The First-Ever “Local Desktop” Diffusion Model For Video Enhancement

 is the second diffusion-based upscaling model Topaz Labs has released, but is the 

first to be offered as a standard in-app update for all existing and new users

. Starlight mini brings what makes the Original Starlight so special, into a more user friendly size for local processing. 

Like it’s predecessor, it is capable of enhancing footage that may otherwise be a challenge with our more traditional AI Models. This can be anything from tricky 8/16mm film to de-interlaced mini-DV footage.

This AI Model is definitely the most powerful enhancement on the desktop application. Based on this criteria, it is reasonable to expect hours of rendering pending your hardware.

Not everyone will have access to the minimum requirement or time required for this AI model on their desktop machine, so access to this AI Model will be available for cloud processing on server-grade graphics hardware at a fraction of the cost of the full sized Starlight AI Model.

So what can you expect out of the Starlight Mini when compared to the the Original Starlight? The original Starlight is essentially the cream of the crop when it comes to quality outputs due to the fact that it still requires such immense resources and hardware in order to provide outputs. The Mini is essentially the optimized version where you get the essentials out of the full version. This equates to some lower finesse and details, however on the whole, the results are still very good.

Results are at generally better than Rhea model with more more comparative details, subtle definitions and consistency in the animated motion. It is without doubt the best Desktop AI model for older footage enhancement/upscales.

A unique look that comes from this model, is a subtle haze, which is great for human faces and more natural looking footage. This is similar to having a diffusion gel in front of a harsh light on set. This greatly reduces the “plastic” look of upscales and enhancements that are too clean.

Additionally, this model also greatly reduces flickering commonly seen in flat backgrounds that cause banding.

We recommend testing standard definition (SD) videos that have less than ideal results with our previous models, though it’s not limited to that resolution. This will give a larger “Wow” moment. The difference between standard definition vs high definition will naturally be more drastic. Essentially starting with something very good in quality may have marginal results.

Still frames of the original video clip 316x240 (left) and the Starlight Mini output 1280x972 (right).

Here’s a quick start guide on how to use the Starlight Mini model.

To begin, have your clip already imported.

 to ensure that the graphics card in use is 

 (if you have multiple cards) and be sure to select the appropriate codec for your shot.

Navigate the list or through the carousel to find and select Starlight Mini.

If this is your first time using Starlight Mini, a pop up menu will appear. This will run a system check on your machine to see if it is capable of running Starlight Mini locally. Click on the “Run System Check” button.

This will give you a visual check mark for every step that’s required. Otherwise you’ll get an “x” that identifies if there is an issue with the machine to prevent the large download for this Model.

Once all the necessary checks are approved, you can then press the Download button. Once completed you can close out of this menu.

Assuming that you’ve already installed Starlight Mini, when this model is selected, you will be presented with the following notification:

 use this AI model without any other enhancements nor filters. Your machine will be working very hard with Starlight Mini alone. 

Check the button to reimport the video. Once the render is complete, the result is essentially used as a new source. Here you can control additional enhancements, rescales and filters.

Starlight Mini local shows different options for resolution output from the model, based on the resolution of the input video.

Once a resolution is selected, either export locally with 

To ensure the best quality outputs, Starlight Mini exports will have a minimum resolution of 1280x720.

If your footage output settings are under 1280 width, then the full resolution will move up to match the 1280 width.

If your footage output settings are under 720 height, then the full resolution will move up to match the minimum 720 height.

Aspect ratio of the video content will be kept the same. Note, at this time, the Letterbox/Pillarbox will be applied.

Recommended to use square-pixel video footage at or under 1920x1080.

From the desktop, Starlight/Cloud rendering supports AV1, VP9, H264, H265 video codecs.

The web input, however, only accepts H264 MP4 files.

If required, you can always re-import your Starlight Mini result to scale up/down your footage or remove the Letterbox/Pillarbox.

Auto Crop to remove the Letterbox/Pillarbox here

While this is new for all and we continue exploring and refining Project Starlight, there are a few things to consider when using this new tool:

A requirement of an NVIDIA GPU with at least 8GB of video memory, but we strongly recommend a GPU with 16GB or more memory for optimal performance and quality.

In addition to these GPU requirements, Starlight mini also requires a minimum of 12GB of system RAM.

Starlight Mini local rendering will not run on AMD GPU/Intel GPU/macOS systems, though cloud rendering is fully accessible at this time.

This is a new AI model that is both complex and resource heavy. Meaning, that it could take hours to process.

Please note that if you have text that is too small, blurry or inconsistent, the result may not be "sp3ll3d" correctly. If you can barely make it out, so will the AI model. It may assume that the text is a texture or pattern.

Water may appear smooth when compared to source.

If you have interlaced videos, it is recommended that you deinterlace first before enhancing with Starlight Mini.

Have a great time using Starlight Mini. Enjoy the unique qualities from this “first of it’s kind” diffusion model for the consumer desktop!

Starlight Mini

 for longer video durations with Project Starlight via our 

. This gives more people the ability to test out Project Starlight if they do not currently have access to the Video AI desktop application. 

Note, that this will require a signup to access. If you already have an account, then your existing credentials will work.

Depending what link that takes you to the Web App, to enable Starlight, you will want to be sure to click on the upper screen left button.

This will open a menu where Project Starlight can be selected.

If this is your first time using the Web Application or the Desktop App for Starlight then you will get a screen similar to the one below:

Here you can drag your video clip to the center of the screen, click on the folder or the button to search through your folders for the video clip.

 mode will be selected. You can always select the 

 to be able to use Cloud Credits for longer form videos. For this Quick Start, we will continue with the 

If you have any Cloud Credits, these will be displayed in the upper screen right side of the app. You can click on the person icon to access where you can Buy credits, Manage Subscription, Account Settings or Log out.

If you have been using Project Starlight from the desktop or the Web App, then a history of renders on the left panel will be available to you. Clicking on any of the renders will pull up the comparison tools.

Uploading a video can be done on the lower screen left corner. Click on this to be able to search through your folders to find your video. 

The Web App is currently only accepting and producing H264 MP4 videos.

This will then allow you to preview the content of your video before clicking on the blue 

 button, a status will show just above the button.

When the render is complete it will be shown side by side to compare on the Web App.

Additionally, an email will be sent to you when the file completes. There, you will be able to download your video.

. Aside, from using credits, the procedure is exactly the same as the 

This is a new AI model that is both complex and resource heavy. Meaning, that it could take hours to process. This is why, Project Starlight is currently only available via cloud rendering.

For now, you can only render 9000 frames, which comes out to about 5 minutes of 30 FPS. We are exploring options to allow longer renders in the future.

Recommended to use videos at or under 1920x1080 resolution.

Currently only exports 1080p and 4K, MP4 videos.

Renders will only be available for a max of 7 days.

Be sure to make a copy of your Cloud Render IDs. These may not always be recoverable. 

If you have interlaced videos, it is recommended that you deinterlace first before enhancing with Project Starlight.

Enjoy testing Project Starlight on the Web App!

Starlight On The Web App

Understanding the different Starlight AI models that Topaz Labs has to offer within Topaz Video AI, the Web App and on the Cloud. Be informed to create the best possible output for your projects. 

Project Starlight Series

Project Starlight Series

Starlight -the Original

Starlight Mini

Starlight on the Web App

On this page