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Video Colorizer restores natural color to black-and-white, monochrome or faded footage while keeping every subject, the framing and the motion exactly as they are. Ready-to-use REST inference API, best performance, no coldstarts, affordable pricing.

video-to-video
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Idle

$0.2per run·~50 / $10

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README

Video Colorizer

Bring black-and-white footage to life. Video Colorizer restores natural, believable color to grayscale, monochrome or heavily faded video while keeping every subject, the framing and the motion exactly as they are. Colors are inferred from the footage automatically; describe them yourself when you want a specific look.

What It Does

  • Natural colors, automatically The scene is analysed and each element gets its real-world color: skin tones, foliage, sky, water, stone, fabrics and lights.

  • Nothing else changes Subject identity, framing and background geometry are preserved frame for frame; only the color information is added.

  • Your colors when you want them Pass a prompt naming things and their colors ("green grass, blue sky, a red jacket") to steer the result.

Parameters

ParameterRequiredDescription
videoYesGrayscale or desaturated input video (URL or upload). Up to 2 minutes is processed.
promptNoColors to apply, naming each thing and its color. Omit to infer colors automatically.
target_resolutionNoOutput resolution: 480p, 720p, 1080p (default: 720p). Aspect ratio is preserved.
seedNoSeed for reproducible results

Pro Tips

  • Name colors explicitly in prompt ("terracotta roofs, ochre walls, golden street lights"); vague words like "natural" or "vivid" on their own do little.
  • Old film scans: run through a restoration or upscaling tool first if the source is heavily damaged; the colorizer is not a denoiser.
  • Keep the same seed to reproduce a result.

Limits and Performance

  • Max clip length per job: 2 minutes (longer input is truncated)
  • Processing speed: roughly 8 seconds of wall time per second of video at 720p, about 20 seconds per second at 1080p

Pricing

Billing duration: Input media duration is rounded up to whole seconds. The minimum billed duration is 3 seconds; shorter inputs are billed as 3 seconds. Input beyond 2 minutes is not processed and not billed.

Per-second billing with a 3-second minimum. The table below lists prices per 5 seconds for easy comparison.

Output ResolutionCost per 5 seconds
480p$0.10
720p$0.20
1080p$0.50

Billing Rules

  • Minimum charge: 3 seconds
  • Per-second rate = (price per 5 seconds) ÷ 5
  • Billed duration = video length in seconds (rounded up), with a 3-second minimum, capped at 120 seconds
  • Total cost = billed duration × per-second rate (by output resolution)

Notes

  • Video is the only required field.
  • Maximum processed video length per job: 2 minutes.
  • Ensure video URLs are publicly accessible.
Note:This website uses AI models provided by third parties. Documentation prices are for reference and may be outdated. The Generate button shows an estimate; the final task charge prevails.

Video Colorizer API — Quick start

Grab a WaveSpeedAI API key, then call POST https://api.wavespeed.ai/api/v3/wavespeed-ai/video-colorizer with your input as JSON. The endpoint returns a prediction id. Start polling the result endpoint around every 2 seconds, increase the interval for long-running tasks, and stop on any terminal status. On completed, read output values from data.outputs. Examples for Video Colorizer below.

HTTP example
set -euo pipefail

: "${WAVESPEED_API_KEY:?Set WAVESPEED_API_KEY}"

REQUEST_BODY=$(cat <<'JSON'
{
    "video": "https://interactive-examples.mdn.mozilla.net/media/cc0-videos/flower.mp4",
    "target_resolution": "720p"
}
JSON
)

# 1. Submit the prediction.
SUBMIT_RESPONSE=$(curl --silent --show-error --fail-with-body \
  -X POST "https://api.wavespeed.ai/api/v3/wavespeed-ai/video-colorizer" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $WAVESPEED_API_KEY" \
  -d "$REQUEST_BODY")

TASK=$(printf '%s' "$SUBMIT_RESPONSE" | jq 'if has("data") then .data else . end')
PREDICTION_ID=$(printf '%s' "$TASK" | jq -r '.id')
if [ -z "$PREDICTION_ID" ] || [ "$PREDICTION_ID" = "null" ]; then
  printf 'Submission response did not contain a prediction id
' >&2
  exit 1
fi
RESULT_URL="https://api.wavespeed.ai/api/v3/predictions/$PREDICTION_ID/result"

# 2. Poll until the prediction finishes.
while true; do
  RESPONSE=$(curl --silent --show-error --fail-with-body "$RESULT_URL" \
    -H "Authorization: Bearer $WAVESPEED_API_KEY")
  RESULT=$(printf '%s' "$RESPONSE" | jq 'if has("data") then .data else . end')
  STATUS=$(printf '%s' "$RESULT" | jq -r '.status')
  case "$STATUS" in
    completed) printf '%s\n' "$RESULT" | jq '.outputs'; break ;;
    failed|cancelled|timeout|deleted) printf '%s\n' "$RESULT" | jq . >&2; exit 1 ;;
    *) sleep 2 ;;
  esac
done
Node.js example
const submitUrl = "https://api.wavespeed.ai/api/v3/wavespeed-ai/video-colorizer";
const apiKey = process.env.WAVESPEED_API_KEY;
if (!apiKey) throw new Error('Set WAVESPEED_API_KEY');

async function requestJson(url, options = {}) {
  const response = await fetch(url, options);
  if (!response.ok) throw new Error(await response.text());
  return response.json();
}

// 1. Submit the prediction.
const body = await requestJson(submitUrl, {
  method: "POST",
  headers: {
    "Authorization": `Bearer ${apiKey}`,
    "Content-Type": "application/json",
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({
        "video": "https://interactive-examples.mdn.mozilla.net/media/cc0-videos/flower.mp4",
        "target_resolution": "720p"
}),
});
const task = body.data ?? body;
if (!task.id) throw new Error("Submission response did not contain a prediction id");
const resultUrl = `https://api.wavespeed.ai/api/v3/predictions/${task.id}/result`;

// 2. Poll until the prediction finishes.
while (true) {
  const resultBody = await requestJson(resultUrl, {
    headers: { "Authorization": `Bearer ${apiKey}` },
  });
  const result = resultBody.data ?? resultBody;
  if (result.status === "completed") {
    console.log(result.outputs);
    break;
  }
  if (["failed", "cancelled", "timeout", "deleted"].includes(result.status)) throw new Error(JSON.stringify(result));
  await new Promise(resolve => setTimeout(resolve, 2000));
}
Python example
import json
import os
import time
from urllib.request import Request, urlopen

api_key = os.environ["WAVESPEED_API_KEY"]
headers = {"Authorization": f"Bearer {api_key}", "Content-Type": "application/json"}
payload = {
    "video": "https://interactive-examples.mdn.mozilla.net/media/cc0-videos/flower.mp4",
    "target_resolution": "720p"
}

def request_json(url, data=None):
    request = Request(url, data=data, headers=headers, method="POST" if data else "GET")
    with urlopen(request) as response:
        return json.load(response)

# 1. Submit the prediction.
body = request_json("https://api.wavespeed.ai/api/v3/wavespeed-ai/video-colorizer", json.dumps(payload).encode())
task = body.get("data", body)
if not task.get("id"):
    raise RuntimeError("Submission response did not contain a prediction id")
result_url = f"https://api.wavespeed.ai/api/v3/predictions/{task['id']}/result"

# 2. Poll until the prediction finishes.
while True:
    result_body = request_json(result_url)
    result = result_body.get("data", result_body)
    status = result.get("status")
    if status == "completed":
        print(result.get("outputs", []))
        break
    if status in {"failed", "cancelled", "timeout", "deleted"}:
        raise RuntimeError(result)
    time.sleep(2)

Video Colorizer API — Frequently asked questions

What is the Video Colorizer API?

Video Colorizer is a WaveSpeedAI model for video editing, exposed as a REST API on WaveSpeedAI. Video Colorizer restores natural color to black-and-white, monochrome or faded footage while keeping every subject, the framing and the motion exactly as they are. Ready-to-use REST inference API, best performance, no coldstarts, affordable pricing. You can call it programmatically or try it from the playground above.

How do I call the Video Colorizer API?

POST your input parameters to the model's REST endpoint (shown in the API tab of this playground) with your WaveSpeedAI API key in the Authorization header. Submission returns a prediction ID. Poll the result endpoint starting around every 2 seconds, increase the interval for long-running tasks, and stop on any terminal status. The playground generates production-oriented Python, JavaScript, and cURL examples with timeouts, transient-error handling, and safe GET retries. Full request/response shape is documented at https://wavespeed.ai/docs/docs-api/wavespeed-ai/video-colorizer.

How much does Video Colorizer cost per run?

Video Colorizer starts at $0.20 per run. That figure is the base price — the final charge scales with the parameters you set in the form (output size, length, count, references, or whatever knobs this model exposes), so a higher-quality or larger output costs more than a minimal one. The exact cost for your current input is shown live next to the Generate button before you submit, and the actual per-call charge is recorded on the prediction afterwards.

What inputs does Video Colorizer accept?

Key inputs: `prompt`, `video`, `seed`, `target_resolution`. The full JSON schema (types, defaults, allowed values) is rendered above the Generate button and mirrored in the API reference at https://wavespeed.ai/docs/docs-api/wavespeed-ai/video-colorizer.

How do I get started with the Video Colorizer API?

Sign up for a free WaveSpeedAI account to claim starter credits, copy your API key from /accesskey, then call the endpoint shown in the API tab of the playground. The playground also auto-generates a code sample in Python, JavaScript, or cURL for the parameters you've set.

Can I use Video Colorizer outputs commercially?

Commercial usage rights depend on the model's license, set by its provider (WaveSpeedAI). The license summary appears on the model card above; see WaveSpeedAI's Terms of Service for platform-level conditions.

Video Colorizer | AI Black-and-White Video Colorization API on WaveSpeedAI