Are there any tools that can upscale and improve audio on old VHS tapes?

January 24, 2026
Are there any tools that can upscale and improve audio on old VHS tapes?

Ever wonder if you can bring old VHS tapes back to life with modern tech? Well, here's the scoop — it's definitely a challenge, but not impossible. According to Reddit user /u/Ardbert_The_Fallen, who asked about tools to upscale and improve both sound and picture on vintage tapes, the process is tricky because of the massive processing power needed. You see, while we're seeing incredible AI-driven upscaling for small images — like photos or clips — applying that to a full VHS tape? That's a whole different ballgame. As /u/Ardbert_The_Fallen points out, the current workflows can be pretty demanding and might take years of tech improvements to become practical. But here’s where it gets interesting — tech is moving fast, and some new AI tools are promising faster, more efficient quality restoration. So what does this mean for you? If you’ve got old tapes cluttering up your space, you might want to keep an eye on these developments. The good news? Restoration isn’t out of reach forever — it’s just a matter of time.

I have some very old tapes that sound and look horrible. I've seen workflows that upscale small images to 4k, but I wager doing a full video might just take too much processing power right now?

Is this at all remotely possible, or do I need to revisit this in 5 years?

Thanks!

submitted by /u/Ardbert_The_Fallen
[link] [comments]
Audio Transcript

I have some very old tapes that sound and look horrible. I've seen workflows that upscale small images to 4k, but I wager doing a full video might just take too much processing power right now?

Is this at all remotely possible, or do I need to revisit this in 5 years?

Thanks!

submitted by /u/Ardbert_The_Fallen
[link] [comments]
0:00/0:00