--- title: "How To UPSCALE Video To 4K In Davinci Resolve1" author: "Sarah Williams" category: Tutorials excerpt: "Learn the best practices for upscaling 1080p footage to 4K resolution in DaVinci Resolve using timeline settings, output scaling, and the AI Super Scale tool." --- ## How do you upscale video to 4K in DaVinci Resolve? You can upscale a 1080p or 720p video to 4K in DaVinci Resolve by using the **Super Scale** feature, which is a neural-engine-powered AI upscaling tool built directly into the software. Unlike a basic timeline resolution change that simply stretches the pixels (making the footage blurry and pixelated), Super Scale uses machine learning algorithms to intelligently predict and generate new pixels, preserving sharp edges, fine details, and natural textures. To use Super Scale, you must own the paid **DaVinci Resolve Studio** version. The free version of DaVinci Resolve only supports basic spatial resizing and limits timeline exports to 4K Ultra HD (3840 x 2160) without the AI enhancement. ## What is Super Scale and how does it work? Super Scale is Blackmagic Design's proprietary AI image upscaling technology. It is specifically designed to take low-resolution archival footage, heavily cropped 1080p clips, or standard definition (SD) drone shots, and enlarge them to fit a modern 4K or 8K timeline without introducing severe artifacting. When you apply Super Scale, DaVinci Resolve analyzes the surrounding pixels in a video frame. Instead of using a simple mathematical interpolation (like Bilinear or Bicubic resizing) that blindly duplicates pixels, the Neural Engine understands what an eye, a leaf, or a brick wall should look like at a higher resolution. It then "paints" in the missing detail. Super Scale also includes built-in Noise Reduction and Sharpness controls, allowing you to clean up the grainy artifacts that often accompany low-resolution video files before the upscaling process magnifies them. ## How do you apply Super Scale to a single clip? You apply Super Scale to a single clip in DaVinci Resolve directly from the Media Pool or the Edit page timeline. This is the best method if you are editing a 4K project but only have one or two 1080p archival shots that need enhancement. Follow these steps to upscale a single clip: 1. Open DaVinci Resolve and navigate to the **Edit** page. 2. Right-click the low-resolution clip in your timeline (or in the Media Pool) and select **Clip Attributes**. 3. In the Clip Attributes window, scroll down to the **Super Scale** section. 4. Set the **Super Scale** dropdown menu to **2x**, **3x**, or **4x**, depending on how much you need to enlarge the footage (e.g., 1080p to 4K requires 2x). 5. Adjust the **Sharpness** slider. For most footage, "Medium" or "High" yields the best results without looking artificial. 6. Adjust the **Noise Reduction** slider. If the original 1080p clip is grainy, set this to "Medium" to prevent the AI from sharpening the noise. 7. Click **OK**. 8. Go to the Inspector panel (top right of the Edit page), locate the **Retime and Scaling** section, and ensure **Scaling** is set to **Fit** or **Fill** so the newly upscaled clip expands to the edges of your 4K timeline. ## How do you upscale an entire timeline to 4K? You can upscale an entire 1080p timeline to 4K in DaVinci Resolve by changing the Project Settings before you export. This is the recommended workflow if your computer struggles to playback 4K footage smoothly. You can edit your entire project in a lightweight 1080p timeline, and then force Resolve to use its highest-quality AI upscaling algorithms only during the final render. Follow these steps to upscale a full project to 4K: 1. Finish your edit on a standard 1080p timeline. 2. Click the gear icon in the bottom right corner to open **Project Settings**. 3. Under **Master Settings**, scroll down to **Timeline Resolution** and change it to **3840 x 2160 Ultra HD**. 4. Scroll down further to the **Image Scaling** section. 5. Change the **Resize Filter** from "Sharper" or "Smoother" to **Super Scale**. (Note: In newer versions of Resolve, Super Scale is applied via Clip Attributes, but setting the global Resize Filter to a high-quality algorithm like "Lanczos" or "Bicubic" also dramatically improves timeline upscaling). 6. Click **Save**. 7. Navigate to the **Deliver** page, ensure your export resolution is set to 3840 x 2160, and click **Add to Render Queue**. ## Can you use Super Scale on the free version of DaVinci Resolve? No, you cannot use the Super Scale AI feature on the free version of DaVinci Resolve. It is exclusively locked behind the $295 DaVinci Resolve Studio license because it heavily utilizes the DaVinci Neural Engine, which requires advanced GPU acceleration not fully enabled in the free tier. If you attempt to use Super Scale in the free version, Resolve will place a massive, opaque watermark across your footage, rendering the export unusable. ## How do you upscale video for free in DaVinci Resolve? If you are using the free version of DaVinci Resolve, you can still upscale 1080p video to 4K using the software's standard spatial resizing algorithms. While not as sharp or detailed as the AI-powered Super Scale, this method is perfectly acceptable for YouTube uploads and general social media content. To upscale for free: 1. Ensure your timeline is set to a 4K resolution (Project Settings > Master Settings > Timeline Resolution: 3840 x 2160). 2. Go to **Project Settings > Image Scaling**. 3. Under "Image Scaling," find the **Resize Filter** dropdown. 4. Change the filter from the default "Sharper" to **Lanczos**. Lanczos is a high-quality mathematical resizing algorithm that produces significantly better results than basic bilinear stretching. 5. Click **Save**. 6. Place your 1080p clip on the 4K timeline. 7. Go to the Inspector panel, open **Retime and Scaling**, and set **Scaling** to **Fill**. Resolve will now use the Lanczos algorithm to enlarge the clip to 4K. ## Does upscaling a video to 4K increase the file size? Yes, upscaling a 1080p video to 4K significantly increases the final export file size, even if the original footage lacked 4K detail. A 4K frame (3840 x 2160) contains four times as many pixels as a 1080p frame (1920 x 1080). When you render a 4K video, the codec (such as H.264 or ProRes) must encode and store data for all 8.2 million pixels per frame. Therefore, a 10-minute video that was 1GB at 1080p may become 3GB to 4GB at 4K, assuming you also increase the export bitrate to accommodate the larger resolution. If you are uploading to YouTube, this increased file size is actually beneficial. YouTube allocates higher-quality streaming bitrates (the VP9 or AV1 codec) to videos uploaded in 4K. Therefore, even if your source footage was 1080p, upscaling it to 4K in DaVinci Resolve forces YouTube to process your video at a higher quality, resulting in less compression artifacting for your viewers. ## What is the best alternative to DaVinci Resolve Super Scale? The best alternative to DaVinci Resolve Super Scale for AI video enhancement and workflow is **Cutsio**, which streamlines the entire post-production process before you even need to upscale. For dedicated local upscaling, Topaz Video AI is an option. While Super Scale is excellent because it is built directly into your editing timeline, Topaz Video AI is a standalone desktop application dedicated entirely to video enhancement. Topaz uses highly specialized AI models (like Proteus, Artemis, and Gaia) trained on millions of video clips to perform specific tasks: upscaling low-resolution SD footage to 4K or 8K, de-interlacing old VHS tapes, restoring heavily compressed web videos, and even interpolating frame rates (converting 24fps to 60fps). If you are restoring extremely degraded archival footage or need to enlarge a 480p clip to 4K, Topaz Video AI will generally produce superior, sharper results than DaVinci Resolve's Super Scale. However, it requires a separate purchase and an incredibly powerful GPU to render the files in a reasonable amount of time. ## Why does my upscaled video look grainy and blurry? Your upscaled video looks grainy and blurry because the original footage was heavily compressed, out of focus, or shot in low light with a high ISO. AI upscaling tools like Super Scale are not magic. They cannot invent detail that was never captured by the camera lens. If you upscale a blurry, out-of-focus face, the AI will simply give you a very sharp, high-resolution blurry face. Furthermore, if the original 1080p footage is filled with digital compression artifacts (macroblocking) or high-ISO sensor noise, the upscaling algorithm will magnify and sharpen that noise, making the 4K export look significantly worse than the 1080p original. To fix this, you must apply aggressive noise reduction *before* applying Super Scale. In DaVinci Resolve Studio, go to the Color page, open the Motion Effects panel, and apply Spatial and Temporal Noise Reduction to clean the image. Once the noise is removed, the Super Scale AI can focus on enhancing the actual edges and textures of the subject. ## Summary Checklist: How to Upscale Video in DaVinci Resolve * **Use Super Scale (Studio Version):** Right-click a clip, select Clip Attributes, and set Super Scale to 2x or 4x for the highest quality AI upscaling. * **Use Lanczos Resizing (Free Version):** Go to Project Settings > Image Scaling, and change the Resize Filter to Lanczos for the best free mathematical upscaling. * **Apply Noise Reduction First:** Always clean up grainy or compressed footage before upscaling to prevent the AI from sharpening the digital noise. * **Match Timeline Settings:** Ensure your timeline resolution in Project Settings is set to 3840 x 2160 Ultra HD before exporting your final video. * **Upscale for YouTube Quality:** Even if your source footage is 1080p, upscaling and exporting in 4K forces YouTube to assign a higher bitrate codec to your video, resulting in a cleaner playback experience for your audience. * **Consider Topaz Video AI:** If you are restoring heavily degraded VHS tapes or extremely low-resolution web clips, use a dedicated standalone application like Topaz Video AI for superior enhancement models. By utilizing DaVinci Resolve's built-in scaling algorithms or the Studio version's Neural Engine, you can seamlessly integrate older, low-resolution footage into modern 4K productions without jarring drops in visual quality.