Video Quality Enhancer

Real-time WebGPU upscaling and frame generation for HTML5 video (Lossless Scaling-style, browser-native).

Video Quality Enhancer is a real-time video upscaler and frame generation extension for Google Chrome. It enhances HTML5 web videos directly inside your browser using WebGPU shaders. Inspired by desktop utilities like Lossless Scaling, this extension runs entirely on your own device. It delivers sharper edges, clearer text, reduced compression artifacts, and fluid high-refresh-rate playback on web videos. Everything runs locally inside your browser. There are no remote servers, no uploads, and no video data collection. -------------------- WHAT'S NEW IN VERSION 0.6.0 -------------------- - Performance Mode: Works on any device, including laptops and PCs without a dedicated graphics card. Effects are tuned to your hardware. If WebGPU is not available, a lightweight sharpening filter is used instead, so you still get a clearer picture. - Multiple Profiles: Create, rename, duplicate, delete and switch between setups (for example "Anime", "Movies 4K", "Laptop battery"). Export and import each profile as a file. - Fully Custom Keyboard Shortcuts: Bind any key combination to any action. Toggle any option, set or cycle any value, raise or lower sliders, switch profiles, switch to Anime or General mode, turn Performance Mode on or off, and more. Add as many shortcuts as you like. - Upgraded YouTube Quick Menu: A compact new design with Performance Mode, profile switching, shortcut editing, and a new "Independent YouTube settings" option that keeps YouTube separate from your other sites. The menu now closes automatically, just like YouTube's own settings menu. - Advanced DRM Options: Optional settings to try enhancement on protected videos or hide warnings, clearly marked "at your own risk". - Brand-New Design: Light and dark themes (or follow your system), accent colour choices, a new font, a floating section bar for quick navigation, and a built-in changelog. - Feedback and Support: Suggest a feature or report an issue directly from the settings page. -------------------- WHY USE VIDEO QUALITY ENHANCER? -------------------- - Crisper Video: Upscale lower-resolution or compressed videos to 1080p, 1440p, or 4K. - Fluid Motion: Turn 24 FPS and 30 FPS video into smooth 60, 120, 144 FPS or higher. - Works on Any Device: Full GPU power on capable systems, and Performance Mode for everything else. - Independent Systems: Use upscaling alone, frame generation alone, or both together. - YouTube Quick Menu: Full controls inside the YouTube player bar, no extra tabs. - Profiles and Shortcuts: Switch your whole setup with one key. - Multi-Monitor Awareness: Assign refresh rates to each monitor; targets adjust automatically when you move the browser window. - In-Depth Customization: Fine-tune sharpness, motion flow scale, confidence thresholds, colour, audio sync, and GPU governors. - Privacy First: No telemetry, no tracking, no cookies, and no background network calls. -------------------- KEY FEATURES -------------------- - WebGPU Upscaling: AMD Contrast-Adaptive Sharpening (CAS), Anime4K, AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution 1.0 (FSR EASU + RCAS), Machine Learning Lanczos-3, and Neural CNN (Anime and General models). - High-Framerate Motion Generation: Dense bidirectional optical flow with flow reversal, occlusion masking, confidence fallbacks, and scene-cut detection, plus fast frame blending. - Integer Multipliers and Adaptive Refresh: Fixed 2x, 3x, or 4x, or Adaptive mode that generates a frame on every screen refresh. - Performance Mode: One-click lighter processing for low-power systems, with automatic fallback when WebGPU is unavailable. - Profiles: Unlimited named profiles with per-profile export and import. - Custom Shortcuts: Any key, any action. Defaults: Alt+Shift+E (toggle on this site), Alt+Shift+A (Anime mode), Alt+Shift+G (General mode), Alt+Shift+P (Performance Mode), Alt+Shift+O (next profile). Alt+V also toggles the enhancer. - YouTube Player Quick Menu: Adjust everything inside the YouTube control bar, with an optional independent YouTube profile. - On-Screen HUD Overlay: Live source and output resolution, FPS, display refresh rate, scaling percentage, and detected GPU. - Adaptive GPU Performance Governor: Balances internal render scale to keep frame rates stable during heavy scenes. - Light and Dark Themes: Choose System, Light, or Dark, plus an accent colour. -------------------- GUIDE TO UPSCALING ALGORITHMS -------------------- - Sharpen-CAS (AMD Contrast-Adaptive Sharpening): Fast, clean and reliable. Restores edge contrast without halos. Lightweight, so it's the best daily default for laptops and integrated graphics (and the algorithm Performance Mode uses). - Anime4K: Built for anime, cartoons and stylized art. Sharpens character outlines and cleans up flat colour regions. - FSR (AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution 1.0): Edge-Adaptive Spatial Upsampling (EASU) with Robust Contrast-Adaptive Sharpening (RCAS). Great for gaming videos, 3D animation and live streams. - ML (High Quality Lanczos-3): A multi-tap Lanczos-3 filter with edge gradient synthesis. Sharp textures with no model downloads. - Neural (GPU Convolutional Neural Network): A super-resolution neural network running entirely on your GPU through WebGPU. - Anime Model: Line-art reconstruction tuned for animation. - General Model: Balanced detail synthesis for live-action and realistic footage. Tip: switch instantly with Alt+Shift+A (Anime) and Alt+Shift+G (General). Scaling Modes: - Fill: Fills the entire player element. - Fit: Keeps the natural aspect ratio inside the player. - Stretch: Stretches the frame to the display dimensions. - Fixed 2x, 3x, 4x: Locks the upscale factor to exact integer multiples. Target Output Resolutions: - Native: Matches the player's size on your screen. - 1080p / 1440p / 4K: Scales output to 1920x1080, 2560x1440 or 3840x2160. Choosing 4K on a 1080p or 1440p screen enables supersampling for extra clarity. Pair with Governor set to Quality to prevent auto-downscaling. -------------------- GUIDE TO FRAME GENERATION -------------------- Frame generation inserts new intermediate frames between the original frames for smoother motion. Multiplier Modes: - Off: Original source frame rate. - 2x: 30 FPS becomes 60 FPS. - 3x: 24 FPS becomes 72 FPS; 30 FPS becomes 90 FPS. - 4x: 30 FPS becomes 120 FPS. - Adaptive: Generates a frame on every monitor refresh (vsync). Ultra-smooth on 120Hz, 144Hz, 165Hz and 240Hz screens, and removes judder on uneven ratios such as 24 FPS on 60Hz. Interpolation Methods: - Optical Flow: Dense bidirectional motion vectors with flow reversal, occlusion detection and scene-cut detection. - Blend: Fast cross-dissolve. Very low GPU use, ideal for older systems or battery saving. Fine-Tuning: - Flow Scale (25% to 100%): Motion estimation resolution. 50% is a good balance. - Artifact Reduction (Confidence): How strictly motion vectors are verified before warping. - Scene-Cut Detection: Prevents morphing across camera cuts. - Max Output FPS (30 to 240): Stops wasting GPU power beyond what your monitor can show. Note: Performance Mode turns frame generation off to keep playback light. -------------------- STEP-BY-STEP USER GUIDE -------------------- 1. Installation: - Add the extension and pin Video Quality Enhancer to your toolbar. - Make sure hardware acceleration is on: open chrome://settings/system and enable "Use graphics acceleration when available". 2. Enabling Enhancement: - Open any supported video site (YouTube, Twitch, Vimeo, etc.) and play a video. - Turn enhancement on from the toolbar popup, the robot button in the YouTube player, or Alt+Shift+E (or Alt+V). 3. Customizing: - Pick an upscaler (Sharpen-CAS for light daily use, FSR or Neural for high detail). - Adjust Sharpness (default 45). - On a high-refresh screen, turn on Frame Generation (2x or Adaptive). - No dedicated graphics card? Turn on Performance Mode in the popup. 4. Profiles and Shortcuts: - In full settings, create profiles for different content and add your own keyboard shortcuts. 5. Monitoring Playback: - The HUD in the top-left corner shows resolution, FPS and GPU status in real time. -------------------- YOUTUBE IN-PLAYER QUICK MENU -------------------- On YouTube, a robot mascot button is added to the player's control bar, next to the settings gear: - Main menu: Enhance video, Upscaler, Neural model, Output resolution, Sharpness, Frame generation, Performance Mode and Profile. - "More" menu: Refresh source, Display refresh, HUD stats, Independent YouTube settings and Shortcuts. - Independent YouTube settings: When on, YouTube keeps its own settings and is not affected by profile changes. When off, YouTube follows your active profile. - Shortcuts: View, add, re-record and delete shortcuts directly in the player. - The menu closes automatically when you click outside it, press Esc, start playback, or when the player controls hide. -------------------- PERFORMANCE MODE -------------------- - Available to everyone, on any device. - Everything stays available, but quality and effects are tuned to your hardware: lightweight sharpening, frame generation off, and a lower internal render scale. - If WebGPU is not supported or no GPU is available, a lightweight sharpening filter is applied so you still get a clearer picture. - Performance and smoothness depend on your system and cannot be guaranteed. - Toggle it from the popup, the YouTube menu, full settings, or Alt+Shift+P. -------------------- MULTI-MONITOR DISPLAY SETUP GUIDE -------------------- Browsers cannot always detect each monitor's exact refresh rate on Windows: 1. Open full settings from the extension popup. 2. Go to "Displays" and click "Detect displays". 3. Set the refresh rate for each monitor (for example 60Hz, 144Hz, 165Hz). 4. In "Sync & Presentation", set "Refresh source" to "Auto". 5. When you move the browser between screens, the right refresh rate is applied automatically. -------------------- GPU PERFORMANCE AND GOVERNOR SETTINGS -------------------- - Preferred GPU: - High-Performance: Requests your dedicated graphics card (NVIDIA, AMD, Intel Arc). - Low-Power: Requests integrated graphics to save battery. - Windows tip: In Settings > System > Display > Graphics, set your browser to "High performance". - Governor Modes: - Adaptive (default): Lowers internal render scale when the GPU drops frames, then recovers. - Quality: Locks render scale at 100%. Best for powerful desktop GPUs. - Performance: Reduces workload early to keep temperatures and fan noise low. - Precision: fp16 (faster, less memory) or fp32 (full precision). - Background Tab: "Pause" stops processing when the tab is hidden to save battery. -------------------- COLOUR AND POST-PROCESSING CONTROLS -------------------- - Brightness and Contrast: 50% to 150%. - Saturation: 0% (monochrome) to 200% (vibrant). - Gamma: 0.50 to 2.50. - Denoise: Off, Low, Medium or High. -------------------- SYNC AND AUDIO SETTINGS -------------------- - Sync Mode: VSync, Adaptive Sync, or Off. - Frame Buffer Depth: 1 to 6 frames. - Audio-Sync Tolerance: 10ms to 400ms (default 80ms) to keep video aligned with audio. -------------------- SUPPORTED SITES AND DRM NOTICE -------------------- Supported: - YouTube (including non-DRM 1080p, 1440p and 4K) - Twitch live streams and VODs - Vimeo and Bilibili - Raw HTML5 video files (MP4, WebM) - Any website using standard unencrypted HTML5 video DRM Notice: - Paid streaming services such as Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV+ use DRM (Encrypted Media Extensions). - Browser security prevents extensions and WebGPU from reading protected video frames. - By default, the extension detects DRM streams and steps aside without affecting playback. - Advanced (not recommended, at your own risk): you can choose to attempt enhancement on DRM videos or hide the warnings. Enhancement models will usually not work on protected videos, because browsers return black frames. In that case, a light sharpening filter is applied instead. -------------------- ON-SCREEN HUD OVERLAY GUIDE -------------------- The HUD appears in the top-left corner: - src: Original video dimensions. - out: Output dimensions and scaling factor. - rndr: Internal render resolution and scale percentage. - fps: Source FPS -> output FPS, plus target refresh rate. - up: Active upscaler. - gen: Active frame generation method. - gpu: Graphics card in use (warns if hardware acceleration is off). - Adjust HUD opacity (20% to 100%) or turn it off, from settings or a shortcut. -------------------- TROUBLESHOOTING AND FAQ -------------------- - Q: The HUD says "running on a SOFTWARE renderer (CPU)" and video lags. A: Hardware acceleration is off. Go to chrome://settings/system, enable "Use graphics acceleration when available", and restart the browser. Or turn on Performance Mode. - Q: My laptop has no dedicated graphics card. Can I use it? A: Yes. Turn on Performance Mode. Results depend on your hardware. - Q: Does this use extra internet bandwidth? A: No. All processing is local. No video data is uploaded or downloaded. - Q: Can I use frame generation without upscaling? A: Yes. They are completely independent. - Q: Can I change the keyboard shortcuts? A: Yes. In full settings (or the YouTube menu), add, edit or remove any shortcut and assign it to any action. - Q: Can YouTube have different settings from other sites? A: Yes. Turn on "Independent YouTube settings" in the YouTube quick menu. - Q: Player buttons are hard to click with the overlay active. A: In settings, enable "Hide overlay over player controls". - Q: How do I back up or reset my settings? A: In settings, use "Export profile" to save a backup file, or "Reset to defaults". - Q: I found a bug or have a feature idea. A: Use "Suggest a feature or report an issue" in the settings page to reach the developer by email or LinkedIn. -------------------- SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS -------------------- - Browser: Google Chrome 113 or newer, Microsoft Edge 113 or newer, or another Chromium browser with WebGPU. - Operating System: Windows 10/11, macOS, Linux, or ChromeOS. - Graphics: A WebGPU-capable GPU (DirectX 12, Vulkan or Metal) for full features. Performance Mode works on systems without one. - Hardware acceleration enabled in browser settings (recommended). -------------------- SUPPORT THE DEVELOPER -------------------- Video Quality Enhancer is free and built by an independent student developer. Every feature works without paying. If it improves your videos, you can optionally support future work (better neural upscaling, bitrate enhancement and reduced aliasing) via PayPal or Razorpay from the settings page. Reviews and feedback are always appreciated. -------------------- PRIVACY AND LEGAL INFORMATION -------------------- - Privacy: No tracking, no analytics, no external servers, and no user data collection. Settings are stored locally in your browser. Support, feedback and review links (PayPal, Razorpay, LinkedIn, email, store page) open only when you click them. - License: Proprietary software by Pnazo Private Limited. Third-party components: AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR 1.0) under the MIT License; Urbanist font under the SIL Open Font License.