Enable and use video super resolution in Microsoft Edge

Let’s admit it; we always want to watch our favorite videos in high definition. But sometimes it is impossible because the videos are originally shot in low quality.

Yes, there are AI tools available on the internet that claim to improve video quality, but most of them require a premium subscription.

Now Microsoft has come up with a solution that would boost the Edge Browser and give users an option to improve the quality of the video being watched.

What is video super resolution in Microsoft Edge?

Video super resolution is the function we are talking about. The feature improves the quality of the videos viewed in Microsoft Edge.

Microsoft Edge Browser does this by using machine learning. According to Microsoft, the Edge browser “uses graphics card agnostic algorithms to remove blocky compression artifacts and upscale video resolution so you can enjoy sharp and clear videos on YouTube and other video streaming platforms”

If you need more information on how the feature works, you should check out this blog post from Microsoft.

Video Super Resolution on Edge – Requirements

Even though the video super resolution (VSR) is offered for free and is already part of the Microsoft Edge browser, but still has a hefty list of requirements.

It’s important to note that the feature upscales videos; therefore computing power is required. Currently, only high-end PC users can use the feature in their Microsoft Edge browser. These are the requirements:

• The device has one of the following graphics cards (GPUs): Nvidia RTX 20/30/40 series or AMD RX5700-RX7800 Series GPUs.
• The video plays at less than 720p resolution.
• The device does not operate on battery power.
• Both the height and width of the video are greater than 192 pixels.
• The video is not protected by Digital Rights Management technologies such as PlayReady or Widevine.

Video Super Resolution on Edge – Availability

The Video Super Resolution feature is still being tested and as part of the experiment, Microsoft has rolled out the feature in the Canary channel.

So please use the Edge Canary web browser if you want to test the new feature. However, Microsoft plans to expand the feature to more customers in the coming weeks.

Microsoft is also working on expanding the list of supported GPUs. So it will take some time for the feature to reach every user and gain support for more GPUs.

How to enable video super resolution in Microsoft Edge?

You don’t need to do anything if you have a compatible GPU and are using Microsoft Edge Canary. The Edge Video Super Resolution components may be enabled and you can use the feature while watching videos.

But it is still recommended to enable Edge browser feature manually. Here’s how to enable Video Super Resolution in the Microsoft Edge browser.

1. Open Microsoft Edge (Canary) on your computer.

2. When the browser opens, go to this address (paste the URL in the address bar and press Enter).

edge://flags/#edge-video-super-resolution

3. Now click on the drop down next to the ‘Edge video super resolution‘flag.

4. From the drop-down list, select ‘Enabled‘ and click the ‘Restarting‘ knob.

That is it! Here’s how to enable video super resolution in the Microsoft Edge browser.

How to enable or disable video enhancement?

If your PC meets all the conditions and you have enabled the Edge Video Super Resolution flag, you can easily enable or disable the video enhancement.

Open the video for which you want to enable the video enhancement; you will find a new one HD icon in the address bar.

To enable or disable the video enhancement, click the HD icon in the address bar and select it switch for ‘Improve videos‘

If you are not satisfied with the video improvements, you can turn them off via the HD icon or change the Edge preferences.

You can permanently enable and disable the feature by continuing edge://settings/system and select the switch for ‘Enhance videos in Microsoft Edge‘.

Also Read: Using ChatGPT on Microsoft Edge & Bing

Microsoft is committed to getting users to use the Edge browser. It is also experimenting with an AI chatbot with its Bing Search engine, which could serve as a ChatGPT alternative. What is your opinion on the ‘Video super resolution’ in Microsoft Edge? Do you find this new feature useful? Let us know what you think in the comments.