By using AI upscaling software, I have practically remastered the FMVs [Full Motion Videos] and Pre-Rendered Cutscenes of Final Fantasy XIII. By carefully fragmenting each section of a FMV and Pre-Rendered Cutscenes into sequences, so that each sequence can be upscaled with the best results that can be achieved.

Using GreenThumb2's Cutscene Extraction Tool, I have been able to extract the WMPs. Thanks to the tool, these have been organised nicely, into chapter folders. From there, I was able to start the remastering process.

This is where N12734's mod comes into play. When I have successfully upscaled the cutscenes to 4K and converted to Bink, I have mixed the audio tracks from his mod into these upscales. This was easy to do as they were clearly labelled with their filename and their track number.

What is new is that the AI model now used is providing better frame results than what was delivered in v1.0. This is now being superseded with v2.0/v2.1. Also, by allocating a perfect bitrate rather than the defined bitrate being everywhere in v1.0, the file sizes are being slightly lower than v1.0.

Also what is now new, but will not be worked on until the remastering process has been 100% completed, is the 60FPS support for FMVs and Pre-Rendered Cutscenes. 120 FPS is not possible, due to Bink internal limitation being locked to 60 FPS, regardless to what refresh rate the user is running the game on.

To keep up to date with all the releases, announcements and get support, join my new Discord Server: Invite Link[discord.gg]

[More screenshots are on Nexus Mods.]

[YouTube will compress the audio regardless. Hopefully you can hear the clarity of the audio. There is no audio comparison in this video.]

If the video does not play properly, use the link below that will open up on your default browser.
YouTube Video.

Please note; You will either need to have a capable CPU or GPU to playback YouTube AV1 Video Codec which is used for 8K video playback. For GPU side, you need an RTX 3060 IIRC.

Simple, Bink loves to add a lot of compression noise. Plus, 4K contains four times more pixels than 1080p. I had to up the Bitrate else there are very noticeable mild-moderate-slightly severe macro-blocking alongside numbed details within the frames. This game consists of between 2-3 minutes FMVs that contains anywhere between 2000-6000+ frames.

Furthermore, some of the FMVs are detailed and some FMVs becomes more detailed when processed through Topaz VEAI. Who would rather prefer compression noise over detail?

Yes, Bink does seem to be automatically apply appropriate bitrate on fast motioned FMVs, but there are many frames that suffer from compression artefacts. Due to the high bitrate, the playback of these FMVs may STUTTER for the first few seconds. This could also be a side effect of having a slow HDD, that is slowly reading the movie files and frames.

I would highly recommend to defragment your hard drive when using these 4K Upscaled FMVs for optimal playback performance. Use Defraggler[www.ccleaner.com] to do this, Windows Defragmentation tool is useless.

• FFXIII HD Movie FMVs by GreenThumb2: FF XIII HD Full Motion Video - English at Final Fantasy XIII Nexus Mods[www.nexusmods.com] - Use this if you are playing on 1080p instead of 4K. [Uses FMV Main Program from that mod into this.]
  
• Higher Quality Cutscene Audio by N12734: Higher quality cutscene audio (English) at Final Fantasy XIII Nexus Mods[www.nexusmods.com] - Extracted from the PS3 version of FFXIII. [Implements the audio tracks into the these upscales.]

Download Final Fantasy XIII - 4K Remastered FMVs & Pre-Rendered Cutscenes from Nexus Mods.[www.nexusmods.com]

* Under Main Files will be AIO packs for the English version. FMVs and Pre-Rendered Cutscenes has been separated, to allow users to mix between different frame rate videos (e.g., 60 FPS In-game Pre-Rendered Cutscenes with 30 FPS FMVs). Japanese packs will be under Main File too!

* English FMVs and Pre-Rendered Cutscenes are fully remastered and released.

English FMVs Total File Size: 177GB [60 FPS] | 145GB [30 FPS]
Current Japanese FMVs Total File Size: 16.87GB

Please note that if you have GreenThumb2's FFXIII HD FMVs installed and want to use this, run the Install_FFXIII_HD_Movies.bat (from his upscales) and choose the option to revert the movie files to original. You do not need to delete the .bin files from his HD FMVs upscales from the Movie (if you want to test / make a decision on which to use). My upscales has the same file name as GreenThumb's HD FMVs file name but with _4k at the end, to prevent file conflict.

Simply, install the main installer file within the root directory of Final Fantasy XIII. This is in Steam --> Steamapps --> common --> FINAL FANTASY XIII folder. Once you have done that, download the 4K movie files separately and place them into movie folder. This movie folder needs to be created manually if you have not extracted the contents as a folder - DO NOT PUT THE FMVS IN WHITE_DATA --> MOVIE folder.

Once you have done that, open up the Install_FFXIII_4K_Movies_English.bat file [or Install_FFXIII_4K_Japanese.bat for Japanese FMVs] and follow the instructions on screen.

GreenThumb2 suggested / recommended to use Add New Movies/Ones option as that is more quicker to add/replace movie files. Replace all movies is generally used to update a pre-existing FMV to a newer version or to re-install a corrupted FMV.

[As you can see, you will need to create a new folder called "movie", which can be seen at the top, within the FINAL FANTASY XIII folder. This is to allow the main FMV installer to detect the movie files for installation.]

[Within this folder, you must extract each part/section/chapter FMVs into this folder.]

Please note; for the Japanese FMVs [Only Opening Credits, The Hanging Edge, Lake Bresha, Vile Peaks], you need to bulk rename these files so that they have _j at the end of their file name. E.g. z000_a_4k.bin --> z000_a_4k_j.bin.

The main FMV installer, needs to be extracted directly within FINAL FANTASY XIII folder, where the ffxiiilauncher.exe is in.

Error -9: This is indicating that the FMVs could not be found within the movie folder. This suggests that you have not extracted the FMVs to the correct folder, that you have to make within the FINAL FANTASY XIII folder or that you have not created a folder called "movie" within the game's root folder.

Solution: Make sure that you have created a movie folder, where the FMV files are extracted to. Also, if you are installing Japanese FMVs, the following section/chapter [Opening Credits, The Hanging Edge, Lake Bresha & Vile Peaks] needs to be renamed with _j at the end of the filename. E.g. z000_a_4k.bin --> z000_a_4k_j.bin.

Error -23: This error occurs when the original game files, that are required for the FMVs to be installed, are missing. This also could occur, when the installer found another Final Fantasy XIII path that is not the correct path.

Solution: This can be corrected within FFXIII_Dir.txt by pasting the correct Final Fantasy XIII path.
To fix this issue, make sure the movie folder, within white_data folder, is still there, alongside the files within it. Worst case scenario, you will need to verify the game's files on Steam.

1. First off, download and extract Nova Chrysalia from the link provided below. Preferably to extract the files within a folder, on your desktop.
Click here to go to the Nexus Mods page to download Nova Chrysalia [REQUIRED][www.nexusmods.com]

2. Next, download any v2.0 of the FMVs/Pre-Rendered Cutscenes of your choosing. Extract the modpack (with the file extension of .ncmp) anywhere. Again it is preferable to extract these into a folder on your desktop.

3. Launch up Nova Chrysalia Mod Tool. Ensure that you have unpacked the files of FFXIII already (and make sure you have directed the mod tool to the correct FFXIII directory path). To do this, simply hit the Unpack Game Files (EN) or (JP).

After you have done that (use the above screenshot for reference), under the Filesystem on the right, make sure it is changed to Unpacked Mode.

4. Next up, hit over to ModPack Manager on the second tab.

In this section, you will be able to see all the mods you have added to the Nova Chrysalia tools. You will be able to install, uninstall, read the readme files for any mods that were created and added for Nova Chrysalia.

5. Let's start off by hitting the Add ModPack button on the right.
Now, a new window will appear, requiring you to add a NCMP (Nova Chrysalia ModPack) to the tool. Direct the window to the file you have extracted not so long ago, then open it.

6. You will now be able to see the 4K Remastered FMV added into the Nova Chrysalia tool. Double-Click it and click on Install Mod. This may take few minutes depending on how fast your storage is and the amount of files being added/overwritten.


7. You will be told afterwards, when the FMV have been installed successfully like this. Alongside this, you are good to go and play the game with the FMV installed. You will need to open Nova Chrysalia and launch the game every time to play the game in unpacked mode.

Using the installer, is very easy and self explanatory. Majority of the instructions are provided when you open the installer.

[NOTES]

• You still need to download v2.0/v2.1 FMVs from either Google Drive or Nexus Mods.
  
• You will need approximately 20GB free space for each 4K pack, to allow the installer to unpack the files and install them for you. The installer WILL check if you have the storage space beforehand, and will prompt you if you do not not have enough space to install.
  
• DO NOT CLOSE THE INSTALLER VIA THE CROSS BUTTON. Exit the installer as you would normally once the installation has been completed.
  
• DO NOT modify any of the files in support_txts.

• Download and extract the 4K Movie Installer[drive.google.com], made by Surihix. Extract the entire contents of the archive to the desktop or any other preferred location.
  
• Download either each or all of the 4K Remastered FMVs and Pre-Rendered Cutscenes from Google Drive or Nexus Mods. Open the archive and extract the NCMPs into the movie_data folder, located in the folder that you have created, that contains the 4K Movie Installer contents.
  
• Open up "Install 4k FMVs.bat" and follow the instructions provided clearly on the console. Once you have installed the movie files, exit from the command prompt within it, rather than closing the command prompt via the cross button on the window.
  
• After the installation, you may delete the files under movie_data.

PLEASE NOTE: WHEN INSTALLING PATCHES USING THE INSTALLER, YOU WILL NEED ALL OF THE BINK FILES/4K PACKS IN MOVIE_DATA. THEN CHOOSE "RE-ADD MOVIES" OPTION TO INSTALL WITH PATCHES. This is because Re-Add Movies option, deletes all currently install 4K FMVs and Pre-Rendered Cutscenes, and installs them again.

• No_One (Myself) - Upscaling the Cutscenes to 4K and Converting them back to Bink, whilst implementing the HQ Audio Tracks.
  
• GreenThumb2 - For his Cutscene Extraction tool, to enable me in extracting each cutscene easily and efficiently. For his Main FMV Program, that allows efficient and ease of use installation of cutscenes, also provides a streamlined naming convention that is flexible. And finally, for generally helping me, alongside granting me permission to use his tools and his main FMV program within this mod. Without him, mods for FFXIII would have been impossible. Plus, he's a very friendly guy, who committed his time in helping me understand more about Bink and this game's trilogy internals.
  
• N12734 - For extracting the audio tracks from the PS3 version and porting them over to the PC side. For granting me permission to mix the audio tracks from his mod into the upscales.
  
• Skopin - Thanks to him for simultaneously upscaling and processing the Japanese FMVs.
  
• FluffyQuack - For his ff13tool. I assume this is used for extracting game files directly.
  
• Krisan Thyme + the rest of the team - The Development of Nova Chrysalia.
  
• ベンジ - Helped a lot with packing the files into 7z archive, with lossless compression for Torrent distribution and seeding the torrents.