Neowin reports that Video Super Resolution (VSR), a feature announced during CES 2023, will be accessible to select Microsoft Edge Canary users.
VSR uses Microsoft Research’s AI technology to enhance video quality within the browser by upscaling the resolution and eliminating block compression artifacts. Starting today, 50% of Microsoft Edge Canary users can try out this feature on different streaming platforms.
This feature can be extremely helpful, as per Microsoft’s own data, “one out of three videos in Edge is played at 480p or lower.” It will particularly benefit users with limited network bandwidth that have to stick with poor-quality streaming.
Nevertheless, certain conditions must be met before you can use this feature. For instance, VSR requires a dedicated graphics card from either Nvidia (RTX 20-series and newer) or AMD (RX 5700 and newer).
Microsoft has indicated that it will release an update that enables automatic switching between iGPU and dGPU shortly. Additionally, you cannot use the feature with DRM-protected videos or when your laptop is not plugged in.
AI appears to be the future of video upscaling in general, as it closely resembles Nvidia’s own initiative, known as RTX Video Super Resolution. According to a statement provided to PC Gamer, this feature enables upscaling video to resolutions beyond 1080p, accommodating native resolutions ranging from 360p to 1440p and video up to 144Hz frame rate.
The advantage is that it is compatible with both Chrome and Edge browsers, ensuring that Chrome users are not overlooked. However, this feature is only accessible if you have an RTX 3000-series or 4000-series GPU, but in exchange, it enables upscaling of videos to 4K resolution.
Perhaps other browsers such as Safari, Opera, or Firefox will also follow soon but we will have to wait and see.
