Topaz Labs Video Enhance AI Upscaling An Old DVD 

Thank you much for this!

So you bought this film and you realize playing it that the image is of a very low resolution. I don't just mean typical DVD quality, I'm talking single layer reduced to fit and you have to zoom it in on your TV. Not only that but the interlacing is really terrible. What you will need is mostly free online. - MakeMKV - Handbrake - MKVToolNix GUI - Topaz Labs Video Enhance AI This process has many steps, and depending on your PC's processing power it can take more than 10 hours. First, back up your film onto your PC (You'll need a DVD optical drive) Simply run MakeMKV, select the video and audio tracks you want to keep. It doesn't give you the menu, but you can also use other software if you're determined to get everything. For this process we only need the film, chapter markers, audio tracks and that's it. Second, once MakeMKV or WinXDVD or any other software you've used to make a single video backup file, open Handbrake and drop the file into it. Set the output format to .mp4 and uncheck all the boxes under that tab/section. Under the Dimensions tab set the Resolution and Scalling to 720p HD. The Final Dimensions Storage Size are 1278x708 and set to Automatic. Check the Uptimal Size checkbox. Under the Filters tab, set Detelecine to Default, Interlace Detection to Default, and Deinterlace to Decomb and Default. Under the Video tab, set Video Encode to H.264 (x264), Framerate (FPS) to Same as Source, Constant Framerate and Constant Quality to 18. The Encoder Preset to VerySlow Encoder Profile to High and Encoder Level to 4.1. You may remove the audio and subtitles under the next tabs and you're done. If you're not interested in taking this further you'll still want to add the audio, subtitle and chapter marker features. For that you can skip the third step and wrap things up in a matter of a couple minutes. Third, once you've run this software and you now have an upscaled and deinterlaced video you can stop there... but if you'd prefer to have an even better quality image there's an application for your computer called Topaz Labs Video Enhance AI that costs a bit of money. You can run a bunch of tests to see what settings will produce the best results. I set Video Quality to High, Video Type to Progressive, Video Artifact Type to High Compression, and Proteus - Fine Tune. Model Parameters to Sharpen 80, Recover Details to 80. Output Size should be HD 1280x720. Grain Amount to 3.5 and Size to 1.0. The Video Format is MP4 - H.264, Constant Rate Factor 9. This will run for 8 hours or more depending on your PC's capabilities. It's a long process, and you'll want to make sure nothing interferes with it. Fourth or lastly, using a software called MKVToolNix GUI you can combine the audio and other elements from the original backup with the new upscaled video file. It's a simple matter of dragging and dropping both video files into the window, unchecking what you don't want to keep. You don't want two video layers, only one. So of course you uncheck the low resolution original video and keep the other elements. Output your final .mkv format video, which can be played in Windows using VLC player, Media Player Classic, or Films & TV. Any codecs you need to read your video files can be downloaded with the K-Like codec pack. codecguide.com/download_kl.htm is the official link. If you would like to watch your films with Dolby surround sound you can check your audio settings, and Dolby has a licensing program for Windows in the form of an app that checks every time you start your computer for a license. This is something you can work around but so long as you have internet access on your computer and you pay around 10$ for the license you're all set up. This information took me a few months to gather through trial and error along with some research. You may adapt it, that's completely up to you and your needs. But I can tell you it works, and this neglected movie will be given new life.