Microsoft Teams Gets AI-Powered Super Resolution Feature to Enhance Video Call Quality

Microsoft Teams has introduced a new Super Resolution feature that leverages AI to enhance the quality of video calls. This new capability is currently available in public preview for Snapdragon X-based Copilot PCs.

Microsoft Teams may send lower-quality videos to maintain smooth meetings in poor network conditions. Traditionally, the app would attempt to improve these low-resolution videos by upscaling them, which involves enlarging the video to fit a higher-resolution display. However, conventional upscaling often results in blurry images, as it simply stretches the video without adding any new details.

How does the Super Resolution feature work in Microsoft Teams

Microsoft first announced the Super Resolution feature at its Ignite 2024 conference. This feature uses the local NPU chip to artificially scale up the resolution of a video stream without compromising the overall picture quality.

“If bandwidth is limited, Teams will automatically enable Super Resolution for videos that do not meet the receiver’s viewing sizes. The effectiveness of SR depends on the level of upscaling needed, being more noticeable in severely degraded videos than those needing slight upscaling. Thus, the feature’s performance varies with bandwidth constraints,” Microsoft explained.

The Super Resolution feature is enabled by default on Copilot+ PCs when connected to a power supply. To save power, Microsoft Teams disables this feature when the device is unplugged. Users can also turn it off manually using the toggle button in the “Video settings.”

The Super Resolution feature is currently available only to commercial customers using the Microsoft Teams desktop app on Windows, specifically for Snapdragon X-powered Copilot+ PCs. Microsoft plans to extend this feature to Intel and AMD-powered Copilot+ PCs, though there is no ETA yet.