Star Trek fan uses AI to create 4K remasters of Voyager and Deep Space Nine

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine intro before (left) and after (right) 4k remaster

One Star Trek fan has taken it upon themselves to try and remaster Star Trek: Voyager and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine into 4K - using artificial intelligence.

Reddit user Billy Reichard, who goes by the name u/theboomsterz, posted a couple of clips last week of a Voyager episode that he’d used the special process on, saying, “I have completed one full episode in 4K - (season 6 episode 4) Tinker Tenor Doctor Spy. I originally did a test using gigapixel AI dumping every frame of a 2 minute clip. Took about 6 hours to process from start to finish.” He went on to explain that he’s since shortened the process using a different piece of software.

Later last week, Reichard followed up on the Voyager post with clips from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, including a split screen version of the intro, so you could see the original and remastered versions side by side. Reichard intends to remaster at least all of Voyager (he didn’t indicate his intentions for Deep Space Nine) but acknowledges that he wouldn’t be able to legally share them.

Fans of Deep Space Nine in particular have been vocal about their desire for HD-remastered versions of the series. A big selling point of the Deep Space Nine documentary What We Left Behind was the inclusion of more than 20 minutes of remastered footage from across the seven seasons. And various fans over the years have tried their hands at remastering footage up to Blu-ray quality (of 1080p). But it’s been long-known that due to technical and financial concerns, a full remaster for any of the series after The Next Generation was unlikely.

Perhaps Reichard’s efforts with an AI-driven solution - faster and less expensive than remastering manually - might just inch those high-quality remasters a little closer to reality.