Topaz Video AI
Topaz Labs' Video AI 5 is an Artificial Intelligence (AI) software tool that harnesses the power of machine learning to enhance, upscale, and stabilize video fo...
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What is Topaz Video AI?
Topaz Video AI 7 is a professional, AI-powered video enhancement software that upscales, denoises, sharpens, stabilizes, and interpolates frames in video footage. It features over 20 AI enhancement models including Starlight Precise, Proteus, Iris, Nyx, Rhea, Artemis, Gaia, Chronos, Apollo, and Aion for tasks like upscaling to 4K+, reducing noise and blur, deinterlacing analog sources, restoring archival footage, and creating smooth slow motion.
Key features include upscaling video resolution while maintaining clarity, denoising low-light footage with cinema-level detail, frame interpolation to generate new frames for smoother motion or slowed-down video up to 16x slower, AI-powered stabilization to correct shaky footage after capture, motion deblur for restoring focus, SDR to HDR conversion, and grain control for cinematiclooks. The software supports both unlimited local rendering (files never leave your computer) and cloud rendering with monthly cloud credits for faster processing without bogging down hardware.
Topaz Video AI is designed for filmmakers and editors restoring and refining footage for professional post-production, archivists and historians preserving archival film/VHS/historical footage, creators and influencers enhancing social media videos with sharper detail and higher resolution, and hobbyists improving old family videos to look modern. It works as a standalone desktop app on Mac and Windows or as a plugin for Adobe After Effects, DaVinci Resolve, and Adobe Premiere via the new Premiere Panel.
Topaz Video AI pricing
Pricing model: Paid
Topaz Video is available as a single-app subscription or included in Topaz Studio collection. Single-app Personal plan: $25/mo billed annually ($299/yr), $59/mo monthly, or $39/mo billed every month for 12 months. Pro plan adds local access to Starlight Mini/Sharp/HQ/Fast, seat management, 100 monthly cloud credits, and full commercial use: $58/mo billed annually ($699/yr) or $74/mo monthly. Both plans include 25 monthly video cloud credits and unlimited local rendering. Topaz Studio includes all apps (Video, Photo, Gigapixel, iOS, Bloom, Astra, Image, Mosaic) with unlimited local rendering, unlimited cloud image rendering, 300 monthly video cloud credits, 2-image cloud concurrency, 32MP cloud export limit, and limited commercial use: $399/yr billed annually, $45/mo billed every month for 12 months, or $69/mo monthly. Topaz Studio Pro adds pro exclusive models, expanded local capabilities, 600 monthly video cloud credits, 4-image cloud concurrency, 100MP cloud export limit, and full commercial use: $75/mo billed every month for 12 months.
Topaz Video AI pros
- Upscales video to 4K+ and even 8K resolution with sharp clarity
- Over 20 specialized AI enhancement models for different video types
- Starlight diffusion AI model achieves temporal consistency across frames
- Denoises low-light footage while preserving cinema-level detail
- Frame interpolation creates new frames for smooth slow motion up to 16x slower
- AI-powered stabilization corrects shaky footage after the moment passes
- Motion deblur restores focus to blurry footage
- SDR to HDR conversion enhances color and brightness
- Deinterlaces any analog source including VHS and DVD
- Unlimited local rendering keeps files on your computer for privacy
- Cloud rendering with monthly credits for faster processing without hardware burden
- Works as standalone app or plugin for After Effects, DaVinci Resolve, Premiere
- Add grain back for cinematic look with grain control feature
- Prevents rolling shutter artifacts with rolling shutter correction
- EZKeep Grain feature preserves natural film grain during enhancement
- System supports both Mac and Windows platforms
- Plugin integration seamless with major video editing software
- Temporally aware AI models trained specifically for video enhancement
- Auto Pilot feature automates enhancement settings for zero technical knowledge
- Professional-grade results trusted by major film studios
Topaz Video AI cons
- Requires powerful GPU for optimal local rendering performance
- Mac and AMD GPUs don't support Starlight Sharp/HQ/Fast locally
- Processing slow motion beyond 8x is time and system-intensive with Aion model
- Cloud credits expire monthly and do not roll over to next month
- Limited commercial use restricted to organizations under $1M USD annual revenue for Personal plans
- Frame interpolation audio is removed and not modified with video
- Extreme parallax with many thin layers can cause minor wobble artifacts
- High contrast reflective surfaces with extreme frame differences may cause strobing effect
- Caustics over patterned moving subjects can distort during slow motion
- Subscription-based pricing with no permanent one-time license option
Frequently asked questions about Topaz Video AI
What is Topaz Video AI?
Topaz Video AI 7 is a professional, AI-powered video enhancement software that lets you denoise low-light footage, recover and upscale old archival videos to 4K+, restore focus, adjust frame rate by creating new frames, stabilize shaky footage, convert SDR to HDR, and deinterlace analog sources. It features over 20 temporally aware AI models trained for video enhancement and works on Mac and Windows as a standalone app or plugin.
What is the Starlight AI model?
Starlight is a groundbreaking diffusion AI model for video enhancement that upscales, enhances, denoises, de-aliases, and sharpens video without sliders or manual adjustments. It's the first diffusion AI model for video to achieve full temporal consistency, ensuring seamless motion from frame to frame by analyzing hundreds of surrounding frames for each restored frame. Starlight Precise, Mini, Sharp, HQ, and Fast variants are available in Topaz Video for local and cloud rendering.
How does frame interpolation work?
Frame interpolation synthesizes new frames from given frames to create more fluid movement or slow down video speed. Topaz offers multiple models: Chronos for general FPS conversion or slow-mo up to 4x, Chronos Fast for fast motion, Apollo for non-linear motion (exactly 2x/4x/8x multiples, 8 frames per run), Apollo Fast for speed, and Aion for high-precision large media with large motion. Slow motion can go up to 16x slower, but audio is removed and not modified.
Can I use Topaz Video as a plugin?
Yes, Topaz Video works as a standalone desktop app on Mac and Windows, or as a plugin for Adobe After Effects, DaVinci Resolve, and directly in Adobe Premiere via the new Premiere Panel. You can run powerful AI enhancements within your favorite video editing software without exporting and reimporting.
What is the difference between local and cloud rendering?
Local rendering processes video on your computer with unlimited exports and ensures files never leave your computer, perfect for confidential or proprietary material. Cloud rendering uses Cloud Credits for faster processing with the latest AI models without bogging down hardware. Personal plans include 25 monthly video cloud credits, Pro plans include 100, and Topaz Studio includes 300. Monthly credits expire at end of month and do not roll over.
What AI models are included in each plan?
Personal and Pro plans include Starlight Precise, Proteus, Iris, Nyx, Nyx XL, Rhea, Rhea XL, Artemis, Gaia, Theia, Apollo, Chronos, Aion, Themis, SDR to HDR, and Stabilization. Cloud access to Starlight Mini/Sharp/HQ/Fast is included for both. Pro plans add local access to Starlight Mini/Sharp/HQ/Fast (except Sharp/HQ/Fast not supported locally on Mac and AMD GPUs). Topaz Studio includes all Video models plus all other app models.
Is Topaz Video AI good for archival footage restoration?
Yes, Topaz Video AI is specifically designed for archivists and historians to preserve and modernize archival film, VHS, and historical footage. It deinterlaces any analog source, recovers degraded video, upscales low-resolution footage to 4K+, reduces noise and blur, and restores focus. The Artemis model denoises and sharpens, Dione DV handles deinterlacing for DV sources, and Starlight provides the clearest enhancement with temporal consistency.
What are the system requirements?
Topaz Video AI requires Mac or Windows with a GPU for optimal performance. Local rendering performance depends on GPU power. Mac and AMD GPUs have limitations: Starlight Sharp/HQ/Fast are not supported locally on these platforms. Cloud rendering bypasses hardware limitations. For best results with large media and Aion model, a powerful system is recommended due to higher system-intensity.
Can I add cinematic grain to my enhanced video?
Yes, Topaz Video includes a grain feature that lets you add grain back into your image after enhancement to give it a more cinematic look. This is useful because enhancement models can sometimes remove natural film grain, and adding it back preserves the aesthetic quality of the original footage while benefiting from the clarity improvements.
What is the return policy for Topaz Video AI subscriptions?
Topaz Labs offers subscription plans billed monthly or annually. While the website mentions return policy as a FAQ question, specific return terms should be contacted through their support team. Subscriptions can be monthly or annual (with annual billing offering savings). Monthly credits expire and do not roll over. For detailed return policy information, contact the support team via the website.