microsoft is new Upscaling function Video Super Resolution – or in the Edge browser called VSR. This feature is a direct competitor to Nvidia’s RTX Super Resolution, which relies on similar machine learning technology to upscale low-res video to high resolution. This feature is currently available to Edge users running Canary Channel Insider builds of the browser.
Microsoft’s implementation is specifically designed to reduce the amount of internet bandwidth required to stream video to your PC and is limited to 720P video or below. Microsoft works with AI upscalers and focuses on removing blocky compression artifacts to improve image quality.
The VSR’s limitation to sub-HD resolutions (for now?) is aimed at customers with bad internet connectors and older videos recorded before 1080P and 4K became the norm. This could be the first step towards creating an upscaler that works with higher resolution video.
VSR is in stark contrast to Nvidia’s RTX Super Resolution. RTX Super Resolution has no resolution limits. You can upscale 360P YouTube videos to 4K if you want. Microsoft’s resolution limit may be a limit related to testing purposes, or it may be a limit for AI upscalers in general. Either way, Nvidia’s solution is flexible.
If you have access to VSR, just enter the command. edge://flags/#edge-video-super-resolution, Activate the feature. All video formats should work, except DRM-protected movies and videos.
In contrast to RTX Super Resolution, VSR runs on both Nvidia and AMD GPUs. Requirement is RTX 20 series GPU or newer, or Radeon RX 5700 series GPU or newer. More GPUs are likely to be supported in the future, but this will depend on how Microsoft’s GPU-intensive AI upscaler performs.
Mobile versions of these GPUs are also supported, but with a big caveat. You have to manually run Microsoft Edge on your laptop’s discrete GPU and plug in AC power at the same time.
