Bingo! That was it! Changing “Blurry” to “None” gets me the results I wanted. I also tested post sharpening with vsMsharp, but that made it a “blurry sharp” video like I got with Proteus.
Which raises a question- why have the developers added extra sharpening (Warpsharp it seems) as a forced option with most models. Only by hacking a json config file am I able to turn that off. Why is this option hidden there? This should be brought out to the GUI as a configurable option. And folks using newer than VEAI v2.3 are SOL until Topaz brings back json files.
There is no one right way to post sharpen a video. There are such a huge number of ways to sharpen, that it’s futile to pick one, hide it in the program, and hope it works ok. Warpsharp is only useful on a limited number of videos. Standard sharpening (in Virtualdub2), Msharp (aka vsMsharp), and CAS are the ones I tend to use, and their strength can only be determined experimentally. This is best done in an external app post VEAI IMO (I use Virtualdub2 with Avisynth).
Now I know why some folks have been saying VEAI sharpens too much. Most of the models have it turned on! Only Gaia HQ and Chronos have it off. And if they are indeed using Warpsharp, I can only shake my head.
I may mod all my json files to turn off sharpening in all models. I’d much rather do it post VEIA with the most appropriate manner and strength.
“Noise” is one of the other parameters. I didn’t test it much, but I’m guessing it applys extra noise reduction. Again this is an effect that there is no one right way to do it and the effect must be configurable, best done in an external app pre and/or post VEAI IMO.
“Compression” is another. It appears to apply deblocking to reduce MPEG artifacts. The amount of processing should be configurable.
Proteus is a different AI model compared to Artemis Dehalo IMO. Because Proteus is configurable, that might suggest it’s a substitute for other models, which is false. All the models should have configurable parameters via the GUI.
Now would be a good time for a Topaz developer to confirm or deny my observations about sharpening.
