Google Chrome now supports new Nvidia technology that upscales video playing in the web browser with what look to be seriously impressive results, or at least this feature is now live in testing.
VideoCardz (opens in new tab) (via Tom’s Hardware (opens in new tab)) noticed the preview release of the tech which is called Nvidia RTX Video Super Resolution, and is basically the equivalent of DLSS, but for video in the browser. Nvidia showed it off back at CES 2023, and for example ran a clip of Apex Legends recorded at 1080p, which was upscaled to 4K; and it looked very smart indeed (see the video clip below).
Like DLSS, RTX Video Super Resolution (VSR) uses AI to upscale the footage and can work its magic on anything from 360p up to 1440p resolution videos.
Is there a catch? Sort of, because as the name suggests, this is for RTX graphics cards only – and Nvidia only supports newer RTX 3000 and 4000 models. Those with an RTX 2000 family GPU aren’t able to benefit – at least not initially (we’ll come back to that).
As mentioned, VSR is in testing currently, as an early stable update for Google Chrome to be precise, before rolling out fully in the near future (with Chrome version 110). The feature will be coming to Microsoft Edge as well (which is based on the Chromium engine, too), but it’ll also need a new GeForce driver to work along with the finished release in the respective browser.
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We’re really interested to see this actually in action, because the results Nvidia has demonstrated look compelling, to say the least. But sadly, this writer will have to rely on feedback from others, as he only has a 20 series RTX graphics card in his PC.
The good news, though, is that Nvidia has promised to bring support for the tech to RTX 2000 cards in the future, although we don’t have a timeframe (we were told on Twitter (opens in new tab) that the “RTX 20 series [is] coming later”).
For those using Google Chrome (most people), or indeed Edge, who have an Nvidia RTX GPU, this could be a huge step forward for watching videos in the browser, from game streaming through to Netflix viewing, and, well, anything really. It’ll be very cool to be able to watch a film on Netflix for example at Full HD and get that upscaled to 4K in the browser, if the results do indeed work as smoothly as the game footage Nvidia showed off at CES.
Remember, the tech might go into Chrome very soon, but you won’t be able to use it until the next GeForce graphics driver arrives, which is expected to land in late February (assuming no hiccups). When that happens, you’ll also need to turn on the feature in the Nvidia control panel (it won’t be set to run by default).
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