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How To UPSCALE Video To 4K In Davinci Resolve

Learn how to properly upscale 1080p or 720p footage to 4K resolution in DaVinci Resolve using Project Settings, Super Scale AI, and output scaling.

To upscale a video to 4K in DaVinci Resolve, you must first change your Project Settings to a 4K timeline resolution (3840 x 2160). For the highest quality results—especially when upscaling heavily compressed 1080p or 720p footage—you must use the AI-powered "Super Scale" feature in the Clip Attributes menu, which uses the DaVinci Neural Engine to mathematically generate new pixels and sharpen details rather than simply stretching the image.

What is video upscaling in DaVinci Resolve?

Upscaling is the process of increasing the physical resolution (pixel count) of a video clip beyond its original recorded size.

For example, taking footage shot in High Definition (1920x1080 pixels) and enlarging it to fit a Ultra High Definition 4K screen (3840x2160 pixels). Standard upscaling simply stretches the existing pixels, resulting in a soft, blurry, or blocky image. Advanced AI upscaling (like DaVinci Resolve Studio's Super Scale) analyzes the edges and textures of the footage and artificially generates new pixels to maintain crispness and detail during the enlargement process.

How to set up a 4K timeline for upscaling?

Before you can upscale individual clips, your master project timeline must be set to the target 4K resolution.

  1. Open Project Settings: Click the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the DaVinci Resolve interface.
  2. Navigate to Master Settings: In the left-hand menu, ensure "Master Settings" is selected.
  3. Change Timeline Resolution: Under the "Timeline Format" section, click the "Timeline resolution" dropdown menu.
  4. Select 4K: Choose 3840 x 2160 Ultra HD (the standard for YouTube and TV) or 4096 x 2160 DCI 4K (the cinematic standard).
  5. Save: Click "Save." Your timeline canvas is now 4K. If you place a 1080p clip on this timeline, Resolve will automatically stretch it to fit the screen by default.

How to use Super Scale for high-quality AI upscaling?

Standard stretching looks soft. To drastically improve the quality of the upscaled 1080p or 720p footage, you must activate the Super Scale feature (exclusive to DaVinci Resolve Studio).

  1. Locate the Clip: Go to the Media Pool (top left) on the Edit page and find the original low-resolution clip.
  2. Open Clip Attributes: Right-click the clip in the Media Pool and select Clip Attributes.
  3. Enable Super Scale: At the bottom of the Video tab, locate the "Super Scale" dropdown. Change it from "None" to 2x (for 1080p to 4K) or 4x (for 720p to 4K).
  4. Adjust Sharpness and Noise: Two new sliders will appear. Increase the "Sharpness" slightly (e.g., High) to enhance edge details. Increase the "Noise Reduction" (e.g., Medium) to prevent the AI from sharpening digital grain or compression artifacts.
  5. Apply: Click OK. The clip on your timeline is now being mathematically upscaled by the Neural Engine, resulting in a significantly sharper 4K image than standard stretching.

How to manage Image Scaling settings for mixed timelines?

If you have a mix of 4K drone footage and 1080p interview footage on the same 4K timeline, you must tell DaVinci Resolve how to handle the size discrepancies automatically.

  1. Open Project Settings: Click the gear icon (bottom right).
  2. Navigate to Image Scaling: In the left-hand menu, select "Image Scaling."
  3. Set Input Scaling: Under "Input Scaling," locate the "Mismatched resolution files" dropdown.
  4. Choose the Scaling Method:

* Scale entire image to fit: (Default) Stretches the 1080p footage to fill the 4K screen.

* Scale full frame with crop: Fills the screen but crops the edges if the aspect ratios don't match.

* Center crop with no scaling: Places the 1080p footage in the center of the 4K screen, surrounded by massive black borders (useful if you don't want any quality loss from stretching).

  1. Save: Click "Save." This setting applies universally to all mismatched clips on the timeline that are not using Super Scale.

How to export the final 4K video?

Once your edit is complete and upscaled, you must ensure your export settings match your timeline resolution.

  1. Navigate to the Deliver Page: Click the rocket ship icon at the bottom of the screen.
  2. Select Export Format: In the Render Settings panel (top left), choose a preset like "Custom Export" or "YouTube." Set the Format to MP4 or QuickTime, and Codec to H.264 or H.265.
  3. Verify Resolution: Under the "Resolution" dropdown, ensure it is set to 3840 x 2160 Ultra HD. (If you set your timeline to 4K earlier, this should be selected automatically).
  4. Add to Render Queue: Click "Add to Render Queue" at the bottom, then click "Render All" on the right side of the screen to output your 4K file.

How to speed up heavy AI upscaling workflows?

Super Scale is incredibly demanding on your computer's GPU. Activating Super Scale on a 2-hour interview clip will cripple timeline playback and drastically increase export times.

Professional editors avoid this by locking their edit before applying upscaling:

* Pre-Edit in 1080p: They upload raw footage to Cutsio, extract the narrative structure via XML, and build the structural edit in DaVinci Resolve using a standard 1080p timeline for fast, real-time playback.

Change Settings Last: Once the narrative is locked and approved, they open Project Settings, change the timeline to 4K, and apply Super Scale only* to the specific 1080p clips that made the final cut.

* Render Cache: They right-click the upscaled clips on the Edit page and select Render Cache Color Output to ensure smooth playback for the final color grade.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Can I use Super Scale in the free version of DaVinci Resolve?

No. Super Scale utilizes the DaVinci Neural Engine (AI), which is a feature locked exclusively to the paid DaVinci Resolve Studio version. If you use the free version, your 1080p footage will simply be stretched to fit the 4K timeline using standard bilinear or bicubic scaling, which is visibly softer.

Why does my Super Scaled footage look crunchy and unnatural?

If the upscaled footage looks overly sharp, brittle, or has white halos around edges, you have pushed the "Sharpness" setting too high in the Clip Attributes. Go back to Clip Attributes, lower the Sharpness to "Medium" or "Low," and increase the "Noise Reduction" to smooth out the digital artifacts.

Can I upscale a 4K video to 8K?

Yes. If you have DaVinci Resolve Studio, you can set your timeline to 8K resolution and apply Super Scale (2x) to 4K footage. However, this requires an incredibly powerful GPU (usually 16GB+ of VRAM) to process the massive amount of pixel data generated by the Neural Engine.

By mastering Project Settings, Image Scaling, and the AI-powered Super Scale tool, you can seamlessly integrate lower-resolution footage into high-end 4K DaVinci Resolve workflows.