Upscaling video for 4K/Ultra HD

VEGAS Pro adds smart deinterlacing and enhancement features that allow you to use older footage in modern productions without sacrificing image resolution and quality.

  • Smart Zoom lets you recrop footage and reframe shots like never before.

  • Smart adaptive deinterlacing converts legacy interlaced sources to modern progressive assets.

  • Smart Upscale lets you mix HD footage in your 4K project.

Converting HD clips to 4K or Ultra HD resolution

Perform the following steps to enhance your existing HD clips and render new upscaled clips that you can use in your 4K/Ultra HD projects.

IMPORTANT Upscaling tools require significant GPU processing and requires a supported NVIDIA, AMD/ATI, or Intel GPU.

  1. Add the clip that you want to upscale to a new project. For more information, see Adding media files to your project

  2. Set your project properties:

    1. From the File menu, choose Properties. The Project Properties dialog is displayed.

    2. Use the Video tab of the Project Properties dialog to set your project video to double your source media's frame size and match your source frame rate (when working with interlaced source media, double your frame rate).

      For example, if you want to upscale 1920x1080-60i clips, choose QFHD 24p from the Template drop-down list and then choose 59.940 (Double NTSC) from the Frame rate drop-down list.

    3. From the Deinterlace method drop-down list, choose Smart adaptive (GPU only).

      NOTE Smart adaptive deinterlace converts legacy interlaced sources to modern progressive assets.

    4. Click OK to close the Project Properties dialog and apply your changes.

  3. Create a plug-in chain:

    IMPORTANT

    For the purposes of this tutorial, we'll apply the plug-ins as media effects.

    You could also use an event effects chain, but only if Smart Upscale is applied before cropping. If you choose to use an event effects chain, place the Smart Upscale plug-in first in the chain, followed by Pan/Crop and any other video event effects. Upscaling is not applied in any other context. For more information, see Adding video effects

    1. In the Project Media window, select a file and click the Media FX button . For more information, see Using the Project Media window

      If there are no effects applied to the file, the Plug-In Chooser window appears.

      If there are effects applied to the file, the Media FX window appears. Click the Plug-In Chain button to open the Plug-In Chooser.

    2. Select the Smart Upscale plug-in and click the Add button.

      Click OK to close the Plug-In Chooser.

    3. The Media FX window appears.

    4. Use the settings in the Media FX window to adjust the Smart Upscale settings as needed to scale your clip to 2x.

  4. Render the clip to Sony XAVC format. In the Render As dialog, select the Match project settings checkbox and choose the XAVC Intra template that matches your project settings.

    For example, if you're upscaling 1920x1080-60i clips, choose the XAVC Intra 3840x2160-59.94p template.

    For more information, see Rendering your project

  5. Repeat as needed for each clip you need to upscale.

    When rendering is complete, you can use the upscaled clips in your 4K/Ultra HD project.

Preserving resolution when zooming

When you need to reframe a shot and zoom into content that is the same resolution as your project, the limitations of your source content can become visible. Use the Smart Zoom plug-in to maintain sharpness when zooming and cropping.

  1. Create a plug-in chain:

    TIP For the purposes of this tutorial, we'll apply the plug-ins as event effects, but you can also use the Smart Zoom plug-in as a media effect, track effect, or video output effect. For more information, see Adding video effects

    1. Click the Event FX button on the event you want to zoom.

      If there are no effects applied to the file, the Plug-In Chooser window appears.

      If there are effects applied to the file, the Event FX window appears. Click the Plug-In Chain button to open the Plug-In Chooser.

    2. Select the Smart Zoom plug-in and click the Add button.

      Click OK to close the Plug-In Chooser.

    3. The Event FX window appears.

    4. Use the settings in the Event FX window to adjust the center and amount of zoom as needed.

  2. Edit your project as needed. For more information, see Editing events on the timeline

  3. Render your project. For more information, see Rendering your project