The fifth episode of Star Fleet Academy was filled with memberberries for Deep Space Nine. So now I want to re-watch this magnificent Star Trek show. I first watched it, back when it aired in the 1990s.
There are many versions of it available: DVD, Laserdisc, free streaming on pirate websites, legal streaming, pirate DVDRips, pirate AI upscaled versions.
Pirate streaming ended up being a muddy picture, mislabeled episodes and such. So I checked out torrents and found a whole zoo of DVDRips and AI upscaled versions. Some upscaled versions have gigantic file sizes of hundreds of GB.
DVDRips
There are DVDs following the analog video standards PAL and NTSC. PAL has a higher vertical resolution of 576p compared to 480p for NTSC. The colors of PAL are also better. PAL is sped up by 5% to 25 fps, leading to a slightly shorter runtime and pitched up audio. Some say the PAL version makes people speaking sound like chipmunks. I don't think it's that noticeable, if you don't compare it directly.
The version I'm currently watching is called Star Trek Deep Space Nine - Complete Series - 576P - Multi Subs - DVDrip - X265-HEVC - O69. Each episode is around 250 MB encoded in x265. The DVD extras are included and a lot of fun. It's acceptable quality wise. However the image is too dark overall. I added a gamma adjustment filter of 0.9 to bring out the contrast and details in the shadows in my video player.
Legal Streams
Use the DVDs and recompress them. So at best as good as a DVDRip.
AI Upscale
There are a bunch of different upscaled versions, and new ones are regularly. These are just a few examples of many.
DS9: Redefined
Is a newish project for an actually good upscaled version. They use LaserDisc as source, correct the colors, and then upscale.
Their demo videos actually look pretty great. Sadly I couldn't find where to actually download the completed video files. Do you know?
Other upscales
https://berglyd.net/blog/2023/08/upscaling-startrek-ds9/ shows only a slight difference. Noise and grain are reduced, sure. Details like the pips on Sisko's collar are smudged and arguably worse.
https://community.topazlabs.com/t/star-trek-deep-space-nine-upscaling-project-by-leland-kovich-pal-dvd-to-1080phd-in-4-3/92214/8
Noise and grain is suppressed, but also the texture. Too much saturation, too much contrast, sharpening, ringing. Sisko's legs are an abomination, see the parallel line in the water. The rocks went from background blur, to sharp. The whole image has lost depth and looks flat.
PAL the format has a higher resolution but DS9’s production process was for NTSC. They would not have redone the series in PAL so that version is likely scaled the lower resolution up to the PAL resolution along with the speed artifacts described.
I think the AI upscales we have now are a novelty but not a substitute for the DVD masters. Additionally, Marvin Rush used specific camera techniques to isolate characters from the background in the early seasons which in hindsight can the image looks undersaturated and muddy.
LCD technology is pretty poor at scaling up non-native resolutions, even in 2026. DVD is probably the best quality but your mileage may vary based on the screen you use. Streaming imposed an additional penalty due to additional artifacting from the low resolution and the usual penalty of increased blur and smudging during camera motion.
Counterintuitively, using an old CRT screen or a filter component like ShaderGlass or RetroArch will process the image in such a way that tightens up the blurriness the image and will let your eyes relax.
As much as I wish DS9 HD was a thing, it will almost certainly remain an artifact of contemporary production. There are ways to mitigate that reality, but no way to change it.