Before You Upscale a Clip: Test Passage, Cost Reserve, Frame Check
Get a clip ready for AI video upscaling - pick a short test section, understand the cost reserve, then check detail and motion before you swap the original.
Piotr Olszewski2026-10-222 minPolski
An upscaler makes a clip larger and sharper. It does not fix motion that was wrong to begin with, bring back a blurred face or straighten a warped logo, and it can make compression artifacts more visible. So do not start with the whole clip. Cut a short section that contains the movement and fine detail your project depends on, and test that.
Tool and price
The tool here is Topaz Video Upscaler, currently $0.11 per second. For your exact settings, see the pricing page or the calculator.
- No subscription; the balance does not expire.
- Failed jobs are free.
- A finished output is charged even if you end up not using it.
Why you see a reserve, not a price
This tool bills by the length of the input. Before the job, Studio shows a Reserve based on source duration rather than a final amount. Know the duration of the file you upload, and read the reserve message next to it before you submit.
Get the source ready
- Protect the original. Work on a test copy, and avoid one more lossy encode if you can.
- Trim to a test passage with the motion and detail that matter.
- Upload through the Studio field the tool supports, then check the reserve.
Judge the result
A small preview hides most problems. Instead:
- Same frame, 100 percent zoom, original next to upscaled.
- Normal playback speed, watching for flicker in thin lines, textures and lettering.
- Edges: no bright halos around outlines.
- Frame to frame: detail stays put instead of shimmering.
- Real display size: the gain should be visible where the video will actually be shown.
Only after you approve the test should the upscaled file replace the source in your edit, and keep the original around anyway.
Questions
Will upscaling fix a soft face from the generator?
No. It enlarges what is there. A blurred face or a distorted logo stays that way, sometimes more visibly. Fix those at the generation stage.
Is the price known before I send the file?
Yes. Studio shows it before you send, and the API returns it as estimated_cost. For this tool it is a reserve tied to the input length.
Where do I find the accepted inputs?
On the Topaz Video Upscaler page and in the generate docs.
