AI VHS Upscaler: How to Restore & Upscale VHS Videos to 4K

Looking into how to restore and upscale your VHS videos? You've come to the right place. Those tapes hold precious memories, from childhood birthdays to long-lost family vacations. Digitizing them is a no-brainer for preservation, but the harsh reality is that simply converting VHS to digital doesn't magically improve the picture quality. In fact, it tends to highlight the flaws. blurry images, grainy textures, and faded colors. On modern high-definition screens, those imperfections can be hard to ignore.

That's where AI VHS upscalers comes in. Using powerful artificial intelligence, they can analyze, restore, and enhance your VHS footage, addressing issues like visual noise, color fading, and low resolution. By upscaling your digitized VHS videos to 4K and enhancing their clarity with an AI-driven upscaler, your cherished memories and movie/anime/TV shows collection will look sharp and vibrant again on modern HD screens.

📌 A friendly reminder: Before we dive into upscaling your VHS videos, it's important to know that the first step is always to digitize your VHS tape into a digital video file. Once that's done, you can then proceed with upscaling to improve the quality. For detailed steps on how to digitize your VHS tapes, simply scroll down to the last section of this post or click here.

Method 1. Restore and Upscale VHS Videos to 4K

After digitizing your precious VHS tapes, you can further enhance and upscale them to modern 4K clarity for viewing on high-definition screens. VideoProc Converter AI offers a comprehensive toolkit to elevate your digitized VHS footage. Here's what it can do for you.

• Upscale VHS video from 480P to 1080P/4K with restored details.
• Automatically fix noise, grain, blur, pixelation, and other artifacts from VHS videos.
• Increase frame rates from 25-30fps to 120/240fps for smoother playback.
• Eliminate shake in your footage with a single click, without visible quality loss.
• Deinterlace, adjust color, and apply more adjustments to elevate your VHS videos.
• Rich extra features. AI-enhance image/audio, record screen, compress videos, etc.

How to Restore and Upscale VHS Video to 1080P/4K with VideoProc

VideoProc Converter AI offers a streamlined approach to restoring your digitized VHS files, with the capability to upscale them to crisp 4K quality through a user-friendly interface.

Step 1. Import Your VHS Videos

Download and install VideoProc Converter AI. Launch the program and click on the Super Resolution button on the main interface. Drag your digitized VHS video files from your computer into the program for import.

Step 2. Upscale & Enhance Your VHS Videos

Choose the Upscale model. Select your target resolution, for example, 1080p and 4K. You can also manually adjust the resolution by entering the width and height in pixels or by choosing the upscale ratio.

💡 Tips:

• We recommend Gen Detail v3 for most video types, especially those with intricate details like hair or fur. If your VHS videos are anime, cartoons, or have fewer details, Real Smooth v3 is a great choice.
• If your VHS footage has interlaced lines, simply check the Deinterlacing box to remove the effect instantly.

Step 3. Export the Upscaled VHS Footage

Select the target format. H.264 MP4 is recommended for wide compatibility and good quality. Click RUN to start the process and save your upscaled and enhanced VHS footage to your local disk.

💡 Tips:

If you want a smaller file size while maintaining the same quality, choose AV1, which offers better compression than H.264. HEVC is another good option—it provides a balance between file size and quality, sitting between H.264 and AV1.

Bonus：Increase Frame Rates

VHS videos typically run at 24fps, which may cause stuttering on modern displays. To fix this, enable Frame Interpolation. This feature allows you to increase frame rates up to 60fps, 120fps, or higher, making your upscaled 1080P/4K VHS video play more smoothly.

Bonus：Stabilize Your VHS Footage

To stabilize shaky VHS footage, use the Stabilizer option within VideoProc Converter AI. This will help smooth out any unwanted motion in your videos.

Bonus：Correct Color for Your VHS Footage

Old VHS tapes often suffer from color degradation. To enhance the colors of your VHS footage, go to the Video Converter section, import your original VHS footage, click on Effects under the imported video, and adjust settings like contrast, brightness, and saturation to restore a more vibrant look to your video.

Method 2. Restore VHS Video with Another VHS Upscaler

Topaz Video AI is another standout VHS upscaler that can help you restore, enhance, and upscale your VHS footage. Its AI-powered models are specifically designed to handle the challenges of VHS footage, including interlaced lines often found in old videos and DVDs. This makes it ideal for cleaning up grainy, blurry footage and improving resolution to 4K without compromising quality. Topaz Video AI offers a variety of models tailored to different types of VHS content—whether it's action-packed videos, anime, or classic family tapes. Each model is designed to fix noise, sharpen details, and enhance color, providing impressive results that make your old footage look fresh and clear.

However, it's important to note a few downsides. This VHS upscaler costs $299 USD, which includes one year of free model updates. If you also want to enhance scanned photos, you'll need to purchase Topaz Photo AI for an additional $199 USD. Another limitation is that Topaz Video AI doesn't offer tools for quick edits or compression, so if you need those features, you'll need another solution.

How to Restore and Upscale VHS Video to 1080P/4K with Topaz Video AI

Step 1. Purchase Topaz Video AI

To start, purchase this VHS upscaler for $299 USD from the official website. After purchase, download and install the latest version compatible with your operating system (Windows or Mac).

Step 2. Add Your VHS Video

Once installed, open Topaz Video AI and click Add Project. Locate your digitized VHS video, select it, and click Open to import your footage into the software.

Step 3. Set the Target Resolution

Go to the Output Resolution section. The original resolution will be displayed here. Set your desired resolution (e.g., 1920x1080p or 4K). From the discussions in the Topaz community, upscaling to around 2x the original resolution tends to provide the best results, giving you enhanced quality without looking artificial.

Step 4. Choose the AI Model

Select the appropriate video type for your footage. For example, if your VHS video has interlaced lines, choose the Interlaced option. Then, you can experiment with different AI models to see which one works best. You can click Render 5s in the preview window to quickly check the effect.

Step 5. Adjust Other Enhancement Settings

Now, fine-tune the settings to improve the output. A useful setting is Recover Detail—drag the slider to around 20 for a good balance between detail enhancement without over-sharpening or creating an unnatural look.

Step 6. Apply Additional AI Features

In addition to enhancing the overall picture quality, you can also boost the frame rate and remove shake for smoother playback. Simply scroll down to find these options and enable them as needed.

Step 7. Export the Enhanced VHS Video

Click Export and specify the location where you want to save the enhanced video. Topaz Video AI will start processing and exporting the upscaled VHS video.

Optional Reading: How to Digitize Your VHS Tapes for Restoration

Capture Software.

Often bundled with your capture device, this software records the incoming video stream. Popular choices include OBS Studio (free and versatile), VLC Media Player (can capture, though less intuitive for this purpose), or the proprietary software that comes with your capture card.

What You'll Need.

• A Working VCR. Essential for playing your VHS tapes. Make sure it's clean and functioning well to avoid damage and ensure smooth playback.
• Video Capture Device. This device connects your VCR to your computer and converts the video and audio signals into digital format. You can use a simple USB capture stick (e.g., Elgato Video Capture) or an internal capture card.
• A computer with enough storage to save the large video files.
• Capture Software. This software records the video. Options include OBS Studio, VLC Media Player, or software that comes with your capture device. VideoProc Converter AI also offers a “Screen Recorder” for capturing video from external devices.
• Composite Cables. Standard yellow (video), white (left audio), and red (right audio) cables to connect your VCR to the capture device.

Detail Steps to Digitize Your VHS Tapes

Step 1. Connect your VCR's RCA or S-Video output cables to your video capture device, then connect the capture device to your computer (typically via USB). Install any necessary drivers.

Step 2. Select your capture device as the input source and designate an output folder for the digitized files. Insert the VHS tape into your VCR and cue it to the desired starting point.

Step 3. Install and open your video capture software. Within your capture software (e.g., VideoProc Converter AI's "Recorder" module), confirm the capture device is selected and adjust recording settings like output format and quality.

Step 4. Initiate the recording process in your software, then play the VHS tape on your VCR. Monitor the real-time capture to ensure it's proceeding as expected.

Step 5. Once the tape finishes or the segment ends, stop the recording within your software, then stop the VCR. The digitized file will save to your chosen folder.