A comparison of seen in the What We Left Behind documentary. Share public link
If you want to do it yourself using (paid, ~$300):
This is where AI upscaling, specifically using ESRGAN, Topaz Video Enhance AI, and custom neural networks, changed the game. Between 2019 and 2022, a dedicated group of fans (led by projects like "Project Defiant") began feeding DS9 through AI models trained on high-quality film grain and facial recognition.
If you dive into the S01 AI upscale, several episodes stand out as showcase pieces for the technology:
When a modern 4K TV stretches a 480p image to fill its screen, it creates a muddy, pixelated mess. The 2020 AI Upscale Breakthrough star+trek+deep+space+9+s01+ai+upscale+4k+2020+better
On a modern 4K OLED or QLED TV, these episodes look like they’re being broadcast through a frosted window. The human faces of Avery Brooks, Nana Visitor, and René Auberjonois are robbed of texture. The Promenade set looks like a watercolor painting.
Old DVD footage often has "combing" artifacts. AI upscaling handles de-interlacing, offering a clean, progressive picture.
Even with constraints, the Collective’s work moved through the station like a careful tide. Families recovered scenes of shared childhoods lost to time; an old Vedek heard a voice recaptured and wept. Archives took on a new intimacy where rust had been, and many felt a gentle resurrection of meaning. Yet the memory of the tribunal lingered like a watermark. People asked themselves whether they would prefer a brightened truth or a plausible falsehood. The space between those preferences contained the real moral gravity.
A highly popular open-source model designed to produce higher-quality textures than traditional interpolation. A comparison of seen in the What We Left Behind documentary
However, "better" is subjective. AI upscaling can sometimes create "waxy" skin textures or "uncanny valley" faces if the settings are pushed too hard. The best 2020-era projects found a balance—retaining some film grain to keep the 90s cinematic aesthetic while boosting the resolution to fill modern 4K OLED screens.
The 2020 upscales often utilized . Original DS9 broadcasts suffered from "combing" artifacts and motion blur inherent to 1990s television standards.
The text refers to the Project Defiant DS9 4K Upscale , a fan-led initiative from 2020 aimed at improving the visual quality of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine using AI software. Overview of the Project
Upscaling DS9 Season 1 presents unique hurdles that native HD shows like The Next Generation did not face. Project Defiant: DS9 4K Upscale of Season 1 Now Available If you dive into the S01 AI upscale,
The text you're looking for refers to high-resolution fan projects aimed at modernizing Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Original: The wormhole opening looks like green jelly on a black velvet painting. AI 4K: The individual energy tendrils separate. The stars are pinpoints, not blocks. The runabout Rio Grande reveals hull panel lines that were previously lost in shadow.
The most widely cited community projects that released or updated versions in 2020 include: Project Defiant: DS9 4K Upscale of Season 1 Now Available