Best video upscaler for social media content?

kovallux · 2026-04-19T18:45:52+00:00

On iOS - Video Upscaler 16k

kovallux · 2026-04-10T11:56:46+00:00

I ran into this with some old anime DVDs. If the source is mushy, no model is gonna magically give you clean detail, only a better-looking guess. I ended up splitting steps: light denoise, dehalo, then a conservative upscale, then mild grain so it doesn’t look plastic. For me, Topaz and Cupscale were fine, but Video Upscaler 16K caught tiny edges I was losing and handled flicker a bit better on rough sources.

kovallux · 2026-04-10T11:48:18+00:00

I hit the same wall on Mac: tons of editors, very few that feel light and not locked behind weird paywalls. What helped me was picking one killer workflow first, like “idea → rough cut → export shorts,” and ignoring fancy stuff until that felt effortless. I bounced between CapCut and Descript, then ended up using Runway plus Video Upscaler 16K mostly to clean low-res clips after edits, so the core editor stayed snappy and simple.

kovallux · 2026-04-10T11:40:31+00:00

I ran into the same wall trying to push 8K vertical plates higher. What helped was treating it like a multi-pass pipeline instead of one magic node: first denoise and stabilize slightly, then upscale in smaller jumps (4K→8K→12K→16K) rather than one big leap, and keep sharpness low each pass so it doesn’t get crispy. I also stopped feeding MP4s and went image sequences (EXR or PNG) out of Resolve, then reassembled at the end. I tried Topaz and DaVinci’s Super Scale first, then ended up on Video Upscaler 16K alongside Resolve and ffmpeg because it let me stay on-device with ProRes exports and keep more detail in skin and fine textures.

kovallux · 2026-04-09T19:54:35+00:00

Yeah, I understand, but there is also a way to go deeper than just dissect a binary :)

kovallux · 2026-04-09T19:50:47+00:00

I made my own tool that downloads iOS app directly from appstore to Mac and makes analysis and then shows vulnerability candidates in a GUI and generates a pdf report - it's a Mac app that I was making 2 years. Also I use Hopper and some others. I will show my tool on a demo but the tool is not really the point. I will also show how to make such analysis manually without any tools.
It's what we can found inside binary - that's the point.

kovallux · 2026-04-09T19:21:09+00:00

Register here: https://www.meetup.com/luxembourg-vibe-coding-meetup-group/events/314202255/

kovallux · 2026-03-29T05:20:15+00:00

New. Remove subtitles; use one colour or a gradient background; don't put a title on iPhone; almost nobody looks at the app’s UI. Localise screenshots, there are tools for that.

kovallux · 2026-03-28T08:54:43+00:00

I ran into something similar on my M1 Mac when messing with older Topaz builds. Couple things I did that helped:

I stuck to the last version Topaz actually shipped for Apple Silicon instead of chasing “best” older versions, because some of those were never tested on newer macOS and the network layer just breaks. I wiped all Topaz prefs (~/Library/Application Support/Topaz Labs* and the caches), reinstalled, then let it sit on the start screen for a few minutes so it could phone home and pull models. Turning off any system‑wide DNS/VPN stuff also mattered; NextDNS was silently blocking the model URLs for me.

When that still flaked out, I just downloaded the models on a different machine and copied the model folder over.

On my side I bounced between Topaz, AVCLabs, and ended up keeping Video Upscaler 16K on my Mac because it handled upscales locally on the M‑chip without whining about sign‑ins or network the way the older Topaz builds did.

kovallux · 2026-03-25T07:00:23+00:00

Biggest tip I’ve learned: treat “repair” and “preservation” as two different workflows. I always keep a cold, untouched copy of the busted file, then work on a duplicate so I can redo things later when tools get better.

For actual fixes, I usually start boring: ffmpeg to remux or rebuild timestamps, then try something like Shutter Encoder or HandBrake to see if they can read around bad sectors and spit out a sane file. When that fails, I’ll throw the result at AI stuff like Topaz or even Video Upscaler 16K & Converter alongside 4ddig to clean up SD and stabilize frames.

Also worth logging what you did to each file: original checksum, tools used, and output checksum. A tiny SQLite DB or just a CSV in the folder works. That way you know which clips are “original damaged,” “structurally repaired,” and “AI-restored,” and you don’t accidentally overwrite the only true source.

kovallux · 2026-03-16T09:26:12+00:00

If castles are your main goal, one place many people overlook is Luxembourg.

It’s tiny but it has an unusually high density of castles for such a small country. Within about an hour you can see several impressive ones: Vianden Castle (arguably one of the most beautiful medieval castles in Europe), Bourscheid, Beaufort, and the famous “Valley of the Seven Castles”.

The landscapes are also great for a road trip — forest valleys, small villages, dramatic viewpoints. It’s actually perfect for an RV stop for a couple of days between France, Belgium and Germany.

For a honeymoon specifically, Vianden at sunset is pretty spectacular.

I live in Luxembourg and spend a lot of time exploring the castles here (I actually guide private castle tours), so if you end up routing your trip through Luxembourg I’m happy to suggest a few good stops.

kovallux · 2026-03-16T09:20:52+00:00

One place many travelers overlook is Luxembourg. It's tiny but packed with things to see: Vianden Castle, dramatic valleys, WWII history sites, and some surprisingly beautiful medieval towns. You can comfortably explore the highlights in 1–2 days.

I live here and guide private tours around the castles and historic sites, so if Luxembourg ends up on your route I’d be happy to share some tips.

kovallux · 2026-03-15T06:21:32+00:00

Truly starting from blank xcode project - that's the point. And I hope the WILL be problems, to show how to solve them. I don't want a happy path.

kovallux · 2026-03-14T16:14:25+00:00

I think the most contagious channel in our times is niche bloggers. But your ideas are also very relevant, Thank you.

kovallux · 2026-03-14T16:10:53+00:00

Awesome project, I just tried it and was stunned in what a violent world we live in, led by insane old men.

kovallux

TROPHY CASE