In context: Microsoft released Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26052 to the Canary and Dev channels last week, introducing multiple new AI-based features. One of these is “Speak for Me,” which allows users to create their own voice avatars to communicate with people in online meetings. The latest build also contains a hidden AI feature that the company did not officially reveal in its release notes.
Believed to have been first spotted by Windows Insider and X user @PhantomOfEarth, the latest build includes a feature called “Automatic Super Resolution” that uses artificial intelligence to upscale videos, enabling smoother gameplay with enhanced details. However, unlike the existing upscaling options, this one is said to be available with all types of supported applications, including non-gaming ones.
As of now, Auto Super Resolution is not available by default, but you can get it to show up by using the latest version of ViveTool. To do that, download the software from GitHub, extract the files to a folder of your choice, open Command Prompt as Admin, and then go over to the ViveTools folder using the CD command. According to tipster @thebookisclosed, simply run the command “vivetool /enable /id:39695921 /variant:3” (without quotes) and reboot your PC.
Would you like to toy around with Automatic Super Resolution in build 26052 and see if you notice any differences? You can get it to show up by running this command and rebooting:
vivetool /enable /id:39695921 /variant:3 https://t.co/6baoIeZcDh pic.twitter.com/ui9maas7je
– Albacore ð¥ (@thebookisclosed) February 11, 2024
The Automatic Super Resolution option will now be available. You will be able to switch it on manually by launching the Settings app, clicking on ‘Display,’ and going over to the ‘Graphics’ section. Once there, simply turn on the toggle next to ‘Automatic super resolution.’
Super Resolution is a familiar term for people using newer discrete graphics cards from Nvidia, AMD, or Intel. The feature uses machine learning to sharpen and upscale photos and videos in supported apps without losing content.
It’s not immediately clear how the built-in Windows 11 upscaler will work, but reports suggest that only devices with specialized hardware, like a dedicated neural processing unit (NPU), will be able to take advantage of it. That said, Microsoft is yet to clarify anything about the new feature, so we’ll simply have to wait for the company to announce more details before we can tell anything with any degree of certainty.
