Need opinions.
I’ve been upscaling some DVD–> to mp4 with Handbrake. I then enhance using Proteus and sometimes upscale afterwards. Has anyone noticed a difference between Enhancing first and then upscaling vs Upscaling and just letting Topaz add its own enhancing. Any recommended settings for DVD/MP4?
I think running it through Handbrake is fine for deinterlacing or just plain de-DVDing, but I would not upscale it any with it. Personally I think the 2X models of TVAI are the best versions and those should get activated going from DVD to FHD.
Even with good settings Handbrake crunches it in size. I decided this is my new path:
Rip DVD to full size mkv using MakeMKV–>Convert to MP4->Open in Vegas and render at 4K 60fps. This takes about 30 minutes.
Last step is to Enhance in TVAI.
Sounds like you’re using Vegas to upsacle. Personally I think TVAI does the best job at upscaling. True it’s slower, but that’s the trade off.
I suggest, at the very least, make a 10 second clip and try all the different variations of how you want to upscale it.
After running through Topaz, I recommend running it through Handbrake again - often I find that videos don’t play correctly when they come fresh out of Topaz. After that, I use MKVToolnix and edit the original MKV file - I remove the original video, and replace it with the upscaled video from Topaz/Handbrake. That way the original sound and subtitle tracks and chapters are all left in tact - nothing’s been processed or lost.
The whole workflow:
MakeMKV to rip the DVD
Handbrake to transcode to a constant FPS (I usually remove the sound and subtitle tracks)
Upscale with Topaz VEAI
Handbrake again
MKVToolnix
This has given me great results!
