Freepik API uses Magnific.ai technology, now available as a comprehensive API service.
Video Upscaler enhances video resolution up to 4K with AI-powered detail enhancement, FPS boost, and fine-grained controls for sharpness and texture.
Key capabilities
- Resolution up to 4K: Upscale videos to 1K, 2K, or 4K output resolution
- Creativity control: Adjustable creativity intensity (0-100) to balance fidelity vs enhancement
- FPS boost: Increase video frame rate for smoother motion
- Sharpen control: Adjustable sharpening intensity (0-100) for edge definition and clarity
- Smart grain: Intelligent grain/texture enhancement (0-100) for natural film grain preservation
- Processing flavors: Two modes:
vividfor enhanced colors and detail,naturalfor faithful reproduction - Standard and Turbo endpoints: Standard for maximum quality control, Turbo for faster processing with premium quality built in
- Frame-based pricing: Cost calculated per frame, varying by output resolution
- Async processing: Webhook notifications or polling for task completion
- Flexible input: Accepts HTTPS URLs or base64-encoded video
Use cases
- Film restoration: Upscale classic footage to modern resolutions while preserving the original aesthetic
- Content repurposing: Enhance low-resolution social media clips for large-screen display or broadcast
- Video production: Upscale B-roll and archival footage to match project resolution requirements
- E-commerce: Enhance product videos with higher resolution and sharpness for better customer experience
- Surveillance: Improve clarity of security footage for review and analysis
- Gaming content: Upscale gameplay recordings and streaming highlights to 4K
- Educational content: Enhance older educational videos and training materials for modern displays
Standard endpoint
Submit a video URL or base64-encoded video to create a new upscaling task. The service returns a task ID for async polling or webhook notification.POST /v1/ai/video-upscaler
Create a new video upscaling task
GET /v1/ai/video-upscaler
List all video upscaler tasks
GET /v1/ai/video-upscaler/{task-id}
Get task status and results by ID
Turbo endpoint
Turbo processing with premium quality automatically applied. Faster processing while maintaining high visual quality. Uses the same parameters as the standard endpoint. Turbo tasks appear in the same task list and can be retrieved with the same get-task endpoint as standard tasks.POST /v1/ai/video-upscaler/turbo
Create a turbo video upscaling task
Parameters
Both standard and turbo endpoints accept the same request body:| Parameter | Type | Required | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
video | string | Yes | - | Source video as HTTPS URL or base64-encoded string |
creativity | integer | No | 0 | Creativity intensity (0-100). Higher values introduce more AI-generated detail |
resolution | string | No | 2k | Output resolution: 1k, 2k, or 4k |
fps_boost | boolean | No | false | Boost video frame rate for smoother motion |
sharpen | integer | No | 0 | Sharpening intensity (0-100). Higher values increase edge definition |
smart_grain | integer | No | 0 | Grain/texture enhancement (0-100). Adds natural film grain effect |
flavor | string | No | vivid | Processing style: vivid for enhanced colors and detail, natural for faithful reproduction |
webhook_url | string | No | - | URL for completion notification with task status and output URL |
Pricing
Video Upscaler uses frame-based pricing. The cost per frame varies depending on the output resolution selected. Key pricing factors:- Number of frames: Total frame count in the input video determines base cost
- Output resolution: 4K costs more per frame than 2K or 1K
- FPS boost: Enabling frame rate boost increases the total frame count and cost
- Endpoint: Standard and Turbo have different per-frame rates
Rate limits
| Tier | Requests per day |
|---|---|
| Free | 10 |
| Tier 1 | 125 |
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Video Upscaler and how does it work?
What is Video Upscaler and how does it work?
Video Upscaler is an AI-powered video upscaling API that increases video resolution while enhancing details. You submit a video via URL or base64, receive a task ID, then poll for results or receive a webhook notification when processing completes. The API analyzes each frame and applies intelligent upscaling with your chosen parameters.
What output resolutions are supported?
What output resolutions are supported?
Video Upscaler supports three output resolutions:
1k, 2k (default), and 4k. Choose based on your target display or delivery requirements. Higher resolutions increase processing time and cost per frame.What is the difference between Standard and Turbo endpoints?
What is the difference between Standard and Turbo endpoints?
The Standard endpoint (
/v1/ai/video-upscaler) provides full control over upscaling parameters. The Turbo endpoint (/v1/ai/video-upscaler/turbo) delivers faster processing with premium quality automatically applied. Both accept the same request parameters. Choose Turbo for high-volume workflows or when faster turnaround is needed, and Standard when you want maximum quality control.How does frame-based pricing work?
How does frame-based pricing work?
Video Upscaler pricing is calculated per frame. The cost per frame varies by output resolution (1K, 2K, or 4K). The total cost equals the number of frames in your video multiplied by the per-frame rate for your chosen resolution. Enabling FPS boost increases the total frame count and therefore the cost. See the Pricing page for current per-frame rates.
What is the difference between vivid and natural flavors?
What is the difference between vivid and natural flavors?
Vivid enhances colors and adds more detail during upscaling, producing visually striking results. Natural preserves the original color palette and characteristics for faithful reproduction. Choose vivid for marketing and creative content, natural for documentary or archival work.
How does creativity affect the output?
How does creativity affect the output?
The creativity parameter (0-100, default 0) controls how much AI-generated detail is introduced during upscaling. At 0, the upscaler focuses on faithful resolution enhancement. Higher values allow the AI to infer and add new details, similar to the creative image upscaler. Start with low values and increase gradually.
What does FPS boost do?
What does FPS boost do?
FPS boost increases the video frame rate for smoother motion. This is especially useful for older footage with low frame rates, creating a more fluid viewing experience on modern displays. Note that FPS boost increases the total frame count, which affects pricing.
How long does video upscaling take?
How long does video upscaling take?
Processing time depends on video duration, input resolution, output resolution, and selected options. The Turbo endpoint significantly reduces processing time compared to Standard. Use webhooks for production workflows to receive notifications when processing completes, rather than polling.
What are the rate limits for Video Upscaler?
What are the rate limits for Video Upscaler?
Free tier allows 10 requests per day. Tier 1 allows 125 requests per day. Rate limits apply across both Standard and Turbo endpoints. For higher limits, contact our sales team.
Best practices
- Input quality: Start from the highest-quality source video available. Avoid heavily compressed inputs as artifacts may be amplified
- Resolution selection: Choose the output resolution based on your delivery needs. 2K is a good balance of quality and cost for most use cases
- Creativity tuning: Start with creativity at 0 for faithful upscaling. Increase gradually if you want the AI to enhance and infer additional detail
- Flavor selection: Use
vividfor marketing and social media content,naturalfor documentary, archival, or clinical footage - Standard vs Turbo: Use the Turbo endpoint for faster turnaround with premium quality. Use Standard for full quality control
- Smart grain for realism: Increase smart_grain for footage that should retain a filmic quality rather than appearing digitally smooth
- Production integration: Use webhooks instead of polling for scalable, event-driven applications
- Error handling: Implement retry logic with exponential backoff for 503 errors during high traffic
Related APIs
- Upscaler Creative: Prompt-guided image upscaling with creative detail generation and stylization
- Upscaler Precision V2: High-fidelity image upscaling with granular controls for sharpness, texture, and detail
- VFX: Apply cinematic visual effects to videos with professional filters