Topaz releases Hyperion 2.5 for 8-bit AI video-to-HDR conversion

• Hyperion 2.5 converts 8-bit generative video into HDR deliverables, including 10-bit ProRes, 16-bit EXR, and 10-bit H.265, according to topazlabs' release post.
• The conversion redistributes luminance and color across highlights, midtones, and shadows, while the Hyperion 2.5 developer documentation lists no manual adjustment controls.
• The professional export paths are 10-bit ProRes in BT.2020 PQ and 16-bit half-float EXR in ACES2065-1, as topazlabs' output-details reply specifies.
• Astra has the model now, while desktop Topaz Video remains "coming soon," per topazlabs' release post.

Hyperion 2.5 can also take a 10-bit 4K HDR GenAI source to a 16-bit EXR target, according to its model page. Topaz's SDR-to-HDR technical notes say HDR output needs an HDR-capable display, otherwise values can appear clipped or flattened. An early community post reports that downloaded EXRs identified themselves as Linear Rec.2020 rather than the documented ACES2065-1.

Topaz is positioning Hyperion 2.5 as a finishing model for generated footage, with Astra as its first delivery surface.

The model documentation lists these conversion paths:

• 8-bit SDR GenAI video to 10-bit ProRes or 16-bit EXR for HDR finishing.
• 10-bit 4K HDR GenAI video to 16-bit EXR for compositing, grading, and mastering.
• An automatic luminance-and-color redistribution across highlights, midtones, and shadows.

Topaz says the update improves tonal separation, highlight detail, text, small faces, and fast motion. The launch card shows its SDR-to-HDR comparison.

The format split is the release's practical hook: ProRes is the HDR delivery option, while 16-bit half-float EXR is aimed at higher-precision grading and VFX work.

Topaz specifies BT.2020 PQ for the ProRes output and ACES2065-1 for EXR in its Hyperion 2.5 documentation. Its release announcement also names a 10-bit H.265 route.

That color-space declaration is already being tested in finishing software. A Fusion user in Topaz's community forum reported that downloaded EXR metadata read Linear Rec.2020, and that interpreting the file as ACES2065-1 produced a red image.

Topaz separates the jobs: Hyperion handles HDR conversion, while Starlight Precise 2.6 handles upscaling.

The company's SDR-to-HDR notes list the source conditions that shape the result:

• Interlaced footage needs deinterlacing before SDR-to-HDR conversion.
• Less compression and fewer artifacts improve the starting material.
• Inconsistently lit moving shots can produce surging or blooming.
• Very muddy, dark, bright, or blown-out footage can offer too little range for the conversion to build on.

Topaz's own production example puts the tools in sequence. Hoyt Dwyer, creative director and showrunner of Primordial Soup, used Starlight Precise 2.5 to upscale and refine footage across the series, then used Hyperion 2.5 on two recent episodes.

The model is live in Astra, while topazlabs' release post gives no desktop date beyond "coming soon" for Topaz Video.

Developers can call the video endpoint with the model slug hyp-2.5, according to the API documentation. Its listed estimates are 13.0208 frames per credit at 1080p and 5.9589 at 4K, both calculated at 30 fps. That puts a 30-second render at roughly 69 credits in 1080p or 151 credits in 4K.