This article focuses on how to use AI to colorize black and white videos and films, and provides readers with the most valuable information by comparing several colorizers.

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to step into the shoes of a filmmaker from the past and experience their black and white masterpieces in vibrant color? Imagine the nostalgic charm of classic films and home videos brought to life with the vividness of modern cinematography. The lack of color in these historical visual records has long been a barrier to fully immersing ourselves in their beauty and authenticity. However, thanks to the advancement of artificial intelligence (AI), there is now a solution--black and white colorizer that can breathe new life into black and white footage.

In this article, we will explore the fascinating world of colorize black and white video and film including colorize black and white photo online free using AI algorithms, providing you with the film colorization tools and knowledge to colorize black and white photos and videos into captivating chromatic wonders.

Colorize Black and White Video with DeOldify AI

deoldify.ai

What is DeOldify?

DeOldify is a video colorizer project turned to online application. This tool makes use a bunch of AI and Deep Learning based techniques to colorize images and videos. Due to it being a somewhat recent project, it receives regular updates from the developers. You can use this tool on their website. Otherwise, you can also use it through the Google Colab framework. This online video colorizer has been trained and tested thoroughly. You can find a version of this film colorization software on the popular website of MyHeritage as well. It mixes GAN and NoGAN methodologies to create the most accurate colorized film possible.

This new approach to colorize video and recolor images enables the system to optimize GAN in a way that results in amazing colors without the video flickering issues. Furthermore, the model has been divided into three parts. These three models are: Artistic, Stable, and Video. They all achieve colorization at different levels. Finally, this project will receive more updates going forward.

How to use DeOldify Online to Colorize Black and White Video?

You can access the colorize video software by clicking on the link given above. The page contains information about the tool. You can scroll a bit below to see a bunch of images colorized by DeOldify. Click on Try DeOldify.

You can use the DeOldify algorithm by going to the MyHeritage website. You simply need to upload an image or video there and wait as the application processes the content. Click on the upload button. Otherwise, you can use Google Colab.

Either way, download the image or video from the respective websites by using the download options given.

How to Set Up DeOldify on GitHub?

You can colorize video online or even install the assets on your desktop. Given that this tool is an open source program, it is possible to get the code running on your application instead. You can access their GitHub page from here.

  1. Connect to the freshly created DeOldify directory to create a new "models" directory for your pre-trained weights.
  2. You can manually download pre-trained weights in the DeOldify, in case you already do not have them.
  3. Next, you will need to install the dependencies. You can do that with the 'pip' command.
  4. Finally, open the project and you will now be able to work on it freely. You can watch a similar guide here.

Learn the history of colorizing black and white films: How Are Black And White Films Colorized?

Colorize Black and White Video with DeOldify Alternatives

The video colorization software from DeOldify works like a charm though its installation process can be tedious, especially for most users who are not well-versed with GitHub. With that said, we will now take a look at easier alternatives with just as good as performance.

1. PixBim

Price: Free and paid 59.99$

PixBim is a really good alternative to DeOldify, especially considering the fact that PixBim offers a bunch of other great features in addition to video colorization. You can access the website from the link given and colorize video free instantly with just a click. With PixBim, you can do film colorization, image colorization, remove objects, unblur your visuals, and more. Moreover, it also has a 30-day refund guarantee attached to its purchases. When it comes to the colorized videos, their quality is definitely one of the best you will find on the Internet.

Pros

  • The colors are realistic and well-spread-out

Cons

  • The colorized images and videos might lack the sharpness

2. DeepAI

Price: Free and Paid Pro version $4.99/month

Similar to DeOldify, DeepAI is also an open source program that is primarily designed for colorization processes. Moreover, the black and white colorizer makes use of Deep Learning and AI to get its results. You can upload images or videos from your local device or use the URL function to paste the URL of the source itself. Additionally, you can find the source code for each of its features on the web page itself by scrolling below. DeepAI is one of the popular choices for black and white film colorization and rightly so, as it delivers decent results. Lastly, this program has newer features coming out soon, one of which is an AI based assistant tool named Zendo.

Pros

  • It supports Windows and Mac

Cons

  • May not work well if the source has less detail

3. Editingtools.io

Price: 2 AI credits for each second of video, 1credit about 0,09$

Editingtools.io recolor images or videos with AI, turning black and white to color in seconds. The algorithm has been trained with millions of real photos to understand the world of colors.

Editingtools.io

Pros

  • The subscription is affordable

Cons

  • Average quality

4. Hitpaw

Price: Free to download and paid 42.99$/month
 
using only one click, users can upscale their movies using the HitPaw Video Enhancer's amazing AI features. The video has been improved using the auto enhancement tool to provide fantastic results. For instance, the General Denoise Model reduces noise in old recordings to generate nice videos.
 
The AI Upscale tool makes it simple to increase the video's quality. If the video is just 720p, for example, you may easily upgrade it to 4k for much better results. The Animation Model improves and fixes older animation videos, giving them new clarity and a clean, contemporary aesthetic.
 
Hitpaw
Pros
 
  • It supports batch processing
  • Provide various style
Cons
 
  • Free trial version adds watermark to exported video
  • No Mac version

5. Neural.love

Price: Starter: free; Subscription: $30; Pay as you go: 457
 
Online video quality is improved by Neural Love's automatic machine-learning masterpiece. This program is ideal for video lovers and filmmakers since it can improve and repair digital footage from any period. You can see for yourself how this technology can improve your digital media by looking at the 38,546 videos that have already been upgraded with Neural Love.
 
Pros
 
  • interface-friendly
  • Upscaling to 4K
Cons
 
  • May not work well if the source has less detail
Want to know Professional Adobe Photoshop to colorize B&W videos: How to Enhance & Colorize Black & White Videos using A.I | TopazLabs & Photoshop Tutorial

Conclusion

In conclusion, the advancements in AI-based image processing technology have revolutionized the way we colorize black and white photos and videos. With the availability of online tools like AI photo colorizers, we can now effortlessly restore old photos and transform black and white videos into vibrant, colorful masterpieces. The article highlighted the DeOldify algorithm as a powerful video colorization tool, along with alternatives like PixBim, DeepAI, and Colorization. These tools offer varying features and performance, catering to different user preferences. The ease of access and user-friendly interfaces make them suitable for users of all levels of expertise.

The continuous updates and improvements in these algorithms promise even more accurate and visually stunning results in the future. With these black and white colorizer--video and ffilm colorization applications, users can unleash their creativity and gain a fresh perspective by giving new life to their videos.

FAQs

What is the best video colorization software?

DeOldify and PixBim are highly recommended for film colorization. DeepAI and Colorization also offer excellent performance. It's advisable to try multiple video colorization tools as their techniques and results can vary depending on the video. DeepAI consistently delivers impressive colorization, while DeOldify and Colorization have received notable upgrades and are worth exploring.

How to Colorize Black and White video?

1. To colorize a black and white video, upload the file to an online colorization tool.
2. Adjust the settings if available, then wait for the tool to process and render the colorization.
3. Finally, download the colorized video. Each tool may have slight variations, but the process generally follows these steps.

How is film colorized?

Film colorization is achieved using various tools and algorithms. For example, the DeOldify algorithm combines GAN and NoGAN neural networks, while Colorization utilizes Computer Vision technology. Some tools rely solely on GAN networks. Each approach aims to deliver optimal results through different techniques.

Harley Wayne
Senior Editor

Harley Wayne is a Senior Editor at TopTen.AI. He received his bachelor's degree in Artificial Intelligence and Human-Computer Interaction from Carnegie Mellon University in 2008, and has worked in software development and software promotion for years. In 2017, he started his own blog posting AI and tech-related articles and joined TopTen.AI. He has amassed 6 years of experience crafting articles within the technological realm. He knows a lot about photo, audio, and video products, and he always knows what attracts users the most and what users want to know about software. With his professional education, keen interest in technology, and extensive work experience, Harley Wayne has written many articles with over 100K+ views. As a leading writer for TopTen.AI, Harley Wayne will continue to be keenly attuned to experiencing new technology products and is committed to providing readers with the most valuable information.

4.3
DeOldify

DeOldify is a video colorizer which makes use a bunch of AI and Deep Learning to colorize images and videos

  • Video Enhancer
  • Video Colorization
  • AI
$Price
  • Open source
+Pros
  • It is an open source project.
  • It is the current more mature AI algorithm
-Cons
  • Requires some computer knowledge and skills.