Topaz Video Upscale: which of the engines to pick
Topaz Video Upscale enlarges clips with a menu of named engines. Which one fits clean footage, animation, old tape or faces, and what it cannot fix.
Myth: there is one upscale button, and it does the same to every clip
Topaz Video Upscale looks simple: upload a video, get a larger and cleaner one. But under the advanced options there is a menu of named engines, and picking the wrong one is the most common reason people call the result disappointing. The model is described as enhancing and upscaling video up to 4K. This post is a map of that menu in plain words.
What goes in and what you can set
One required input: the video. Two optional settings: the engine (called model in the form) and the target resolution. The resolution choices are 720p, 1080p, 2k and 4k, with 1080p as the default, and the source aspect ratio is preserved. The engine defaults to Proteus. There is no prompt, because the clip is the instruction.
The engine families, in plain words
- Proteus is the general choice and the default. If you do not know what is wrong with your clip, start here. Proteus Natural aims for a more natural look and always upscales by two.
- Rhea is for high-fidelity upscaling when fine detail matters.
- Artemis comes in High, Medium and Low Quality: pick the one that honestly describes your source. Two further Artemis variants remove edge haloing (Medium Halo and Strong Halo), and one reduces aliasing and moire.
- Gaia is for clean sources (High Quality) and for animation, CG and stylized footage (Gaia CG). Gaia 2 Animation is a dedicated animation upscaler and always upscales by two.
- Theia enhances detail per frame: Fine Tune Detail is aggressive, Fine Tune Fidelity is steadier.
- Iris recovers faces in mid-quality or degraded footage.
- Dione deinterlaces: DV, TV, Robust, and two versions that also remove halos. This is the family for old camcorder and broadcast material.
A decision table you can keep in your head
- Modern phone clip that is just small: Proteus, or Rhea if there is fine texture.
- Cartoon, game capture or motion graphics: Gaia CG, or Gaia 2 Animation for classic animation.
- Old tape with comb-like lines on motion: a Dione variant first, because deinterlacing before enlarging avoids baking the lines in.
- Soft interview with a small face: Iris.
- Bright outlines around objects from earlier sharpening: Artemis Medium or Strong Halo.
Running it
Open the studio, pick the model, drop the video in and leave the resolution at the default until you know the engine is right. The price shows on the Generate button before you commit. Raise the resolution only for the final pass: asking for the largest size on every test is the slow and expensive way to compare engines.
How it differs from the other video upscalers
This one is the toolbox: many classic engines, each for one kind of damage. If you want a diffusion-style rebuild of really degraded or AI-made footage, look at the generative sibling, covered in its own guide. For a different take on enlarging clips, see the Pruna video upscale guide, and for deciding whether to enlarge at all, choosing an AI video model. The full list is on the models page.
The honest limitation
These engines enhance what the footage contains. A badly shaken, heavily compressed clip will come back larger, not magically sharp, and a face that is a few pixels wide stays a guess even with Iris. Some engines always upscale by two, so the resolution you choose may not be the one you get for those. Check the output size before you plan around it.
Questions
What does the clip need to be?
One video file is the only required input. The aspect ratio is kept when it is enlarged.
Which engine should I start with?
Proteus, the default, for general footage. Switch to a Gaia engine for animation, an Iris engine for faces, and a Dione engine for interlaced old material.
Is there a prompt?
No. The model works from the video alone, and the two settings are the engine and the target resolution.
