How to fix a blurry video

"Blurry" has five different causes. Each one has a different fix, and some can't be fully fixed at all.

Cause	How to recognise it	Fix
Low resolution	Soft everywhere, blocky when zoomed	AI upscaling works well
Compression	Smearing on motion, blocks in dark areas	AI upscalers with artefact removal; re-download a higher-bitrate copy if possible
Missed focus	Background sharp, subject soft	Mild sharpening; AI helps a little
Motion blur	Streaks in the direction of motion	Hard to fix; deblur models help on small amounts
Digital stabilisation / zoom	Soft and wobbly, crop visible	Re-export from the original; then upscale

Quick fixes

1. Find the original. Messaging apps recompress videos. Get the file from the camera or cloud backup.
2. Sharpen lightly. In any editor, an unsharp mask of radius 1–2 px at low strength. Too much creates halos.
3. Upscale with AI if the cause is resolution or compression. Upsampler's free video upscaler runs in the browser.

Old tapes have their own problems. See upscaling VHS and DVD footage.