After the recent reveal from Intel about preparing its Video Super Resolution (VSR) for Google's Chrome browsers, Microsoft has announced its version of VSR for use in its proprietary Edge browser, which was based on the Chromium browser.
Microsoft introduces experimental Video Super Resolution to its Edge web browser
This new video upscaling integration from Microsoft will allow AMD's Radeon graphics cards and NVIDIA's GeForce GPUs to have the availability to take advantage of the latest enhancement technology. It has been confirmed that AMD Radeon RX 5700 GPUs through the company's 7800 series will be compatible. In contrast, NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 20 through 40 series that utilize Tensor cores will have the same functionality as its competitor.
Microsoft Edge Video Super Resolution
NVIDIA (RTX 20 Series and newer)
AMD (RX5700 and newer)https://t.co/dYor1Jlfzw pic.twitter.com/L75g7QQ44s— HXL (@9550pro) March 4, 2023
Microsoft's new EDGE VSR uses artificial intelligence to enhance video resolutions below 720p and not less than 192 pixels². Additionally, suppose the video has Digital Rights Management (DRM) protection, such as Netflix, Prime Video, and Hulu content. In that case, the new EDGE VSR might not be fully compatible.
The new technology will enhance text visibility and assist with removing artifacts from video compression.
edge://flags/#edge-video-super-resolution
Systems that run on battery will also be unable to access the capability. Right now, only half of the users that meet the conditions for the functionality will have access to EDGE VSR. Microsoft reports that the corporation plans to add the same capability in discrete and integrated GPUs.
Due to the computation power required to cleanup and upscale videos, video super resolution (VSR) is currently offered only when the following conditions are met:
- The device has one of the following GPUs: Nvidia RTX 20/30/40 series OR AMD RX5700-RX7800 series GPUs.
- The video is played at less than 720p resolution.
- The device is connected to AC power.
- Both the height and width of the video are greater than 192 pixels.
- The video is not protected with Digital Rights Management technologies like PlayReady or Widevine. Frames from these protected videos are not accessible to the browser for processing.
We are working on automatic Hybrid GPU support for laptops with multiple GPUs. Meanwhile, you can try VSR by changing Windows settings to force Edge to run on your discrete GPU.
The feature is currently available in the Canary channel for 50% of users and will be enabled when the above conditions are met. When the feature is enabled, you will see an HD icon in the address bar. Clicking the icon will allow you to enable or disable the feature.
If you would like the try the feature out manually, you can enable the feature in edge://flags/#edge-video-super-resolution
We are excited for you to try this out! We’d love to get your feedback on this feature, so don’t forget to click the thumbs up 👍 or down👎buttons (edge://settings/system) to let us know what you think!
Wccftech does want to warn Microsoft Edge users that enabling any experimental features on the browser can disrupt the functionality and should proceed with caution. Users can expect to lose browser data and full browser use if any issues arise.
News Sources: Microsoft Insider, 9550pro (Twitter), VideoCardz
