In 2020, a major fan-led initiative called Project Defiant successfully completed an AI-driven 4K upscale of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (DS9) Season 1. This project used Topaz Labs' Video Enhance AI
: Many early CGI and model shots shimmer or flicker when pushed to 4K because the AI cannot identify enough stable detail to lock onto. How to Find or Create an Upscale
While a official, true 35mm scan of DS9 remains the ultimate dream for Trek fans, the 4K AI upscales born in 2020 offer the definitive way to experience the dawn of the dominion war era on modern displays. It rescued a masterpiece of serialized television from the graveyard of obsolete formats, ensuring that the station shines brightly for generations to come.
Fans used NVIDIA GPUs (GTX 1070 or better) to turn the 480p footage into 4K files, with each season 1 episode taking up roughly 5GB, resulting in 99GB for the first season. This labor-intensive, fan-driven initiative highlighted a massive demand for a modern DS9 viewing experience. The Limitations of Fan-Made 4K
The 2020 release focused exclusively on for several reasons:
To do an official HD or 4K remaster, Paramount would have to find the original 35mm film negatives, re-edit every single episode from scratch, and completely recreate the computer-generated (CGI) and physical model visual effects. After the official Star Trek: The Next Generation Blu-ray remaster failed to turn a significant profit, Paramount shelved plans to give DS9 the same treatment. Enter 2020: The AI Upscaling Revolution
: While live-action footage scales well, the early 1990s CGI (like the wormhole or ship battles) can look dated when sharpened. The AI highlights the lower resolution of the original digital effects, making them stand out against the sharpened live-action footage. Color Correction : Some 2020 projects, like Project Defiant