Nvidia tells how the company improves the scaling technology DLSS

In connection with the launch of the Turing architecture, Nvidia not only introduced ray tracingfunctions but also the upscaling technology DLSS. By using machine learning and the Tensor cores in the Geforce RTX series, the company hoped to offer higher performance while maintaining resolution.

The result was mixed, however, where SweClockers states that both Metro Exodus and Battlefield V certainly benefit in terms of performance, but at the price of lower image quality. Many noted the same phenomenon, and Nvidia has now responded to the criticism in a post.

DLSS works by Nvidia in its data center comparing low-resolution images from a game title with high-resolution diton. With the help of a training program and enormous computational power, a model can then be developed for how the detailed information in the low-resolution scene should be filled in to imitate the high-resolution.

Due to how the technology works, it is according to Nvidia better suited for higher resolutions such as 4K, as there is more information for the training program to start from. Therefore, image quality and performance gain suffer in resolutions such as popular 1,920 × 1,080 pixels.

Nvidia further explains that the game engine and frame rate play a role in how effective DLSS becomes. The upscaling frees up the graphics processor for calculations, which does not contribute in the same way if the processor is the bottleneck. The frame rate, on the other hand, must be so low that the calculation for the DLSS image is faster than the game’s rendering, otherwise the function will be turned off automatically.

Finally, Nvidia admits that DLSS has not worked completely painlessly, and the company is now focusing on bringing up the image quality, especially in lower resolutions. Improvements to the training program and more comparisons will have an effect. This includes both Metro Exodus and Battlefield V, where the latter will get improved image quality in full HD and 21: 9 resolutions soon.

In Metro’s case, an updated DLSS model applies that will provide improvements across the board. After that, more scenes from the game will be run through the training program for further quality improvements. Nvidia is also working on bug fixes for HDR issues with DLSS turned on in the game title.

Nvidia DLSS updates come with driver updates from the manufacturer. For an optimal gaming experience with the latest quality improvements, it is therefore recommended to keep the drivers up to date.

Read more about the features of Turing: