When scrolling through youtube, its recommendation algorithm somehow shows me to a channel that uploads extremely upscaled anime videos. What surprised me was that videos from 80s anime which usually come with a low resolution like 360p are in crisps 4K resolution! This dumbfounded me because as far as I can remember the attempt to upscale old animes was never able to break the 720p barrier. Going larger than 720p will cause the video to become badly blurry.
That’s the TV version of Macross1Macross (マクロス, Makurosu, English: /məˈkrɒs/) is a Japanese science fiction mecha anime media franchise/media mix, created by Studio Nue (most prominently mecha designer, writer, and producer Shōji Kawamori) and Artland in 1982. which aired in 1982! The nearest source I could think of before it edited and upscaled into oblivion is Super Dimension Fortress Macross Complete Box Set DVD. Yep, as in the video title, it’s a MAD2An anime music video (AMV), known in wasei-eigo as MAD (music anime douga), is a fan-made music video consisting of clips from one or more Japanese animated shows or movies set to an audio track, often songs or promotional trailer audio. video whose sequence is not in any official sources and was edited by someone probably a fan of it. Then it’s edited to match the music before getting the final finishing touch: AI-based upscaling.
I’m trying to find which tools the channel uses to upscale the video but so far there is no info about it. So, I started guessing. The uploader may use a commercial AI upscale software like Topaz but my inner open-source bias is telling me to find the open-source alternative. After some 15 minutes of research in google just like those conspiracy theorists, I come to the conclusion that the uploader is using ESRGAN. Of course please take this with a grain of salt. I choose ESRGAN because they give anime upscaling samples in their git readme.
This whole AI upscaling things also make me want to back to my old video editing hobby again. Since it involves GPU processing power I need a really serious rig like a gaming rig. Well, that probably cost a lot and can make my wallet bleed. So let’s save it for another day.