Following Nvidia, Microsoft Rolls Out Low-Res Video Upscaling on Edge Browser

Microsoft is joining Nvidia in offering a way for users to upscale low-quality internet videos by tapping their computer’s GPU. 

The experimental Video Super Resolution feature is coming(Opens in a new window) to Microsoft’s Edge browser as a beta in the Canary Channel(Opens in a new window). It promises to sharpen images and add clarity to low-resolution grainy videos by using AI algorithms running on a computer’s GPU. Once activated, the feature can upscale the video on the Edge browser, including from YouTube and other streaming services. 

The feature on the Edge browser. (Credit: PCMag)

Last week, Nvidia launched a similar feature for the Edge and Chrome browser. But Nvidia’s system is currently exclusive to GeForce RTX 3000 and 4000 GPUs, whereas Microsoft’s implementation can use both Nvidia and AMD GPUs to upscale a video.

Specifically, Microsoft designed the feature to tap into Nvidia’s RTX 2000, 3000, and 4000 series, along with AMD Radeon RX models from the RX5700 to the upcoming RX7800 series.

That said, Microsoft’s Video Super Resolution feature can only upscale videos under 720p. Nvidia’s solution supports a wider range of videos, from 360p to 1440p. In addition, Microsoft’s implementation only works on videos with a height and width greater than 192 pixels.

“The feature is currently available in the Canary channel for 50% of users and will be enabled when the above conditions are met,” the company adds. 

We tried the feature on Monday, but the upscaling was subtle on 480p videos, and hard to notice (see below), so don’t expect any drastic improvements. In darker videos, you can also still see artifacts in the images. 

(Credit: PCMag)

(Credit: PCMag)

(PCMag)

If you’re interested, you can manually activate the feature by typing in “edge://flags/#edge-video-super-resolution” into the Canary release of the browser and then clicking enable.

“When the feature is enabled, you will see an HD icon in the address bar,” Microsoft adds. “We are working on automatic Hybrid GPU support for laptops with multiple GPUs.”