ByteDance Upscaler Video: 4K from 3 credits

ByteDance Upscaler Video starts at 3 credits and upscales a source clip to 1080p, 2K or 4K. It is edit-video, the duration list is empty, and audio is null. It bills per second at a rate that changes with output resolution, so a full job runs 3 to 277 credits. It is the default 4K pass after picture lock. It is not a generate, not a still-to-video row, and not the Topaz comparison.

This is not ByteDance versus Topaz. That page already compared ByteDance from 3 credits with Topaz from 4. This page is when ByteDance is the default finish: you have a clip, delivery wants 4K, motion is already right. It is also not the “still is the contract” industrial twin. The input is footage. Feed a clip.

Description: AI-powered video upscaling from ByteDance. Category edit-video. The job is more pixels on a plate you already approved. It does not choose a camera. It does not write a soundtrack. Null audio means you will not gain a mix. If the source is mute, 4K is mute.

From 3 credits is the default 4K pass

Use this row when:

• The generate is locked. Labels readable, face approved, cut decided.
• The generate was 720p or 1080p and the timeline is 4K.
• You want the plain ceiling bump, not a smear-control essay.
• You can name the source file.

Do not use this row when:

• The take is still a maybe. A per-second bill times ten maybes is a folder of 4K drafts.
• You have a JPEG. That is a still upscaler, a different slug if you need one. This card is video.
• The motion is wrong. 4K wrong is still wrong.
• Smear on faces and type is the failure you already saw. Topaz Upscale Video starts at 4 credits (currently discounted from 8) for that job. Do not restack the comparison; just leave if smear is the named bug.

Three credits is the catalog floor. Not discounted. A full job runs 3 to 277 credits depending on output resolution and clip length, so check the estimate on your file before you run it. Versely bills in credits. It is the pass. Empty duration list: length follows the source. You are not picking 5s or 10s here. You are feeding a clip.

Resolution: 1080p, 2K and 4K are the targets (720p is not offered as a target, and the default is 1080p). Pick 4K when that is the point of the pass. If delivery is 1080p, you may not need this row. Plenty of Reels die at 1080p. Spend the pass when the insertion order or the master is 4K.

The catalog flags requires_image as true, but the model page lists a required source video as the input. You need the plate — the clip. A paragraph will not upscale. A prompt will not invent motion. If you wanted motion from a still, pick I2V. LTX 2.3 Image to Video Pro starts at 29 credits, 4K I2V, 6 / 8 / 10s, audio null. That is a generate. This is a finish.

Default 4K after which generates

720p talking Grok (from 24 credits): lock, then run the upscaler if the master is 4K. Do not skip Grok and open a Veo (from 64 credits) only because you need 4K pixels. Sometimes Veo’s 4K generate is the right motion. Sometimes Grok’s motion plus an upscale pass is the right bill. Name which.

1080p silent V6 (from 10): lock, then the upscaler if 4K delivery. 1080p Hailuo 02 (from 32): same. 1080p Kling V2.6 Pro T2V (from 56): same, after you accept you already spent it.

Veo 3.1 and Omni Video already list 4K on the generate. Stacking an upscale by habit is how a 4K file gets a second 4K pass you cannot name. Upscale after a 4K generate only if the surface delivered below the listed ceiling or the timeline still wants a different 4K treatment. If you cannot name that, skip.

Seedance 1 Pro Fast is from 50 credits, 1080p, mute I2V. Picture lock, then the upscaler to 4K if the master needs it. Do not run Fast as a cheap 4K generate. Fast is not 4K.

Captions are typesetting, not pixels. Do captions after or before, but do not expect the upscaler to burn type. The AI caption generator is the typesetting door. Add captions to video is the editor task. Captions for silent autoplay still apply: 4K mute is still mute.

After the 4K file

You have a heavier file of the same timing. Frame rate does not become a different performance because the badge says 4K. If flicker was in the generate, sharpening can advertise it. Lower the ambition of the pass before you blame ByteDance.

Do not run ByteDance then Topaz then ByteDance. Three passes is a stack you should be able to name. If you cannot, pick one pass.

Article 50 still applies to photoreal people in the source. Upscaling does not exempt a generated face. Label at first exposure for EU audiences since 2 August 2026. The Article 50 disclosure template is the copy. YouTube’s 27 May 2026 Shorts overlay does not care that the file is now 4K.

Sora leftovers at 720p can take this pass after you migrate the generate. Sora’s API shut on 24 September 2026 (OpenAI deprecations). Upscale is not a Sora replacement. Map the generate first. This page is the 4K finish.

The AI video generator is where the clip was born. This row is where it gets pixels. UGC that already looks handheld at 720p does not automatically need 4K. Spend the pass when the master needs it, not when the badge is tempting.

Seedance 2.0 (from 44 credits) already lists 1080p. Omni Video (from 29) already lists 4K. Grok (from 24) lists 720p. The upscaler does not change those generate cards. It is a pass you add when the file you kept is below the delivery ceiling. If the generate is already 4K, the pass is optional. If the generate is 720p and the master is 720p, the pass is waste. Read the delivery spec before the badge.

ByteDance’s other families invent: Seedance, stills tools. This tool does not invent. The roster page will show both. Read the slug. bytedance-upscaler-video is the 4K pass from 3 credits.

What this row is not

It is not a generate budget. It is not Topaz. It is not I2V. It is not native audio. It is ByteDance Upscaler Video: edit-video, 1080p / 2K / 4K targets, empty duration list, audio null, from 3 credits. Default it after picture lock when 4K is the delivery. Skip it on drafts. Skip it on 4K generates you cannot distinguish from the pass.

Run the 4K pass on a locked clip in Versely.

FAQ

Is ByteDance Upscaler Video a generate?

No. It is an edit-video 4K pass. You bring footage. It does not invent the shot.

Should I upscale every 720p take to 4K?

No. Default the pass when delivery needs 4K and the take is locked. Many feeds die at 720p or 1080p. The per-second bill times every draft is a pile.

Does the upscaler add audio?

The published card is audio null. You will not gain a mix. Mute in stays mute, sharper.