Topaz Labs just launched Project Starlight, a cloud-based video enhancement tool that claims to be the world’s first diffusion-based video enhancer. But is it really the game-changer they say it is? In this video, we put Project Starlight to the test using MiniDV, VHS, and Video8 footage—comparing it the free enhancement tools inside the software Hybrid.
✅ How does Starlight handle nature and homes?
✅ How does Starlight handle faces? (Uncanny Valley Alert!)
✅ Testing VHS & Video8 footage – can AI restore old video?
✅ Starlight pricing – is it too expensive for home users?
Project Starlight does an incredible job enhancing objects, textures, and landscapes—but faces? That’s another story. Some look great, while others end up with an odd computer-generated, plastic-like appearance. And at $200 for 30 minutes of video, is it worth the cost for casual users?
0:00 Introduction
0:33 MiniDV: Buildings
3:05 MiniDV: Picard Maneuvre
3:58 MiniDV: Face and Civ3
4:30 VHS: Faces at Epsom
5:59 Video8: Park
6:43 Cost
8:33 Diffusion-based video enhancement explained
9:36 My vision for future enhancement
10:35 Starlight enhancement settings
11:23 Is Starlight based on Github project STAR?
11:54 Summary
13:26 Recommendations
14:39 The Joke at the End of the Video
#ProjectStarlight #topazlabs #AIVideo