Super Resolution Documentation

1. Description

Super Resolution upscales footage with a neural network instead of plain interpolation. It rebuilds edges, texture and fine detail, so an HD clip holds up at 4K or 8K.

Pick the AI model that suits the footage: photographic models for real-world video, a cartoon model for flat-colour artwork, and a 2× option when 4× is more than you need. Large frames are processed in tiles to keep GPU memory in check.

Requirements

Mac (Apple Silicon or Intel): runs on the GPU through Metal when available, otherwise on the CPU.
Windows 64-bit: uses an NVIDIA GPU (CUDA) when available, otherwise the CPU.
The Baskl installer is required: it installs the AI engine and downloads the AI models (about 220 MB).

2. Installation

2a. Baskl installer (all host apps)

Every Baskl plugin installs through the Baskl installer. It sets up AI Machine, the local engine the plugins run on, and puts Super Resolution in the right place for After Effects, Premiere Pro and OFX hosts (DaVinci Resolve, Nuke). Close your host apps before running it.

macOS

Click Download on baskl.ai, unzip Baskl.Installer.zip and open Mac/Baskl Installer.app. You need an Apple Silicon Mac; the installer stops on Intel Macs.
If macOS asks, confirm you want to open an app downloaded from the internet, then enter your Mac password so the installer can write to the system plug-in folders.
Click Let's Get Started, select Super Resolution in the plugin list and click Install. The first install also downloads AI Machine, so give it a few minutes.
When you see Installation Complete, restart your host app. The effect is in the Baskl category.

Windows

Click Download on baskl.ai, unzip Baskl.Installer.zip and run Windows\Baskl Installer.exe.
Click Yes when Windows asks to allow the app to make changes. The installer needs administrator rights.
Click Let's Get Started, select Super Resolution in the plugin list and click Install. On NVIDIA cards the installer picks the matching CUDA build for you. The first install also downloads AI Machine, so give it a few minutes.
When you see Installation Complete, restart your host app. The effect is in the Baskl category.

If a model is missing, Super Resolution downloads it the first time you pick it, so that first render needs an internet connection and takes longer.

Activating your license

After Effects / Premiere Pro: in After Effects, click Register at the top of the effect in Effect Controls (next to Reset), paste your license key and click Activate. In Premiere Pro, click the small icon button at the top right of the effect in Effect Controls to open the same dialog. The license is saved for the whole computer, so registering in one of the two apps covers the other.
Resolve / Nuke: click Register at the top of the effect's controls, paste your license key and confirm. Once activated, the button reads License Info.
Where to find your key: if you bought on baskl.ai, it is in your purchase email and under Account → My Licenses, with a Copy button. If you bought on aescripts + aeplugins, activate through the aescripts + aeplugins manager app, or paste the key from your aescripts account into the same Register dialog.
Without a license, Super Resolution runs as a trial: everything works, but renders carry a watermark until you register. Activation needs an internet connection, and each key works on a limited number of computers (shown under My Licenses).

3. Parameters

Upscale

Model: The AI model that does the upscaling. The number in brackets is the scale factor.

RealPLKSR (4x) the default. A light photographic model and a good first choice for real-world footage.

Real-ESRGAN (4x) a general-purpose model for real-world footage, including compressed or noisy sources.

Real-ESRGAN (2x) the same family at 2×, for when 4× is more than you need.

Real-ESRGAN Cartoon (4x) made for cartoons, anime and flat-colour artwork.

4xNomos8kDAT (4x) the heaviest photographic model, for the most fine detail. It runs at full precision, so it is the slowest and uses the most memory.

A 270 × 270 crop enlarged 4× by After Effects, against RealPLKSR (4x).
Expand Output: On by default: the layer grows by the model's scale factor (4× or 2×), centred on the original. Turn it off to keep the original size: the upscaled result is scaled back down, which gives a sharper image at the same resolution.

Advanced Settings

Memory and speed controls. Leave them as they are unless you run out of GPU memory.

Tile Size: The frame is upscaled in square tiles of this many pixels (default 512, up to 2048). Lower it if you run out of GPU memory; 0 processes the whole frame in one go.
Tile Overlap: How many pixels neighbouring tiles share, blended to hide seams (default 32, up to 256). It is capped at half the Tile Size.