I recently switched from Windows, where I regularly used Topaz Video AI and was happy with the results. Unfortunately, it doesn't run on Linux, and returning to Windows just to upscale videos isn't practical because I usually want the process running in the background while I do other work. I also looked at waifu2x-extended because it has several models and features, including NVIDIA VSR, but discovered that it is Windows-only. Video2x appears to be one of the few current options, though its Linux distribution is primarily command-line based, which feels inconvenient when processing individual input and output files. Is there a modern, actively maintained Linux application that provides AI-based video upscaling with a graphical interface?
2 Answers
NekoPlay reportedly includes built-in real-time upscaling, so it may be worth checking if its quality and hardware support match what you need. It may be more suitable for playback than for producing permanently upscaled video files, though.
Video2x is generally command-line based, but it can be made much less tedious with a small wrapper script. Set the model and other options once, then pass the input filename as an argument, or place files in a folder for batch processing. You can also drag a file into a terminal to insert its path, so it doesn’t necessarily require manually typing long filenames each time.
That makes sense for batch processing, and I may set up a folder-based script. My concern is that manually handling a separate input and output path for every file would become inconvenient over time.