online video upscaler" and find several browser-based tools. In this article, we featured Vmake, which lets you upload your video, pick a resolution (1080p, 2K, or 4K), and let the AI handle the rest. Once it’s done, you can preview and download the result.
That said, online upscalers aren’t for everyone. On platforms like Reddit, many users mention they don’t feel comfortable uploading personal or sensitive videos to the cloud due to privacy concerns. Upload and download speeds can also be a pain, especially with large files. If you’re dealing with private footage or just want more control and faster processing, a desktop tool like VideoProc Converter AI might be a better choice — everything happens locally on your computer.
Upscaling without losing quality is all about using the right tool. Traditional methods (like simply stretching resolution in an editor) can make your video look soft or pixelated. AI-powered tools are much better at preserving — or even improving — detail during upscaling.
For example, apps like VideoProc Converter AI and Topaz Video AI use trained AI models to intelligently enhance sharpness, reduce noise, and recover textures while increasing resolution. These tools don’t just blow up the image — they analyze frame-by-frame content to make the output look more natural on 1080p, 2K, or 4K displays. So, if you're aiming for the best quality, go with AI-based upscalers rather than manual resizing.
In DaVinci Resolve, you can upscale by setting a higher timeline resolution (like 4K) and enabling the “Scale image to fit” or “Scale image to fill” option in your clip inspector. For better quality, use the “Super Scale” feature under the clip's settings — it applies AI-like enhancement for cleaner results.
Upscaling in Premiere Pro is straightforward: drop your low-res video into a 4K sequence, then right-click the clip > "Set to Frame Size". For better quality, apply sharpening or third-party plugins. You can also export in 4K resolution via the export settings.
In Final Cut Pro, create a project with a higher resolution (e.g. 4K), then insert your lower-res video. FCP will automatically scale the video to fit. For better quality, you can add sharpening effects or use Motion plugins that simulate AI enhancement.
In After Effects, import your video and create a composition with 4K settings. Scale up the footage, then apply effects like "Detail-preserving Upscale" or use third-party plugins like Red Giant or Topaz Video Enhance AI via Dynamic Link for more refined results.
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This post was written by Brenda Peng who is a seasoned editor at Digiarty Software who loves turning ordinary photos into extraordinary works of art. With AI assistance for brainstorming and drafting, the post is reviewed for accuracy by our expert Abby Poole for her expertise in this field.
