A limited number of Microsoft Edge Canary users will have access to the Video Super Resolution (VSR) capability, which was unveiled at CES 2023.
By upscaling the resolution and removing block compression artefacts, VSR employs Microsoft Research’s AI technology to improve video quality inside the browser. From today, this feature can be tested on various streaming services by 50% of Microsoft Edge Canary users.
Given that “one out of three movies in Edge are played in 480p or lower,” according to Microsoft’s own research, this functionality can be very useful. Those with little network capacity who are forced to use low-quality streaming will especially benefit from it.
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But before you can use this functionality, there are a few requirements. A dedicated graphics card from AMD or Nvidia (RTX 20-series and newer) is necessary for Video Super Resolution, for example (RX 5700 and newer).
Mirosoft has said that it would soon issue an upgrade that allows for seamless switching between iGPU and dGPU. Moreover, you are unable to use the feature when your laptop is unplugged or with videos that have DRM protection.
Since AI closely resembles Nvidia’s own endeavour, known as RTX Video Super Resolution, it looks that AI is the future of video upscaling in general. A statement given to PC Gamer claims that this function enables upscaling video to resolutions higher than 1080p, supporting native resolutions between 360p and 1440p and video with a frame rate of up to 144Hz.
The benefit is that it works with Chrome and Edge browsers, making sure Chrome users are not forgotten. But, in exchange for the ability to upscale films to 4K resolution, this feature is only available if you have an RTX 3000-series or 4000-series GPU.
We’ll have to wait and see, but it’s possible that other browsers like Safari, Opera, or Firefox will follow soon.
