Got a fairly recent Nvidia discrete graphics card? Got a Firefox browser, huge collection of extensions optional? Then you’ve got everything you need to let your GPU flex its muscles on upscaling some low-quality web video. Nvidia announced yesterday that Mozilla’s browser has added compatibility with the RTX Video Super Resolution upscaling and HDR tools.
As Nvidia says on its blog post, RTX Video combines both algorithm-powered upscaling (boosting the resolution of each video frame by dynamically filling in the intervening space) and translating standard dynamic range frames into high dynamic range with intelligently-boosted color vibrancy and contrast. Your videos should look better even if you don’t have an HDR-compatible screen to show them. As we said when we tested the feature at its launch: Nvidia’s RTX Video Super Resolution is like going from VHS to Blu-ray.
RTX Video is available on any desktop or laptop with an RTX 30-series card or newer, and you can activate it through the Nvidia Control Panel. (Oddly it’s not yet included in the omnibus Nvidia Windows app, still in beta.) You’ll need the latest versions of Firefox and Nvidia’s driver package. The system already works with web-based video in Chrome and Edge, plus the perennial local playback favorite VLC.
Author: Michael Crider, Staff Writer
Michael is a former graphic designer who's been building and tweaking desktop computers for longer than he cares to admit. His interests include folk music, football, science fiction, and salsa verde, in no particular order.