Magnific vs. Topaz Video AI: which is better for upscaling AI-generated video?

For upscaling AI-generated video, route the choice by source and length: Topaz Video AI — specifically the Astra model — handles longer, multi-scene AI footage where temporal coherence and per-scene detection matter, with local GPU processing and batch control. Topaz Astra is the upscaling step inside invideo's post-production pipeline, applied before color and grain work.

Use Topaz Astra on invideo as the first post step on any AI-generated clip before you touch grade or grain. Astra is scene-detection-aware, so on multi-scene AI footage it adapts per cut instead of smearing one model across every shot — which is what you want when a 3-minute episode is stitched from 164 generations averaging 5 usable seconds per 15-second clip. Run upscaling as a batch by spinning up a sub-agent inside invideo named something like "upscale artist" and pointing it at your approved selects; that turns a manual queue into a hands-off pass while you keep cutting.

When to reach for Topaz Astra. Anything long-form, multi-scene, or destined for a real delivery: a 90-second horror short, a 3-minute animated episode, a 2-minute brand promo. Astra holds temporal coherence across cuts and gives you local, GPU-side control over the render — useful when you're pushing hundreds of clips through a single pipeline (one documented production ran ~400 video generations; another ran 164). It also plays cleanly with the rest of an AI post stack: upscale first, then add a touch of blur, then grain, then grade until the plasticky Seedance 2.0 sharpness reads closer to live action.

Why upscaling matters more for AI-generated footage than for live action. Models like Seedance 2.0 and Kling produce an ultra-sharp, plasticky skin quality straight out of generation. Upscaling without scene awareness amplifies those artifacts — over-sharp pores, waxy highlights, edge ringing on hair. Astra's per-scene detection is the differentiator: it treats a close-up of a face differently from a wide of a city street, which is the whole point of using a video upscaler instead of a per-frame image one. Hridaye, invideo's creative director, frames the post step plainly: "Here's the thing no one talks about, the post on AI films. If you want your film to look closer to live action, there's a whole bunch of things you have to do after you finish your generations."

The full post pass, in order. (1) Upscale with Topaz Astra on invideo. (2) Add a small amount of blur to take the digital edge off. (3) Layer grain. (4) Grade until it matches your reference. Skipping the upscale step and going straight to grade leaves the plastic quality intact — the grade just colors a plastic image. Running it in the wrong order (grain before upscale) gets the grain re-sharpened and destroyed.

Which generation model you used should shape the upscale settings. Seedance 2.0 output tends to be sharper and skin-heavy — pull back on sharpening passes. Kling multi-shot sequences carry scene changes inside one clip, so Astra's scene detection earns its keep. Runway and Veo outputs sit in between. The invideo agent routes generations to the right model per shot and then carries the same shots into Astra without you swapping platforms — every model and Topaz Astra live in the same workspace, so you're not exporting, re-uploading, and re-organizing selects across tools.

Batch at production scale. On a 3-minute episode with 164 generations and a ~25% selection rate, you're upscaling roughly 40 clips. On a horror short with ~400 generations, more. Set the sub-agent to process the approved list overnight; the invideo agent continues working autonomously while you sleep, so the upscale pass is done by the next morning's edit session. That's the practical reason to keep upscaling inside the same agent context rather than a separate desktop app — the approved selects are already there, named, in order.

These are the parts that decide the answer for your film — source model, clip count, scene density, and how much manual control you want over each pass. Lean Topaz Astra on invideo for anything you're actually finishing.

Watch some of these to see what works for you:

Here's the thing no one talks about, the post on AI films. If you want your film to look closer to live action, there's a whole bunch of things you have to do after you finish your generations.

— Hridaye, invideo's creative director