Netflix's AI Upscaling of 'A Different World' Backfires, Sparking Debate on AI in Media Restoration

Netflix tried to fix 80s sitcom A Different World with AI but it gave us a different nightmare

Many sitcoms from the 1980s and 1990s evoke warm memories of fuzzy colors on a staticky CRT monitor. So Netflix adding A Different World to its catalog seemed like a call to nostalgia and flip-up glasses, at least until the AI-assisted upscaling appeared on screen. With this AI enhancement no one asked for, Hillman College sometimes looked like it was a little melted, with off-putting distortions of design all over, and text reworked into what looked like an alien language. Meanwhile, the faces and hands of the cast would occasionally warp like something was crawling underneath their skins. Admittedly, I had been slightly braced for it after seeing TikTok videos highlighting the warped results of AI's influence on the show. If anything, those videos undersold the results of AI upscaling. Upscaling is when you take old, low-resolution footage and make it fit modern high-definition screens. When done properly, with computer-assisted artists going through the footage, it can be a subtle but effective way to make classic shows look a little sharper. When done badly, you get what looks like inhuman dentures and throw pillows from another planet. To be fair, Netflix may not be solely to blame. A Different World is owned by Carsey-Werner. But Netflix still puts this uncanny valley exploration on subscribers' screens. This is becoming a pattern. AI is creeping into entertainment in ways that sound great on paper but turn out to be deeply weird and unsettling in practice. Just look at what Prime Video did with its AI-generated dubbing. Though not quite as egregiously awful, it's still got a ways to go if you want to hear all your favorite performers sounding like they speak a foreign language without it possibly giving you a headache. There's also Netflix creating entirely new elements out of AI, as with its documentary American Murder: The Family Next Door, which used AI to recreate the voice of Gabby Petito reading her own journal entries. Her family gave their permission, but that doesn't make it any less unnerving. AI has incredible potential as a tool, but that's the key word. Deployed without human direction, you'll get some bizarre, unsettling choices, even if some of the final output looks alright. So, while AI can help clean up old footage, there should still be more humans in the loop ensuring that characters' faces don't turn into Picasso paintings. For entertainment companies desperate to cut costs and speed up production, these flaws may seem worth the cost-savings. They hear "AI can help upscale old shows" and think, "Great, no need for expensive remastering, AI can do the whole thing automatically." AI isn't a genie granting HD wishes for SD shows. Some people may not even notice the issue, but it doesn't take a close inspection to see the upscaled A Different World as less a fond memory of the past and more of a mangled vision of the future. If this is the best AI can do without more human oversight, maybe Netflix should wait until the technology is good enough before slapping it on classic TV and accept that the reason people watch old shows has nothing to do with the crispness of the picture.

Netflix brought back A Different World of AI-upscaled nightmare fuel

Jess Weatherbed is a news writer focused on creative industries, computing, and internet culture. Jess started her career at TechRadar, covering news and hardware reviews. Thanks to AI upscaling technology, the version of A Different World that's currently on Netflix won't look how you remember it did when it aired. And not in a good way. The "HD" remaster of the 1980s sitcom being streamed is a nightmarish mess of distorted faces, garbled text, and misshapen backgrounds. People started spotting the issues shortly after Netflix added the Cosby Show spin-off to its service in February, with criticisms of the botched upscaling effort appearing across online social platforms. While the type of upscaling techniques used to remaster the original 480p or 360p broadcast resolution haven't been officially revealed, all signs -- including the illegible text and bizarrely malformed hands -- currently point to sloppy AI. "You can make one blurry pixel into four pixels, or four pixels into sixteen pixels but you gotta have that information come from somewhere," developer Scott Hanselman said on TikTok. "From far away, it looks amazing, and you now have a 4K, remastered version of A Different World, which I think we can all agree would be amazing. The problem is AI upscaling image technology isn't quite there yet." A Different World was previously available to stream on Max and Prime Video, which both support the show's original 4:3 format, before coming to Netflix where it's now cropped to 16:9. These AI upscaling issues haven't arisen for the show on other platforms before, but Netflix itself may not have been responsible. As noted by Gizmodo, the licensing rights to A Different World are held by the Carsey-Werner production company, which also owns Roseanne -- another 1980s sitcom that's similarly blighted with ugly AI upscaling on Peacock. We've reached out to Netflix and Carsey-Werner to clarify the upscaling problems and will update if we hear back. Netflix isn't completely absolved from blame even if it didn't upscale A Different World. It's difficult to understand how these issues made it past reviews or quality control checks to land in front of viewers' eyeballs in the show's current state. This comes as Netflix is also currently under fire for using AI to reproduce the voice of murdered influencer Gabby Petito, and was called out last year for broadcasting a true crime documentary that contained AI-generated images.

Netflix Used AI Tech to Upscale 1980s Sitcom With Nightmarish Results

Netflix used AI technology to upscale a 1980s sitcom, but the result has left viewers horrified. The streamer's HD remaster is filled with malformed hands, garbled text, and warped faces. In February, Netflix added A Different World -- a spin-off series of The Cosby Show that aired from 1987 to 1993 -- to its streaming platform and listed as "HD." However, fans immediately started noticing that something was off in Netflix's supposed HD remaster of A Different World. According to Futurism, content creators have pointed out significant issues with Netflix's upscaling of A Different World. Originally shot on film and later released on DVD, the series appears to have been poorly processed, either by Netflix or the rights holder responsible for the footage. Netflix hasn't disclosed the upscaling methods used to remaster A Different World from its original 480p or 360p broadcast resolution, but viewers have pointed out clear signs of sloppy AI processing. According to Futurism, telltale details suggest that an AI algorithm was used to sharpen pixelated frames, often with disastrous results. The show's intro credits feature distorted hands, misaligned facial features, and botched logos. Within the episodes, characters' faces appear unnatural, and background text -- originally too pixelated to read -- has been replaced with nonsensical symbols. Upscaling is meant to adapt old, low-resolution footage for modern high-definition screens. When done properly, skilled artists refine the footage with computer assistance, producing a subtle yet effective enhancement. However, AI-driven upscaling technology remains news and unreliable, frequently distorting rather than improving the original visuals. "You can make one blurry pixel into four pixels, or four pixels into sixteen pixels but you gotta have that information come from somewhere," developer Scott Hanselman says in a viral TikTok video. "From far away, it looks amazing, and you now have a 4K, remastered version of A Different World, which I think we can all agree would be amazing. The problem is AI upscaling image technology isn't quite there yet."

Netflix's hilariously bad AI 'fix' creates pure nightmare fuel

Netflix has a past of AI controversies, but it seems the streaming service hasn't learned its lesson after recently getting mocked for yet another AI mishap. In an attempt to upscale its latest addition, 'A Different World', Netflix used the help of good ol' AI to give the 80s sitcom a polished appeal - what could go wrong? Well, it turns out quite a lot, as instead of a crisp HD viewing experience, onlookers were met with a disarray of warped text and melted faces, transforming the beloved sitcom into an uncanny nightmare. Whether we like it or not, AI is increasingly being used across the creative industries and while there are ways to use AI properly to help improve our workflows, Netflix's recent mishap proves it's not always the perfect solution. Undoubtedly the technology has developed in leaps and bounds in the past few years, but at least this AI fail has made me a little less existential about an AI takeover anytime soon. The sloppy AI 'augmentations' are visible as early as the show's opening credits, featuring janky facial features, wonky hands and even botched logos. In various clips throughout the show, the poor AI edits continue, with viewers noticing more cast members' faces warping, strange video glitches and gibberish text as a result of Netflix's AI 'fix'. Originally intended to fix the show's low resolution, it seems the AI technology isn't refined enough to do the job at hand without distorting the show's content. What perplexes me most is Netflix's efforts to 'upscale' the show and in the process, losing its 80s charm. There's something inherently uncanny about a retro TV show with a fake glossy Ai-ified filter and I for one would prefer authenticity over perfection. It's not the first instance that Netflix has been called out for its questionable AI use - recently the streaming service caught flack for using AI imagery in a true crime documentary. Recently, even the Oscar-winning film The Brutalist was caught up in AI controversy, suggesting that AI will continue to invade the industry but calling out its pitfalls is necessary to (hopefully) ensure that it's used mindfully in the future.

Netflix used AI to enhance the image quality of an 80s sitcom. The result is not what was expected - Softonic

Netflix used AI to enhance the image quality of "A Different World," but the results include blurry visuals and unreadable text, sparking criticism from viewers. Netflix has recently faced some backlash for its attempt to remaster the 80s sitcom "A Different World" using AI. While the goal was to improve the visual quality of the series, the results have sparked widespread criticism. Viewers have noticed significant distortions, particularly in text elements and background details, raising concerns about the limitations of AI upscaling in classic media restoration. The show, a spin-off of The Cosby Show, was recently added to Netflix's U.S. catalog in high definition, but it did not take long for audiences to realize that something was off. Instead of a clean and natural enhancement, the AI-generated upscaling has resulted in an overly smooth and blurred image. Characters and backgrounds appear artificial, and important details seem to have been lost in the process. One of the biggest issues reported by viewers is the handling of on-screen texts and signs, which have become unreadable and distorted. AI upscaling struggles with these elements because it does not recognize words as meaningful content but rather as abstract shapes. This has led to bizarre, indecipherable text appearing throughout the series, making certain scenes confusing and difficult to follow. Tech blogger Scott Hanselman pointed out that the AI's inability to properly process text has resulted in incomprehensible "hieroglyphics" on-screen, making the viewing experience frustrating for longtime fans of the show. Many argue that a simple re-release in its original lower resolution would have been preferable to this flawed enhancement attempt. As AI tools continue to be integrated into media restoration, this case raises questions about the effectiveness of AI upscaling and whether it is a suitable solution for improving classic TV shows. While AI has its place in digital restoration, the controversy surrounding A Different World suggests that it may not always be the right approach.