How to get real better quality using Instant 4k effect?

[Jimsa]

Hi Happy New Year to you all

I tried to use Red Giants' Instant 4K to upscale some footage in Adobe Premiere CC and AE CC, but I really don't see much difference between up-scaling an SD footage with it or to upscale it with the Premiere or AE motion. Even by up-scaling HD footage to 4k, I don't get a higher quality. What should I do when using Instant 4k to get a real better quality?

Thanks, Jim.                        

[bogiesan]

You want to ask Red Giant. Try posting on their forum. You will find more Red Giant users using After Effects there than you will find After Effect s users with Red Giant stuff here.

You'll need to be quite specific about why you don't like the results of any of your choices or post screen shots.

[Jimsa]

thanks for your answer. Problem is that I do not see any real quality difference with using or without using that effect.

[Todd_Kopriva]

That plug-in isn't really necessary any longer. After Effects and Premiere Pro have improved their upscaling features in the past few years such that an additional third-party plug-in isn't necessary to get good results in this area.

For especially good results, try the Detail-Preserving Upscale effect in After Effects---though for many cases the faster method of just using bicubic sampling for the layer's Scale property is adequate.

[Szalam]

And, no matter what technique you're using, if you're trying to go from SD to 4K, it's never going to look great.

[Jimsa]

And from SD to HD?

[bogiesan]

Standard def is 720x480, 350,00 pixels per frame. HD is 2 million pixels per frame. You're blowing up every SD pixel by a factor of 6. There's only so much interpolation software can do to create pixels that don't exist.

[Jimsa]

right that you'll never get an HD footage from SD, but it seems the best way to upscale for now is Detail-Preserving Upscale effect or not?

[Szalam]

Jimsa wrote:

And from SD to HD?

I'd say it can look acceptable. That is, of course, depending on the quality of the source footage. If it's a lossy, compressed mess of a shot that was lit poorly and shot with a bad-quality sensor (or captured from a bad quality tape deck/codec), it's never going to look good no matter what you do. If it was lit well, shot with a good camera, and captured in a high quality codec, you have a chance.

[Jimsa]

And the Detail-Preserving Upscale effect could change a lot or little?

[Todd_Kopriva]

Try it and see for yourself.

[Szalam]

As Todd says, you're the only one who can know for sure. Each piece of footage is different. And you're the only one who can know if the quality is where you want it.

[Jimsa]

I'll try, I only wanted to learn the basics of scaling with or without effect

Thanks, Jim

[Jimsa]

I think your right. You mean that effect won't make a big difference in CC? and I see this. I haven't upgraded my CC so for now I haven't the Detail-Preserving Upscale effect. Is there any difference on that matter between CC and CC 2014?

Jim.