What is Topaz Starlight 2.5 and why is it used for AI video upscaling?

Topaz Starlight 2.5 (Starlight Precise 2.5) is a diffusion-based AI video upscaling model from Topaz Labs that reconstructs fine detail — faces, fabrics, textures — at outputs up to 4K. It's used on AI-generated footage because it outperforms other upscalers on exactly those surfaces, and it's more cost-effective per run than Topaz Astra.

Topaz Starlight 2.5 is Topaz Labs' diffusion-based video upscaling model, built to restore realistic detail and temporal consistency in footage — Topaz positions it specifically for generative-AI and archival video, with output up to 4K. Unlike simple sharpening upscalers, the diffusion approach regenerates plausible texture in the areas where AI video most visibly falls apart: skin, hair, and fabric.

Why it's the pick for AI-generated footage. In one documented production — a 10-episode series shipped by a 3-person crew in 3 days at roughly $1,000 per episode — Starlight 2.5 outperformed every other upscaler tested, particularly on faces and fabrics, and came in more cost-effective than Topaz Astra. That cost difference compounds fast when you're upscaling every finished shot across a multi-episode run, which is why high-volume pipelines default to it.

Know the trade-offs before you commit. Starlight is compute-intensive: community reports on r/TopazLabs consistently flag slow render times and meaningful VRAM requirements for local runs (Topaz also offers cloud rendering, and its recent update added local model support on AMD hardware). Low-quality source footage can trigger artifacts — the model reconstructs detail from what's there, so feed it your cleanest generation rather than expecting it to rescue a broken shot.

Where it sits in the pipeline. Run the upscale after generation is complete and before your edit — footage generated through the invideo agent gets upscaled in Starlight 2.5, then moves into Premiere Pro or DaVinci Resolve for finishing. Follow the upscale with a film grain pass in your NLE: grain softens the digital edges that Starlight's clean output can accentuate, making AI-generated footage read as cinematic rather than synthetic.

Watch some of these to see what works for you:

3 people. 3 days. 10 episodes. $1000 per episode.

— invideo's creative team, on the production economics behind selecting Starlight 2.5 as the pipeline's upscaler