Finishing
Upscale only what needs it, add captions, export with the right settings, and label AI content so platforms do not penalize you.
For social video, 1080p is enough, so you can often skip upscaling. Spend your finishing time on captions, correct export settings and the AI label. Those affect what viewers see and whether you can earn from the video.
Upscaling
Upscale only the keepers, and only when the delivery needs it. Topaz itself says 1080p is enough for web and social, and 4K is for TVs, big screens or headroom for cropping.
Built in upscalers
Try the generator's own upscale first. It is often free or cheap and keeps the look of the model.
| Model or app | Upscale option |
|---|---|
| Veo 3.1 in Google Flow | 1080p upscale for 0 credits; 4K upscale for 50 credits (Ultra only) |
| Seedance 2.5 Draft mode | Re-renders an approved 480p draft at full quality; billed as a second task |
| Gemini Omni Flash | Generates at 360p or 720p; 1080p and 4K are upscaled |
| Kling 3.0 | Native 4K mode at 30 credits per second |
| Runway | 4K upscaler for existing video, about 0.16 USD per request through API resellers |
Topaz
| Topaz product | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Topaz Video, cloud plan | 19 USD/month (list 29) or 199 USD/year | 200 cloud credits, limited commercial use |
| Topaz Video, desktop | 299 USD/year, or 39 USD/month with an annual commitment | Unlimited local renders |
| Astra (browser, no GPU needed) | 19 USD/month (list 39) | 400 credits (about 10 minutes of HD), 4K output |
| Topaz Studio (all apps) | 399 USD/year | Everything |
Prices checked on 15 Oct 2026. The lower prices were promotions showing that day. Topaz has been subscription only since September 2025.
Free and open source
- Video2X bundles Real-ESRGAN, Real-CUGAN, Anime4K and RIFE. Slower than paid tools, with no native Apple Silicon build.
- SeedVR2 (ByteDance, Apache 2.0) through ComfyUI gives high quality but needs a lot of video memory: 24 to 32 GB recommended, with GGUF versions for cards under 12 GB.
- LTX-2.5 is used by some creators as a generative upscaler for drafts (users on X).
Check text after upscaling
Upscalers can destroy small text and logos. One creator had to regenerate a shot because the on screen text died in a Topaz upscale. Check every frame with text after the upscale, or add text in the edit after upscaling.
A YouTube trick from a single old anecdote: uploading a 1080p video upscaled to 4K gets a better codec (VP9) and a higher bitrate stream. Test it on your own footage before relying on it.
Frame interpolation
Interpolation adds frames between existing ones to make motion smoother or to change the frame rate.
- Go from 24 to 30 or 24 to 48 fps. Going to 60 makes more artifacts.
- Use it to calm flicker on medium paced shots. It ghosts on fast motion, so check action shots frame by frame.
- Free: RIFE, through FlowFrames on Windows, or inside Video2X.
- Paid: Topaz's common preset goes from 720p at 24 fps to 4K with the Starlight Precise model, then interpolates to 30 fps. Runway's Enhance Frame Rate goes up to 120 fps.
Captions
Burn captions into the video. Many people watch short videos with the sound off.
| Tool | Price | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| CapCut | Free auto captions | Most creators; good enough for casual videos |
| Submagic | 12 to 39 USD/month (sources conflict) | Animated word by word captions for shorts; one estimate says only about 2 to 4% more accurate than CapCut |
| Descript | 16 to 24 USD/month | Talking heads and podcasts, editing by transcript |
| DaVinci Resolve 21 | Included | Voice to Subtitle inside your edit |
| HyperFrames or Remotion | Free | Captions and kinetic text rendered from an SRT file, see Video from code |
Prices checked on 15 Oct 2026.
Our pick: CapCut's free captions first. Pay for Submagic only if animated captions are central to your style.
Style that works for vertical video:
- Word by word animated captions for short entertainment. Phrase level captions for tutorials and dense information.
- Caption height about 7 to 10% of the frame (about 54 to 80 px on 1080x1920), bold sans serif font.
- Keep text out of the edges. A guide citing TikTok Ads Manager gives the safe zone on 1080x1920 as: not in the top 240 px, the bottom 660 px, or 120 px on each side. Another tool says the right side buttons take 242 px and the bottom 707 px. Keep text and faces centered and check in the app.
- Claims that captions change retention by 40 to 80% come from vendors and are not verified.
Export settings
| Setting | YouTube (official) | TikTok, Reels, Shorts (third party guides) |
|---|---|---|
| Container | MP4 | MP4 |
| Video codec | H.264 High Profile, variable bitrate, 4:2:0 | H.264, variable bitrate |
| Resolution | Your project size, for example 1920x1080 or 3840x2160 | 1080x1920 (9:16) |
| Frame rate | Same as you made it | 30 fps, or 60 for fast action |
| Bitrate | 1080p: 8 Mbps (12 at 48 to 60 fps). 4K: 35 to 45 Mbps (53 to 68 at 48 to 60 fps) | About 10 to 15 Mbps |
| Audio | AAC-LC or Opus, 48 kHz | AAC |
| Loudness | Not specified | About minus 14 LUFS |
No platform published an official spec for TikTok or Reels that we could find. One source says 4K uploads to Instagram mostly add file size, so 1080x1920 is the safe choice.
Platform AI labels and monetization
Label realistic AI content on every platform. Labeling does not hurt reach on YouTube, and hiding AI content is what gets videos removed or channels demonetized.
Official. In YouTube Studio, under Details, turn on "Altered or synthetic content" when realistic content:
- makes a real person say or do something they did not,
- alters footage of a real event or place,
- shows a realistic scene that never happened, or
- uses AI music as the main focus.
No label needed for unrealistic or animated content, color filters, captions, upscaling, audio cleanup, or cloning your own voice for a voiceover. YouTube says the label itself does not affect reach or monetization. Repeatedly failing to disclose can lead to penalties or suspension from the Partner Program. Content with C2PA metadata can be labeled automatically.
Official monetization rule. The "inauthentic content" policy (renamed from "repetitious content" on 15 Jul 2025) excludes mass produced or templated videos, image slideshows and AI videos made from generic templates without your own input. AI tools are fine when the video shows your own creative vision. The "reused content" rule applies even when you have permission.
Not confirmed. A single source reports a Partner Program overhaul announced 10 Aug 2026, effective 1 Feb 2027, with doubled thresholds. A third party report says since May 2026 the label shows under the player for long videos and on the video for Shorts.
What to do on every upload:
- Turn on the AI label for every realistic AI clip, on every platform.
- Keep C2PA metadata in the file. It triggers automatic labels, which YouTube says do not cut reach.
- Do not post the identical file everywhere and expect each copy to count as original.
- Add your own story, commentary or analysis. Avoid slideshows and templated series.
- For client work in the EU, AI content labeling rules apply too (raised by creators on X; check the rules for your market).
Sources
- Topaz pricing and Topaz, enhancing video quality
- Topaz for web video docs
- Google Flow credits help and Gemini Omni docs
- Video2X review and SeedVR2 upscaler
- Fluxnote, Submagic vs CapCut captions
- OpenClip, caption styling guide
- Upload Post, TikTok safe zone
- YouTube recommended upload settings
- YouTube, altered or synthetic content and YouTube Partner Program policies
- TikTok newsroom, AI content
- Storrito, TikTok AI monetization
- Business Standard, Meta originality rules
- buraktuyan on X, text lost in upscale