Star Trek Deep Space Nine: Enhanced 4K & 1080p Edition (a WIP)

This project started during the first Covid-related lockdown back in March 2020 and has been continuing ever since.

The “Enhanced Edition” features a PAL-DVD-based higher quality version that focuses mainly on the “clean-up” of visual aspects of the show, like: Reduced motion stuttering (stable 23,976 FPS), deinterlacing, cross color reduction, noise removal, deblocking, dehaloing, deringing, anti aliasing, reduction of color banding, sharpening.
All borders have been slightly cropped to eliminate the “VHS-tape look”.
Slight color grading has been added to enhance the color representation.
Furthermore, the audio tracks have been slowed down to correct for the PAL-shift.

The releases (4K) are encoded as follows: H265 (mkv) at 20 Mbps with Main 10 @ L5 @ Main, BT.709 @ 10 bit, resolution 2880x2160p (4:3 aspect ratio / no black borders left and right; you can decide if you want to stretch or not) with English and German AC3 5.1 audio tracks at 640 Kbps.
45-minute-episodes take up between 6-7 GB of space per episode.

The releases (1080p) are encoded as follows: H265 (mkv) at 2,5 Mbps with Main 10 @ L5.1 @ Main, BT.709 @ 10 bit, resolution 1440x1080p (4:3 aspect ratio / no black borders left and right; you can decide if you want to stretch or not) with English and German AC3 5.1 audio tracks at 320 Kbps.
45-minute-episodes take up between 0,8-1,0 GB of space per episode.

The realisation of this project is a very complicated multi-step approach (f.e. using several instances of AI-upscaling software), so it may take a while, but it continues to go on.

If you are interested in getting to know more technical details or in watching the “Enhanced Edition”, send me a private message!

Set of comparison images for Season 1, episodes 1&2 (pilot):

https://imgur.com/a/qL59vpS

Deep Space 9 is my favourite Star Trek, I wish there was official release. I have seen some fan projects (small scene uspcales) on youtube. There is always plus and a minus sadly.
For instance this picture looks horrible 😦
https://i.imgur.com/fAjCLqZ.png
I will keep following your project, best of luck.

@Nandi:
Well, the cube has very poor resolution to begin with and suffers heavily from cross-color/rainbowing effects.

If you want to know more, PM me.

Set of comparison images for Season 1, episode 3:

https://imgur.com/a/dfAUFy3

Sorry I haven’t been around much. Was sick (including hospital and recovery time), but I am getting back into things. Actually, I am planning on revamping a few things including a latest quality update. I will keep you guys updated.

Hello there community. I am happy to report that my quality updates on the DS9 pilot are finished.

Most important changes include:

• better grain and detail retention (to avoid over-smoothed/artificial look)
• additional rainbowing reduction
• increased detail sharpening
• better handling of smaller elements (font/writing, console buttons, comm badges and such)
• added dehazing to remove white/grey-ish tint in some scenes
• slightly adjusted color representation

How did I accomplish that?
Well, I reworked about 27 scenes with different AI-models and re-did about 2000 frames by hand (removed scratches, blurred some elements to avoid artefacts - basically all things the software did not notice).

How does it look now?
Here are the comparison images (sorry for the many links, but the online service Imgsli only supports so many images per post):

• https://imgsli.com/NzczNzE
• https://imgsli.com/NzczNzM
• https://imgsli.com/NzczNzQ
• https://imgsli.com/NzczNzY
• https://imgsli.com/NzczNzg
• https://imgsli.com/NzczNzk
• https://imgsli.com/NzczODA
• https://imgsli.com/NzczODE
• https://imgsli.com/NzczODM
• https://imgsli.com/NzczODQ
• https://imgsli.com/NzczODU
• https://imgsli.com/NzczODY
• https://imgsli.com/NzczODg
• https://imgsli.com/NzczODk
• https://imgsli.com/NzczOTI
• https://imgsli.com/NzczOTM
• https://imgsli.com/NzczOTQ
• https://imgsli.com/NzczOTc
• https://imgsli.com/NzczOTk
• https://imgsli.com/Nzc0MDI
• https://imgsli.com/Nzc0MDU
• https://imgsli.com/Nzc0MDc
• https://imgsli.com/Nzc0MDg
• https://imgsli.com/Nzc0MTA
• https://imgsli.com/Nzc0MTE

Wanna know more?
PM me 😉

Voyager pilot is in the pipeline. But I am not sure how fast I can get things done this week. A lot of real-life work to catch up on. But I will try my best.

@trip64:
PM me for more, ok?

Hello again community. I am sorry to say that I have to take a break for a while (don’t worry, my projects are not dead, nor am I going to abandon anything) and I don’t know how long that break will be.
I have recently lost a family member and I have to deal with stuff.

I tried to distract myself with work and my projects here, but it’s really up and down and not consistent.

I will let you know as soon as I am back, but I wouldn’t feel comfortable to give you a timeframe (which I couldn’t, anyway) that may or may not work out.

Please don’t be worried, I will come back to you guys.

Until then.

I am sorry to read that, Black Alert. Best wishes and condolences to you and your family.
 

Hello community. I am going to be posting this in both the DS9 and VOY topics, since it affects both.

I am happy to say that I have dealt with most of my issues and that means … I am coming back.
Having been through a lot, my attitude towards this project has changed somewhat (for good or worse will be up for you to decide 😉 ).

So, what does that mean for you?

In general: I will implement a few changes (more on that below), most importanly I feel like I need to take back creative control of this project (I know, this may sound strange, but let me explain) - I think I have been listening to way too many opinions about my work, trying to please everyone as much as possible.
In the end: I have to be happy with the result, since I will be watching those episodes when I feel like enjoying some Trek.
So if my updates/re-renders are annoying to you, you don’t have to take them.
Nevertheless, I will still be happy to talk about technical details and how I did things, I am just simply done apologizing for stuff or justifying things.

Specifically:
As I had intended before, all the things I have done so far will be getting updates (the DS9 and VOY pilot will be swapped for the latest as well), but there is an important difference this time: I have tested my workflow against both DS9 and Voyager by doing tests with episode snippets from seasons 1, 3, 5 and 7 respectively to make sure I do not have to change anything in the future and the work remains consistent.
The most important new elements are: Better color grading, the inclusion of chapters and subtitles (english and german) as well as the combination of multiple AI models by doing layer-based work to create better quality.
I have decided to work on challenging samples, containing both CGI/VFX effects as well as live action; furthermore, I used mostly scenes that are dark, have bad lighting or difficult visuals (explosions, flickering lights, consoles and such) - that way I can make sure this does not cause problems down the line.

In order to proof that I will not be going back and forth and only move forward, here are samples from my test renderings, I call them “What does the Future hold?”, regarding both shows (DS9 and VOY).
Note: I apologize for the Borg Queen looking green and then blue in one image - I accidentally used the wrong image, sorry.

First, comparison images with slider function:

Show: DS9, episode 3x21 “The Die Is Cast (Part 2)”
https://imgsli.com/ODA1Nzk
https://imgsli.com/ODA1ODA
https://imgsli.com/ODA1ODI
https://imgsli.com/ODA1ODM

Show: DS9, episode 5x26 “Call to Arms”
https://imgsli.com/ODA1ODY
https://imgsli.com/ODA1ODg
https://imgsli.com/ODA1OTI
https://imgsli.com/ODA1OTQ
https://imgsli.com/ODA1OTU

Show: DS9, episode 7x25;26 “What You Leave Behind (Parts 1&2)”
https://imgsli.com/ODA1OTY
https://imgsli.com/ODA1OTc
https://imgsli.com/ODA1OTk

Show: VOY, episode 3x26 “Scorpion (Part 1)”
https://imgsli.com/ODA2MDA
https://imgsli.com/ODA2MDI

Show: VOY, episode 5x06 “Timeless”
https://imgsli.com/ODA2MDQ
https://imgsli.com/ODA2MDU
https://imgsli.com/ODA2MDY

Show: VOY, episode 7x25;26 “Endgame (Parts 1&2)”
https://imgsli.com/ODA2MDg
https://imgsli.com/ODA2MTM
https://imgsli.com/ODA2MTc
https://imgsli.com/ODA2MTk
https://imgsli.com/ODA2MjE
https://imgsli.com/ODA2MjM

And now, for the video samples (comparison between PAL-DVD and 4K-AI-Upscale; no password required):

Show: DS9, episode 3x21 “The Die Is Cast (Part 2)”
DVD: https://www.dropbox.com/s/1gf7zlyjkdaq1ex/DS9 - 3x21 - The Die Is Cast%2C Part 2 (SD-DVD).mkv?dl=0
Upscale: https://www.dropbox.com/s/s8v05sjkwrhy1js/DS9 - 3x21 - The Die Is Cast%2C Part 2 (4K-Test).mkv?dl=0

Show: DS9, episode 5x26 “Call to Arms”
DVD: https://www.dropbox.com/s/rr8wv0t1ujygrcm/DS9 - 5x26 - Call to Arms (SD-DVD).mkv?dl=0
Upscale: https://www.dropbox.com/s/erakyiabempe4u8/DS9 - 5x26 - Call to Arms (4K-Test).mkv?dl=0

Show: DS9, episode 7x25;26 “What You Leave Behind (Parts 1&2)”
DVD: https://www.dropbox.com/s/2r781sx8q7z1ae0/DS9 - 7x25%3B26 - What You Leave Behind (SD-DVD).mkv?dl=0
Upscale: https://www.dropbox.com/s/pr3gnnrq03l9rxe/DS9 - 7x25%3B26 - What You Leave Behind (4K Test).mkv?dl=0

Show: VOY, episode 3x26 “Scorpion (Part 1)”
DVD: https://www.dropbox.com/s/2eq7j3gk5djrsk7/VOY - 3x26 - Scorpion%2C Part 1 (SD-DVD).mkv?dl=0
Upscale: https://www.dropbox.com/s/ex11ftno848zsh3/VOY - 3x26 - Scorpion%2C Part 1 (4K-Test).mkv?dl=0

Show: VOY, episode 5x06 “Timeless”
DVD: https://www.dropbox.com/s/tt2nrzqfaouvfxn/VOY - 5x06 - Timeless (SD-DVD).mkv?dl=0
Upscale: https://www.dropbox.com/s/n7j4oc62m7k73ny/VOY - 5x06 - Timeless (4K-Test).mkv?dl=0

Show: VOY, episode 7x25;26 “Endgame (Parts 1&2)”
DVD: https://www.dropbox.com/s/ei5iphako0u9sje/VOY - 7x25%3B26 - Endgame (SD-DVD).mkv?dl=0
Upscale: https://www.dropbox.com/s/gnnprmm3mwgpfly/VOY - 7x25%3B26 - Endgame (4K-Test).mkv?dl=0

That’s what’s going to be coming our way. Let me know what you think.

Hello again guys.

Sorry that I haven’t put up anything yet, but things are crazy around here. Covid came back with a vengeance, rules are changing daily and we are doing everything we can to keep up.

I am feeling truly guilty. I have rendering the pilot episodes of Star Trek (DS9 and VOY) as well as the first episode of season 1 of B5, but I just simply can’t find the time to watch them in order to note down what corrections have to be applied. Then they would have to be rendered again and after that I could upload them.

I will do my best to hurry up, but it’s very difficult at the moment.

I will keep you posted (this post will be copied into the other topics for time-reasons).

Thanks, but I still feel guilty. Besides, I used all (and I do mean all) available memory I had (including several harddrives, flashdrives and local computer memory to at least continue rendering), now everything is full. Can’t wait to clear that and continue.

Hello community. Wanted to share something that I had “left over” from my upscaling trials (testing the workflow that has now become my standard), so you know I am still at it.
Please forgive me if I haven’t always hit the exact same frame or if the crop is a little off (I forgot to change the values), but since this was short ordered cooking, just focus on the visuals, ok?
Let’s call this “What does the Future hold (Part 2)”

New comparison images below.

Show: DS9, episode 1x06 “Captive Pursuit”
https://imgsli.com/ODUwNTY
https://imgsli.com/ODUwNTg
https://imgsli.com/ODUwNTk
https://imgsli.com/ODUwNjA
https://imgsli.com/ODUwNjM

Show: DS9, episode 3x01 “The Search (Part 1)”
https://imgsli.com/ODUwNjQ
https://imgsli.com/ODUwNjY

Show: DS9, episode 6x26 “Tears of the Prophets”
https://imgsli.com/ODUwNjc
https://imgsli.com/ODUwNjg
https://imgsli.com/ODUwNjk
https://imgsli.com/ODUwNzA

And here you have the corresponding video samples (both SD-DVD from PAL-Source and 4K-Upscale - please remember that PAL has a speed-up to 25 FPS, which I corrected in the upscale towards 23,976 FPS, which is why voices sound different); free, no password:

Show: DS9, episode 1x06 “Captive Pursuit”
DVD: https://www.dropbox.com/s/qwz3ym8ed81k8w1/DS9 - 1x06 - Captive Pursuit (SD-DVD).mkv?dl=0
Upscale: https://www.dropbox.com/s/uofieub5yzzqgxt/DS9 - 1x06 - Captive Pursuit (4K-Test).mkv?dl=0

Show: DS9, episode 3x01 “The Search (Part 1)”
DVD: https://www.dropbox.com/s/31rt2agnw6aywap/DS9 - 3x01 - The Search (SD-DVD).mkv?dl=0
Upscale: https://www.dropbox.com/s/ignkee7rmg8wylk/DS9 - 3x01 - The Search (4K-Test).mkv?dl=0

Show: DS9, episode 6x26 “Tears of the Prophets”
DVD: https://www.dropbox.com/s/vawjd6mo557vv9y/DS9 - 6x26 - Tears of the Prophets (SD-DVD).mkv?dl=0
Upscale: https://www.dropbox.com/s/n4ago98ptdt9buz/DS9 - 6x26 - Tears of the Prophets (4K-Test).mkv?dl=0

Let me know what you think!

I’ve only had time to have a quick look at a few of those stills and the 6x26 video - that is some impressive work, Black Alert.

Thanks guys, just wanted to let you know my workflow is solid an can be adapted to multiple sources (including later seasons). I am really trying to find the time to watch the full eps I have already re-done, but at the moment it’s difficult. These little snippets I put up were done several weeks ago when I was doing trial and error on specific settings.

Since then I finished the pilots of DS9 and VOY as well as the first episode of season 1 of Babylon 5. But the stuff is just “sitting there” since I haven’t had time to watch and do final corrections. But I will get around to it. My real-life job requires a 6-day-week at the moment with a lot of hours (trying to get in as much cash as possible in case Covid shuts us down again). So little time for other things. Still, I will get to it.

Perhaps the most interesting things/changes that happened to the workflow are:

• in StaxRip: increased sharpness (slightly), more grain retention (to avoid artificial surface look)
• in Topaz Video Enhance AI: Doing double model work (I am using two models to upscale now)
• in DaVinci Resolve: Doing layer-based work with both Topaz models, working with clearly defined color spaces, added Dehazing to reduce greyish tint, added contrast pop (slightly, to draw out highlights), modified grain settings in both models, adjusted render settings

Also, I have found a way to replace the stuttering CGI scenes from the PAL-version with those from the NTSC-version - I started experimenting with that because Voyager suffered a lot from this, but sometimes later seasons of DS9 do as well - combined with optical flow from DaVinci the stuttering can be reduced a lot and just looks nicer on the screen. Perhaps that technique could be adapted to Babylon 5, which also suffers from motion stutter a lot. I will have to take a look.

All in all things are looking up.

Great stuff! Though be careful not to let your shadow detail get crushed into blackness as you’re moving along. I say that because your Unimatrix Zero clip almost seemed like it could be in that territory, but maybe it’s my monitor?

@WXM:
You’re probably onto something. Sometimes it’s a bit difficult to retain the details in the shadows.

We all want the ideal of space and deep shadows being as black as the borders, but sometimes playing it safe via raising the image brightness/cont./etc. settings so that those areas are at least a hair above 0,0,0 can help prevent some crushing maybe. But not that big a deal. What you’re getting out of these sources as is currently is amazing! That detail…! 😮