We Built a Free, Open Source Alternative to Topaz for Image and Video Upscaling

Description and use

NextGenUp is a free, open-source desktop app that upsamples images up to 8K and videos up to 4K locally, offering multiple modes, face restoration, and batch processing.

Problem

AI-generated videos and images often come out at low resolution (720p) and existing high-quality upscalers are either expensive subscriptions or complex open-source tools that require command-line usage and separate weight downloads.

Outcome

NextGenUp delivers high-quality upscaling comparable to paid tools, with a local, no-telemetry, MIT-licensed solution that supports images up to 8K, videos up to 4K, face restoration, and batch processing, all via a simple GUI.

Workflow

• Install the desktop app or run from source with Python and FFmpeg
• Open the GUI and select an image or video file
• Choose an upscaling mode (Quick, Quality, Enhance, Ultra for images; 4K for video)
• Optionally enable face restoration
• Start the job and monitor progress via the UI
• Download the processed file or zip of batch results
• Review before/after slider for each output
• Cancel or pause jobs if needed

Evidence

Everything runs locally. Nothing you upscale ever leaves your machine.

Source

The 95 percent hang. Video encoding kept freezing near the end. Cause: I piped both stdout and stderr from FFmpeg but only read stdout.

Source