[AI Supported] DVD Upscaling Guide in 2025: 4 Ways to Make DVD to HD/4K

DVDs may feel outdated in today’s age of 4K, 8K, and HD streaming, but many of us still treasure our classic collections. Watching these on a modern 4K TV often leads to a blurry or pixelated image. DVD upscaling steps into the bridge this gap, enhancing standard definition DVDs for today’s high-resolution screens.

Part 1. What is DVD Upscaling

First, DVD upscaling means changing a standard DVD video to a higher resolution. Usually, DVDs have a resolution of 480P (NTSC) or 576P (PAL). Upscaling changes this to a higher resolution, like 720p, 1080p (Full HD), or 4K (Ultra HD). Upscaling doesn’t add new detail but uses smart techniques to fill in missing pixels, making the picture look better on modern screens.

Why We Need to Upscale DVDs:

• Modern TV Resolution: Today’s televisions have millions of pixels, far beyond the limited resolution of a DVD. When a 480p DVD is displayed on a 4K screen, the TV has to stretch each original pixel to cover many more pixels on the display. This stretching results in a noticeably soft, blurry, or blocky image, often referred to as "pixelation".

• Enhanced Viewing Experience: Upscaling aims to make the picture appear sharper, clearer, and more detailed, providing a more immersive and enjoyable viewing experience. That’s also closer to what you expect from modern content.

• Preserving Old Media: Many classic movies, TV shows, and personal videos are only available on DVD. Upscaling allows you to continue enjoying these valuable pieces of media on your current hardware without sacrificing too much visual quality.

• Future-Proofing: By converting your DVDs to higher-resolution digital files, you’re not only improving their current viewing experience but also creating a more future-proof version of your collection.

Part 2. How to Upscale DVD for High-Quality Visual

There are several methods to upscale your DVDs, ranging from simple playback solutions to more advanced software-based enhancements. Each method has its own pros and cons in terms of quality, convenience, and cost.

Method 1. Adopt AI for DVD Upscaling – Best Method

This way can make your DVDs look much better. First, you turn your DVD into a digital video file. Then, you use special AI software to clean up and improve the video, making it sharper and clearer.

Step 1. You need to extract the video content from your physical DVD into a digital format. Tools like Aiseesoft Video Converter Ultimate (for lossless DVD ripping to various digital formats) are a great choice. Follow its instructions to create a digital copy of your DVD’s raw video data.

Step 2. Choose and download an AI video upscaler like VidHex Video Upscaler. This 4K upscaler has multiple AI models to accurately analyze your footage and transform it from standard definition into new clarity. Its upscaling has zero quality loss, but to remove picture noises and imperfections and restore every detail. Breathing new life into your classical DVD collection.

• Upscaling DVD to 4K with natural clarity.

• Good at enhancing the facial details and smoothing frame transitions of DVDs.

• Removing blur, pixelation, and noise from DVD files efficiently.

• Easy to use for all users without upscaling knowledge requirements.

Step 3. Launch VidHex and import your digitized DVD file into this software by clicking the + icon at the top. You will be led to an editing interface to choose an AI model from the right list. For DVD upscaling, the General Enhancement Model is ok.

Step 4. On the Export All button, you can customize the output resolution from 100% enlargement to 4K. Also, click the gear icon next to this button, and you can set the output format, bitrate, and encoder. When all is done, hit the Export All button to get the upscaled DVD files on your computer.

Method 2. Upscale DVD with HandBrake

HandBrake is a popular, free, and open-source video transcoder that can convert video from many formats to modern, widely supported codecs. While it’s not a true AI upscaler, it can reduce the resolution and improve video quality of your ripped DVD files.

Step 1. Insert your DVD into the computer and launch HandBrake. Click File to load from the disc.

Step 2. Choose your encoding preset and output format here.

Step 3. Move to the Dimensions tab, which is under Resolution and Scaling, and choose a higher resolution for output. Also, remember to check the box Allow Upscaling instead of the box Optimal Size.

Step 4. Click the Start Encode button to launch upscaling.

Method 3. Dedicated Upscaling DVD/Blu-ray Players

Many modern Blu-ray players and some high-end DVD players, like Sony Upscaling DVD player, feature built-in upscaling capabilities.

These players have internal video processors that analyze the standard definition signal from the DVD and apply real-time algorithms to increase its resolution. As a result, the upscaled video can match your TV’s display (e.g., 1080p or 4K). You simply need to connect the player to your TV via HDMI, and it handles the upscaling automatically during playback.

Method 4. DVD Upscale on HDTVs

If you connect an older DVD player (without built-in upscaling) directly to a modern 4K TV, the TV itself will perform the upscaling.

Every 4K TV has an internal video processor designed to take any incoming signal, like 480p, 720p, or 1080p, and upscale it to fit its native 4K resolution. This happens automatically and continuously.

Part 3. Tips for DVD Upscaling

• A well-preserved, clean DVD disc will produce better upscaling results than a scratched or heavily compressed one.

• For many DVDs, 1080P is a good balance between quality improvement and file size. 4K is possible with AI tools, but the file size will be much larger.

• For high-quality AI upscaling, faster hardware will significantly reduce processing times.

Part 4. FAQs of DVD Upscaling

Can you upscale DVD to 1080P?

Yes, now many AI video upscalers like VidHex Video Upscaler can easily improve DVD quality to 1080P or even higher. Simply import the digitized DVD file and choose an Ai model can help you finish the upscaling.

What is the highest resolution a DVD can have?

The highest resolution a standard DVD can have depends on the television standard it adheres to. NTSC’s resolution can reach up to 720 x 480 pixels. This is often referred to as 480p or 480i. PAL’s max resolution is 720 x 576 pixels, the so-called 576p or 576i.

Do modern TVs have upscaling?

Yes, almost all modern TVs, especially 4K and 8K TVs, have built-in upscaling technology. It’s a crucial feature because most content available today is not native 4K or 8K resolution.

Conclusion

To sum up, DVD upscaling can be achieved in many ways. We highly recommend the AI tool VidHex Video Upscaler for its easy, user-friendly, and efficient operation. Your old DVD collection can shine again with this modern technology, in a clearer and more everlasting visual.