What each tool does
Quality Finishing
Topaz Astra
astra.app
Seedance 2.0
seed.bytedance.com
Primary Function
What the tool is built to do
AI video enhancement and upscaling. Takes existing footage and brings it to its highest possible visual quality. Does not generate video from scratch.
Enhance and upscale
AI video generation. Creates new video footage from text prompts, images, audio, and video references. Does not enhance or upscale existing footage.
Generate from scratch
Input
What you bring to it
Existing video files. Upload any footage including Seedance output and Astra enhances the detail, sharpness, and resolution frame by frame.
Any existing video
Text prompts, reference images, audio clips, or existing video. Supports multimodal input combinations including full storyboard-style direction for complex scenes.
Text, image, audio, video
Control
How you shape the output
Precise mode for faithful upscaling that preserves your original look. Creative mode for adding new detail to AI-generated footage. Scene detection lets you apply different settings to individual scenes within the same video.
Per-scene enhancement control
Full generative control over motion, camera language, subject consistency, and audio. Supports video extension to continue a shot and targeted editing of specific clips, characters, and actions after generation.
Full generative control
Output Resolution
What you get out
Up to 4K on all paid plans using Topaz's Starlight models. Genuine AI-reconstructed detail, not simple pixel scaling. The right tool for final delivery.
Up to 4K final output
Generates at standard resolutions suited for fast iteration and creative review. Higher-quality renders cost significantly more credits. Pair with Astra for 4K final delivery.
Standard res, great for iteration
Cost Efficiency
Where your credits go furthest
Most efficient used once on a finalized video. Standard from $39/mo (400 credits). Plus from $99/mo (1400 credits, full commercial use). Pro from $299/mo (5400 credits). Credits roll over month to month with no cap.
One pass on final output
Most efficient at lower resolution settings during iteration. Generating at full quality on every draft multiplies cost significantly. Save higher-quality renders for approved takes.
Cheaper to iterate at lower res
Access
How you use it
Fully web-based at astra.app. Works in any modern browser with no installation or GPU required. Also included in Topaz Studio alongside Topaz Video, Photo, Gigapixel, and more.
Browser, any device
Available via platforms and developer APIs integrating the Seedance 2.0 model. A ByteDance research model available through partner integrations.
Via platform integrations
Recommended Workflow
Iterate fast in Seedance. Finish once in Astra.
Generating at high quality on every iteration burns credits fast. The smarter approach is to get your video exactly right at lower quality first in Seedance, then run a single high-quality 4K pass through Astra only when you are fully satisfied with the result.
1
Seedance 2.0
Generate and explore at low cost
Use Seedance to bring your idea to life. Experiment freely with prompts, camera movement, subject direction, timing, and audio. Generate multiple variations at lower resolution settings to explore your options quickly without spending heavily on each attempt.
Lower-resolution generations cost a fraction of full-quality renders. Use this stage to find the right creative direction, not the right pixels.
2
Seedance 2.0
Refine until fully satisfied
Keep iterating. Adjust the prompt, extend the shot, edit specific elements, or tweak motion using Seedance's video editing and extension capabilities. The goal at this stage is creative approval, not visual perfection. Only move forward when the composition, motion, and storytelling are exactly what you want.
There is no point upscaling a take you might revise. Lock the creative before investing in the quality pass.
3
Topaz Astra
One final pass to 4K
Upload your approved Seedance output to Astra. Choose Precise mode to faithfully upscale to 4K while preserving your original look, or Creative mode to add additional texture and detail to your AI-generated footage. Use scene detection to apply different settings across scenes within the same video. Export at 4K and publish.
One Astra render on a finalized video costs far less than repeated high-quality Seedance regenerations on a draft that is still changing.
Maximum creative output. Minimum credit spend. Seedance handles the experimentation. Astra handles the one moment that requires perfection. Together they cover the full pipeline from first prompt to final 4K frame.
Try Astra →
