How iQIYI’s AI Video Restoration and Smart TV Are Redefining Broadcast Media

On May 27, the National Radio and Television Administration announced the winners of the first MediaAIAC (Broadcast and Network Audio‑Visual AI Application Innovation Competition) and the first High‑Tech Video Innovation Competition at the CCBN2021 conference.

iQIYI secured first‑place awards in two MediaAIAC categories—“Video Restoration” for its ZoomAI Video Restoration System and “Smart Broadcast Terminal” for the AI TV Guo 5S PLUS—and a second‑place award in the “Interactive Video” category of the High‑Tech Video competition for its XR‑based multi‑camera interactive live‑streaming system.

The ZoomAI system, developed in‑house, can automatically combine algorithm modules such as scratch removal, super‑resolution, intelligent frame interpolation, color enhancement, black‑and‑white coloring, and face restoration to achieve one‑click, fully automatic restoration. Compared with manual frame‑by‑frame work, ZoomAI improves efficiency by 500× while maintaining high visual fidelity.

To date iQIYI has applied ZoomAI to more than 70 classic TV dramas, over 140 classic films, a large volume of UGC, 15 animations and 40 documentaries, inserting frames for the latter two groups. Automatic high‑precision restoration of 50 classic dramas has increased playback smoothness, and view counts for restored titles have risen 5‑10 times.

The AI TV Guo 5S PLUS transforms the traditional passive TV‑watching experience into an active, personalized one. Powered by iQIYI’s “Qiguang” technology, it integrates multimodal person, subtitle and music recognition, allowing users to identify celebrities, encyclopedia entries, and other information on any screen, effectively turning “watching TV” into “playing TV”. The device can recognize nearly 100 000 celebrities with 99.5 % accuracy and includes an AI voice remote co‑developed with Baidu.

Leveraging 5G and gigabit networks, iQIYI’s self‑developed XR‑based multi‑camera interactive live‑streaming system supports storyline selection, view‑angle switching, on‑screen interaction and audience voting, all within sub‑500 ms latency using RTCDN audio‑video transmission. It has been used for the “iQIYI for Love” gala, enabling a “four‑screen” multi‑view experience, and for THE9’s “Virtual City” immersive concert, narrowing the gap between audiences and performers.

Looking ahead, iQIYI plans to continue refining AI and intelligent production technologies to enhance user audiovisual experience and drive further innovation in the network‑viewing ecosystem.