Upscaling the Movies using AI Machine Learning

[sumpter360]

The product: Topaz Video Enhance AI
Source: Dragon Box The Movies SD rips
Output: 1080p

I know both FUNimation and Toei has put out their own "HD" releases of the movies, but IMO both version leave a lot to be desired. A large portion of the fandom (here at Kanzenshuu) still prefer the Dragon Box presentation of the movies over these two other releases.

As someone who's interested in computers and technology, and in seeing the absolute most detail possible out of my favorite TV series, I figured why not throw the Dragon Box Movies in the program and see how it turns out, and how it compares to the officially available HD releases of the movies.

Note: For the comparisons, I'm using an upscaled-to-1080 shot from Dragon Box, the AI upscale, and the Amazon HD rip. I don't currently own the FUNi Blu-rays of the movies, so if anyone would like to provide lossless PNGs of the same shots, I'd gladly add them in.

Enjoy and let me know if there are any requests!

Movie 04:
00:09:13 (Bulma & Co run toward distant explosion) - http://www.framecompare.com/image-compa ... n/7KZ77NNX

00:29:25 (Goku close-up) - http://www.framecompare.com/image-comp ... n/9FC9JNNU

[ArmenianPepsi]

Is it just me or do these AI upscalings of older TV shows always give them this look of fake clarity and sharpness? Like at a glance it looks good, but the more you look at it, something just feels off?

I wonder though if in the software there are any settings you can tweak to get slightly different results.

[Robo4900]

Is it just me or do these AI upscalings of older TV shows always give them this look of fake clarity and sharpness? Like at a glance it looks good, but the more you look at it, something just feels off?

Yeah. It's a lot like Funi's faux-"remastering"; it looks all sharp and flashy at first glance, but the more you look at it, the more the untouched version looks infinitely superior tbh... And in this case, the actual Toei movie restorations look way better than that, so... I don't see the appeal here.

The only advantage the upscale has here, if you ask me, is that the DBox colour grade of this particular movie was a little better than the HD version's colour grade.

I wonder though if in the software there are any settings you can tweak to get slightly different results.

I think AI upscaling is a long way off from looking good, and I really don't think just tweaking some settings will close that gap, unfortunately.

[Banduck]

I think AI upscaling is a long way off from looking good, and I really don't think just tweaking some settings will close that gap, unfortunately.

What do you think about this AI upscaling: https://youtu.be/-seUd9kQN9s
I think it looks awesome.

[Robo4900]

I think AI upscaling is a long way off from looking good, and I really don't think just tweaking some settings will close that gap, unfortunately.

What do you think about this AI upscaling: https://youtu.be/-seUd9kQN9s
I think it looks awesome.

Looks pretty shitty to me. There is some sharpness there, but it's all smeary and distorted. Kinda makes my eyes hurt.

(Plus the idiot cropped it to widescreen )

[Banduck]

There is some sharpness there, but it's all smeary and distorted. Kinda makes my eyes hurt.

I think it looks very good (especially if you don't watch it in fullscreen ), it reminds me of the cels
but yeah it's not perfect

(Plus the idiot cropped it to widescreen )

It's actually the official cropped version of kai

[Locust]

I'm not a fan - I actually like seeing grain
Maybe I'm an odd one out when it comes to that, but grain gives a retro feeling and reminds that these were hand painted cels, rather than digitally drawn
There's just a level of charm that I don't think upscaling can retain

[kyppk]

I don't think the AI upscale looks bad by any means, but I prefer the DBOX images. My biggest gripe is that, for the Goku comparison, the grain acts in such a way that it adds some differing color and makes his skin look more natural to me, whereas the AI upscaled all that away and turned it into three solid tones.

[kei17]

I tried the same software and it worked better with the HD footage. 1080p contains most of the essential details of cel animation, so it suffers less from unnatural fake details and it woks more like a smart sharpener.

[sangofe]

I tried the same software and it worked better with the HD footage. 1080p contains most of the essential details of cel animation, so it suffers less from unnatural fake details and it woks more like a smart sharpener.

Did you use the bd release from Toei or the Amazon remaster?

[eledoremassis02]

Has anyone tried this with the Rock the Dragon or Madman DVDs? I tried but the program keeps erroring...

[Trachta10]

I think AI upscaling is a long way off from looking good, and I really don't think just tweaking some settings will close that gap, unfortunately.

What do you think about this AI upscaling: https://youtu.be/-seUd9kQN9s
I think it looks awesome.

Looks pretty shitty to me. There is some sharpness there, but it's all smeary and distorted. Kinda makes my eyes hurt.

(Plus the idiot cropped it to widescreen )

looks more "focused"
at least it's look better than the blu-ray

[SaiyanEpic]

imo when you're used to see that "grain" it is quite difficult to go back