Microsoft has unveiled an experimental video enhancement feature called Video Super Resolution (VSR) for the Canary release of its Edge web browser. The tech uses machine learning to increase the resolution of low-quality videos on the web.
Mind you, it does not work with DRM-protected videos like the content you’ll typically see on streaming platforms such as Netflix or Hulu. Those who spend a lot of time watching YouTube should, however, should be able to enjoy it properly.
Low resolution videos can be problem if you have a poor Internet connection, or are viewing old content that simply isn’t available in better quality. Microsoft VSR can upscale videos of 720p or lower resolution, as long as their height and width exceed 192 pixels.
A few days ago, we also saw Nvidia launching a similar (albeit, superior) experience for RTX 30 and 40-series graphics cards. It is capable of upscaling lower-resolution content all the way up to 4K, and works with DRM-protected as well as DRM-free videos. Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge users with the aforementioned GPUs can check it out.
Coming back to Microsoft’s VSR, it only works in the Edge browser, provided you also have one of the Nvidia RTX 20/30/40 series or AMD RX5700-RX7800 series GPUs. If you’re taking it for a test drive on your laptop, you need to make sure your device is plugged into a wall outlet since the battery will drain pretty quickly.
The tech uses machine learning to “remove blocky compression artifacts”, improve the clarity of text and upscale videos on the web. When this feature is enabled, users will be able to see an HD icon in the address bar. Microsoft says it’s trying to add automatic Hybrid GPU support for laptops with multiple GPUs.
Meanwhile, you can try VSR by changing your Windows settings to force Edge to run on your discrete GPU. It’s available to only 50% of users running the Canary channel of Edge.
