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{{short description|Image upscaling technology by Nvidia}}
{{Puffery|date=March 2024}}
'''Deep learning super sampling''' ('''DLSS''') is a family of [[Real-time computing|real-time]] [[deep learning]] image enhancement and [[imageImage scaling|upscaling]] technologies developed by [[Nvidia]] that are exclusive to its [[Nvidia RTX|RTX]] line of [[graphics card]]s,<ref>{{Cite web|title=NVIDIA DLSS Technology for Incredible Performance|url=https://www.nvidia.com/en-gb/geforce/technologies/dlss/|access-date=2022-02-07|website=NVIDIA|language=en-gb}}</ref> and available in a number of [[Videovideo game|video games]]s. The goal of these technologies is to allow the majority of the [[graphics pipeline]] to run at a lower [[Display resolution|resolution]] for increased performance, and then infer a higher resolution image from this that approximates the same level of detail as if the image had been rendered at this higher resolution. This allows for higher graphical settings and/or [[frame rates]] for a given output resolution, depending on user preference.<ref name=":2">{{cite web|url=https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/everything-you-need-to-know-about-nvidias-rtx-dlss-technology/|title=Nvidia RTX DLSS: Everything you need to know |publisher=[[Digital Trends]]|date=2020-02-14|access-date=2020-04-05|quote=''Deep learning super sampling uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to produce an image that looks like a higher-resolution image, without the rendering overhead. Nvidia’sNvidia's algorithm learns from tens of thousands of rendered sequences of images that were created using a supercomputer. That trains the algorithm to be able to produce similarly beautiful images, but without requiring the graphics card to work as hard to do it.''}}</ref>
{{short description|Image upscaling technology by Nvidia}}
'''Deep learning super sampling''' ('''DLSS''') is a family of [[Real-time computing|real-time]] [[deep learning]] image enhancement and [[image scaling|upscaling]] technologies developed by [[Nvidia]] that are exclusive to its [[Nvidia RTX|RTX]] line of [[graphics card]]s,<ref>{{Cite web|title=NVIDIA DLSS Technology for Incredible Performance|url=https://www.nvidia.com/en-gb/geforce/technologies/dlss/|access-date=2022-02-07|website=NVIDIA|language=en-gb}}</ref> and available in a number of [[Video game|video games]]. The goal of these technologies is to allow the majority of the [[graphics pipeline]] to run at a lower [[Display resolution|resolution]] for increased performance, and then infer a higher resolution image from this that approximates the same level of detail as if the image had been rendered at this higher resolution. This allows for higher graphical settings and/or [[frame rates]] for a given output resolution, depending on user preference.<ref name=":2">{{cite web|url=https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/everything-you-need-to-know-about-nvidias-rtx-dlss-technology/|title=Nvidia RTX DLSS: Everything you need to know |publisher=[[Digital Trends]]|date=2020-02-14|access-date=2020-04-05|quote=''Deep learning super sampling uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to produce an image that looks like a higher-resolution image, without the rendering overhead. Nvidia’s algorithm learns from tens of thousands of rendered sequences of images that were created using a supercomputer. That trains the algorithm to be able to produce similarly beautiful images, but without requiring the graphics card to work as hard to do it.''}}</ref>
 
As of September 2022, the 1stfirst and 2ndsecond generationgenerations of DLSS are available on all RTX-branded cards from Nvidia in supported titles, while the 3rdthird generation unveiled at Nvidia's [[Nvidia GTC|GTC]] 2022 event is exclusive to the [[Ada Lovelace (microarchitecture)|Ada Lovelace]] generation [[GeForce 40 series|RTX 40 series]] graphics cards.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=Introducing NVIDIA DLSS 3 |url=https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/geforce/news/dlss3-ai-powered-neural-graphics-innovations/ |access-date=2022-09-20 |website=NVIDIA |language=en-us}}</ref> Nvidia has also introduced '''Deep learning dynamic super resolution''' ('''DLDSR'''), a related and opposite technology where the graphics are rendered at a higher resolution, then downsampled to the native display resolution using an AI[[artificial intelligence]]-assisted downsampling algorithm to achieve higher image quality than rendering at native resolution.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Archer |first1=James |title=Nvidia DLDSR tested: better visuals and better performance than DSR |url=https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/nvidia-dldsr-tested-better-visuals-and-better-performance-than-dsr |website=Rock Paper Shotgun |date=17 January 2022 |access-date=23 February 2022 |ref=dldsr}}</ref>
 
== History ==
Nvidia advertised DLSS as a key feature of the [[GeForce 20 series]] cards when they launched in September 2018.<ref name="techspot">{{cite web|url=https://www.techspot.com/article/1992-nvidia-dlss-2020/|title=Nvidia DLSS in 2020: stunning results|publisher=techspot.com|date=2020-02-26|access-date=2020-04-05}}</ref> At that time, the results were limited to a few video games, (namely ''[[Battlefield V]]'',<ref name="battlefieldv">{{cite web |urldate=https://www.techspot.com/article/17942019-nvidia02-rtx-dlss-battlefield/19 |title=Battlefield V DLSS Tested: Overpromised, Underdelivered |publisherurl=https://www.techspot.com|date=2019/article/1794-02nvidia-19rtx-dlss-battlefield/ |access-date=2020-04-06 |publisher=techspot.com |quote=''Of course, this is to be expected. DLSS was never going to provide the same image quality as native 4K while providing a 37% performance uplift. That would be black magic. But the quality difference comparing the two is almost laughable, in how far away DLSS is from the native presentation in these stressful areas.''}}</ref> andor ''[[Metro Exodus]])'', because the algorithm had to be trained specifically on each game on which it was applied and the results were usually not as good as simple resolution upscaling.<ref name=":0">{{cite web|url=https://www.techquila.co.in/nvidia-dlss-vs-taa/|title=AMD Thinks NVIDIA DLSS is not Good Enough; Calls TAA & SMAA Better Alternatives|publisher=techquila.co.in|date=2019-02-15|access-date=2020-04-06|quote=''Recently, two big titles received NVIDIA DLSS support, namely Metro Exodus and Battlefield V. Both these games come with NVIDIA’s DXR (DirectX Raytracing) implementation that at the moment is only supported by the GeForce RTX cards. DLSS makes these games playable at higher resolutions with much better frame rates, although there is a notable decrease in image sharpness. Now, AMD has taken a jab at DLSS, saying that traditional AA methods like SMAA and TAA "'offer superior combinations of image quality and performance."''}}</ref><ref name="kotaku">{{cite web|url=https://www.kotaku.com.au/2020/02/nvidia-rtx-dlss-quietly-got-a-hell-of-a-lot-better/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200221195406/https://www.kotaku.com.au/2020/02/nvidia-rtx-dlss-quietly-got-a-hell-of-a-lot-better/|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 21, 2020|title=Nvidia Very Quietly Made DLSS A Hell Of A Lot Better|publisher=[[Kotaku]]|date=2020-02-22|access-date=2020-04-06|quote=''The benefit for most people is that, generally, DLSS comes with a sizeable FPS improvement. How much varies from game to game. In Metro Exodus, the FPS jump was barely there and certainly not worth the bizarre hit to image quality.}}</ref> In 2019, the video game ''[[Control (video game)|Control]]'' shipped with [[real-time ray tracing]] and an improved version of DLSS, which did not use the Tensor Cores.<ref name="eurogamer">{{cite web|url=https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-2020-control-dlss-2-dot-zero-analysis|title=Remedy's Control vs DLSS 2.0 – AI upscaling reaches the next level |publisher=[[Eurogamer]]|date=2020-04-04|access-date=2020-04-05|quote=Of course, this isn't the first DLSS implementation we've seen in Control. The game shipped with a decent enough rendition of the technology that didn't actually use machine learning Tensor core component of the Nvidia Turing architecture, relying on the standard CUDA cores instead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.techquila.co.in/nvidia-dlss-2-update-rtx-tensor-cores/|title=NVIDIA DLSS 2.0 Update Will Fix The GeForce RTX Cards' Big Mistake|publisher=techquila.co.in|date=2020-03-24|access-date=2020-04-06|quote=As promised, NVIDIA has updated the DLSS network in a new GeForce update that provides better, sharper image quality while still retaining higher framerates in raytraced games. While the feature wasn't used as well in its first iteration, NVIDIA is now confident that they have successfully fixed all the issues it had before}}</ref>
 
In 2019, the video game ''[[Control (video game)|Control]]'' shipped with [[real-time ray tracing]] and an improved version of DLSS, which did not use the Tensor Cores.<ref name="eurogamer">{{cite web|url=https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-2020-control-dlss-2-dot-zero-analysis|title=Remedy's Control vs DLSS 2.0 – AI upscaling reaches the next level |publisher=[[Eurogamer]]|date=2020-04-04|access-date=2020-04-05|quote=''Of course, this isn't the first DLSS implementation we've seen in Control. The game shipped with a decent enough rendition of the technology that didn't actually use machine learning''}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.techquila.co.in/nvidia-dlss-2-update-rtx-tensor-cores/|title=NVIDIA DLSS 2.0 Update Will Fix The GeForce RTX Cards' Big Mistake|publisher=techquila.co.in|date=2020-03-24|access-date=2020-04-06|quote=''As promised, NVIDIA has updated the DLSS network in a new GeForce update that provides better, sharper image quality while still retaining higher framerates in raytraced games. While the feature wasn't used as well in its first iteration, NVIDIA is now confident that they have successfully fixed all the issues it had before''}}</ref>
 
In April 2020, Nvidia advertised and shipped an improved version of DLSS named DLSS 2.0 with [[Device driver|driver]] version 445.75. DLSS 2.0 was available for a few existing games including ''Control'' and ''[[Wolfenstein: Youngblood]]'', and would later be added to many newly released games and [[game engine]]s such as [[Unreal Engine]] and [[Unity (game engine)|Unity]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-02-11|title=NVIDIA DLSS Plugin and Reflex Now Available for Unreal Engine|url=https://developer.nvidia.com/blog/nvidia-dlss-and-reflex-now-available-for-unreal-engine-4-26/|access-date=2022-02-07|website=NVIDIA Developer Blog|language=en-US}}</ref> and [[Unity (game engine)|Unity]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-04-14|title=NVIDIA DLSS Natively Supported in Unity 2021.2|url=https://developer.nvidia.com/blog/nvidia-dlss-natively-supported-in-unity-2021-2/|access-date=2022-02-07|website=NVIDIA Developer Blog|language=en-US}}</ref> This time Nvidia said that it used the Tensor Cores again, and that the AI did not need to be trained specifically on each game.<ref name="techspot" /><ref name="gamersnexus">{{cite web|url=https://www.gamersnexus.net/news-pc/3572-hw-news-crysis-remastered-ray-tracing-on-amd-nvidia|title=HW News - Crysis Remastered Ray Tracing, NVIDIA DLSS 2, Ryzen 3100 Rumors|date=2020-04-19|access-date=2020-04-19|quote=''The original DLSS required training the AI network for each new game. DLSS 2.0 trains using non-game-specific content, delivering a generalized network that works across games. This means faster game integrations, and ultimately more DLSS games.''|archive-date=2020-09-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200926224142/https://www.gamersnexus.net/news-pc/3572-hw-news-crysis-remastered-ray-tracing-on-amd-nvidia|url-status=dead}}</ref> Despite sharing the DLSS branding, the two iterations of DLSS differ significantly and are not backwards-compatible.<ref name="NVIDIA">Edward Liu, NVIDIA [https://developer.nvidia.com/gtc/2020/video/s22698-vid "DLSS 2.0 - Image Reconstruction for Real-time Rendering with Deep Learning"]</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web|title=Truly Next-Gen: Adding Deep Learning to Games & Graphics (Presented by NVIDIA)|url=https://www.gdcvault.com/play/1026184/Truly-Next-Gen-Adding-Deep|access-date=2022-02-07|website=www.gdcvault.comGDC Vault}}</ref>
 
=== Release history ===
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|1.0||February 2019||Predominantly spatial image upscaler, required specifically trained for each game integration, included in ''[[Battlefield V]]'' and ''[[Metro Exodus]],'' among others<ref name="battlefieldv"/>
|-
|"1.9" (unofficial name)||August 2019||DLSS 1.0 adapted for running on the CUDA shader cores instead of tensor cores, used for ''[[Control (video game)|Control]]''<ref name="eurogamer"/><ref name="techspot"/><ref name="nividiacontrol">{{cite web |last1=Edelsten |first1=Andrew |title=NVIDIA DLSS: Control and Beyond |url=https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/geforce/news/dlss-control-and-beyond/ |publisher=nividia.comNvidia |access-date=11 August 2020 |date=30 August 2019 |quote=Leveraging this AI research, we developed a new image processing algorithm that approximated our AI research model and fit within our performance budget. This image processing approach to DLSS is integrated into Control, and it delivers up to 75% faster frame rates.}}</ref>
|-
|2.0||April 2020||An AI accelerated form of [[Temporal anti-aliasing|TAA]]U using Tensor Cores, and trained generically<ref name="control2">{{cite web|url=https://www.techquila.co.in/nvidia-dlss-2-control-review/|title=NVIDIA DLSS 2.0 Review with Control – Is This Magic?|publisher=techquila.co.in|date=2020-04-05|access-date=2020-04-06}}</ref>
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The first iteration of DLSS is a predominantly spatial image upscaler with two stages, both relying on [[Convolutional neural network|convolutional]] [[Autoencoder|auto-encoder]] [[neural network]]s.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2018-09-19|title=DLSS: What Does It Mean for Game Developers?|url=https://developer.nvidia.com/blog/dlss-what-does-it-mean-for-game-developers/|access-date=2022-02-07|website=NVIDIA Developer Blog|language=en-US}}</ref> The first step is an image enhancement network which uses the current frame and motion vectors to perform [[edge enhancement]], and [[spatial anti-aliasing]]. The second stage is an image upscaling step which uses the single raw, low-resolution frame to upscale the image to the desired output resolution. Using just a single frame for upscaling means the neural network itself must generate a large amount of new information to produce the high resolution output, this can result in slight [[Hallucination (artificial intelligence)|hallucination]]s such as leaves that differ in style to the source content.<ref name="NVIDIA" />
 
The neural networks are trained on a per-game basis by generating a "perfect frame" using traditional [[supersampling]] to 64 samples per pixel, as well as the motion vectors for each frame. The data collected must be as comprehensive as possible, including as many levels, times of day, graphical settings, resolutions, etc. as possible. This data is also [[Data augmentation|augmented]] using common augmentations such as rotations, colour changes, and random noise to help generalize the test data. Training is performed on Nvidia's Saturn V supercomputer.<ref name=":1" /><ref name="nvidia10">{{cite web|url=https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/geforce/news/nvidia-dlss-your-questions-answered/|title=NVIDIA DLSS: Your Questions, Answered|publisher=[[Nvidia]]|date=2019-02-15|access-date=2020-04-19|quote=''The DLSS team first extracts many aliased frames from the target game, and then for each one we generate a matching “perfect'perfect frame”frame' using either super-sampling or accumulation rendering. These paired frames are fed to NVIDIA’sNVIDIA's supercomputer. The supercomputer trains the DLSS model to recognize aliased inputs and generate high-quality anti-aliased images that match the “perfect'perfect frame”frame' as closely as possible. We then repeat the process, but this time we train the model to generate additional pixels rather than applying AA. This has the effect of increasing the resolution of the input. Combining both techniques enables the GPU to render the full monitor resolution at higher frame rates.''}}</ref>
 
This first iteration received a mixed response, with many criticizing the often soft appearance and artifacts in certain situations;<ref name="nvidia20">{{cite web|date=2020-03-23|title=NVIDIA DLSS 2.0: A Big Leap In AI Rendering|url=https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/geforce/news/nvidia-dlss-2-0-a-big-leap-in-ai-rendering/|access-date=2020-04-07|publisher=[[Nvidia]]}}</ref><ref name=":0" /><ref name="battlefieldv" /> likely a side effect of the limited data from only using a single frame input to the neural networks which could not be trained to perform optimally in all scenarios and [[Edge case|edge-cases]].<ref name="NVIDIA" /><ref name=":1" /> Nvidia also demonstrated the ability for the auto-encoder networks to learn the ability to recreate [[Depth of field|depth-of-field]] and [[motion blur]],<ref name=":1" /> although this functionality has never been included in a publicly released product.{{Citation needed|date=February 2022}}
 
Nvidia also demonstrated the ability for the auto-encoder networks to learn the ability to recreate [[Depth of field|depth-of-field]] and [[motion blur]],<ref name=":1" /> although this functionality has never been included in a publicly released product.{{Citation needed|date=February 2022}}
 
=== DLSS 2.0 ===
DLSS 2.0 is a [[temporal anti-aliasing]] [[upsampling]] (TAAU) implementation, using data from previous frames extensively through sub-pixel jittering to resolve fine detail and reduce aliasing. The data DLSS 2.0 collects includes: the raw low-resolution input, [[motion vector]]s, [[Z-buffering|depth buffers]], and [[Exposure value|exposure]] / brightness information.<ref name="NVIDIA" /> It can also be used as a simpler TAA implementation where the image is rendered at 100% resolution, rather than being upsampled by DLSS, Nvidia brands this as [[DLAA]] (deep learning anti-aliasing).<ref name=":4">{{Cite web|date=2021-09-28|title=What is Nvidia DLAA? An Anti-Aliasing Explainer|url=https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/what-is-nvidia-dlaa/|access-date=2022-02-10|website=Digital Trends|language=en}}</ref>
 
TAA(U) is used in many modern video games and [[game engine]]s,;<ref>[https://de45xmedrsdbp.cloudfront.net/Resources/files/TemporalAA_small-59732822.pdf Temporal AA small] Cloud Front</ref> however, all previous implementations have used some form of manually written [[heuristic]]s to prevent temporal artifacts such as [[Ghosting (television)|ghosting]] and [[Flicker (light)|flickering]]. One example of this is neighborhood clamping which forcefully prevents samples collected in previous frames from deviating too much compared to nearby pixels in newer frames. This helps to identify and fix many temporal artifacts, but deliberately removing fine details in this way is analogous to applying a [[Box blur|blur filter]], and thus the final image can appear blurry when using this method.<ref name="NVIDIA" />
 
DLSS 2.0 uses a [[Convolutional neural network|convolutional]] [[Autoencoder|auto-encoder]] [[neural network]]<ref name="nvidia20" /> trained to identify and fix temporal artifacts, instead of manually programmed heuristics as mentioned above. Because of this, DLSS 2.0 can generally resolve detail better than other TAA and TAAU implementations, while also removing most temporal artifacts. This is why DLSS 2.0 can sometimes produce a sharper image than rendering at higher, or even native resolutions using traditional TAA. However, no temporal solution is perfect, and artifacts (ghosting in particular) are still visible in some scenarios when using DLSS 2.0.
 
Because temporal artifacts occur in most art styles and environments in broadly the same way, the neural network that powers DLSS 2.0 does not need to be retrained when being used in different games. Despite this, Nvidia does frequently ship new minor revisions of DLSS 2.0 with new titles,<ref>{{Cite web|title=NVIDIA DLSS DLL (2.3.7) Download|url=https://www.techpowerup.com/download/nvidia-dlss-dll/|access-date=2022-02-10|website=TechPowerUp|language=en}}</ref> so this could suggest some minor training optimizations may be performed as games are released, although Nvidia does not provide changelogs for these minor revisions to confirm this. The main advancements compared to DLSS 1.0 include: Significantly improved detail retention, a generalized neural network that does not need to be re-trained per-game, and ~2x less overhead (~1-2&nbsp;ms vs ~2-4&nbsp;ms).<ref name="NVIDIA" />
 
The main advancements compared to DLSS 1.0 include: Significantly improved detail retention, a generalized neural network that does not need to be re-trained per-game, and ~2x less overhead (~1-2&nbsp;ms vs ~2-4&nbsp;ms).<ref name="NVIDIA" />
 
It should also be noted that forms of TAAU such as DLSS 2.0 are not [[Video scaler|upscalers]] in the same sense as techniques such as ESRGAN or DLSS 1.0, which attempt to create new information from a low-resolution source; instead, TAAU works to recover data from previous frames, rather than creating new data. In practice, this means low resolution [[Texture mapping|textures]] in games will still appear low-resolution when using current TAAU techniques. This is why Nvidia recommends game developers use higher resolution textures than they would normally for a given rendering resolution by applying a mip-map bias when DLSS 2.0 is enabled.<ref name="NVIDIA" />
 
=== DLSS 3.0 ===
Augments DLSS 2.0 by making use of [[motion interpolation]]. The DLSS frame generation algorithm takes two rendered frames from the rendering pipeline and generates a new frame that smoothly transitions between them. So for every frame rendered, one additional frame is generated.<ref name=":3" /> DLSS 3.0 makes use of a new generation Optical Flow Accelerator (OFA) included in Ada Lovelace generation RTX GPUs. The new OFA is faster and more accurate than the OFA already available in previous Turing and Ampere RTX GPUs.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-11-29 |title=NVIDIA Optical Flow SDK |url=https://developer.nvidia.com/opticalflow-sdk |access-date=2022-09-20 |website=NVIDIA Developer |language=en}}</ref> This results in DLSS 3.0 being exclusive for the RTX 40 Series. At release, DLSS 3.0 does not work for VR displays.{{cn|date=May 2023}}
 
DLSS 3.0 makes use of a new generation Optical Flow Accelerator (OFA) included in Ada Lovelace generation RTX GPUs. The new OFA is faster and more accurate than the OFA already available in previous Turing and Ampere RTX GPUs.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-11-29 |title=NVIDIA Optical Flow SDK |url=https://developer.nvidia.com/opticalflow-sdk |access-date=2022-09-20 |website=NVIDIA Developer |language=en}}</ref> This results in DLSS 3.0 being exclusive for the RTX 40 Series.
 
At release, DLSS 3.0 does not work for VR displays.{{cn|date=May 2023}}
 
=== DLSS 3.5 ===
 
DLSS 3.5 adds ray reconstruction, replacing multiple denoising algorithms with a single AI model trained on five times more data than DLSS 3. Ray reconstruction will beis available on all RTX GPUs and will first targettargeted games with [[path tracing]] (aka "full ray tracing"), including ''[[Cyberpunk 2077]]'''s ''[[Phantom Liberty]]'' DLC, ''[[Portal with RTX]]'', and ''[[Alan Wake 2]]''.<ref name="eurogamerdlss35" /><ref name="vergedlss35" />
 
== Anti-aliasing ==
DLSS requires and applies its own [[anti-aliasing]] method. Thus, depending on the game and quality setting used, using DLSS may improve image quality even over native resolution rendering.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Smith |first=Matthew S. |date=2023-12-28 |title=What Is DLSS and Why Does it Matter for Gaming? |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/what-is-nvidia-dlss-meaning |access-date=2024-06-13 |website=IGN |language=en}}</ref> It operates on similar principles to [[Temporal anti-aliasing|TAA]]. Like TAA, it uses information from past frames to produce the current frame. Unlike TAA, DLSS does not sample every pixel in every frame. Instead, it samples different pixels in different frames and uses pixels sampled in past frames to fill in the unsampled pixels in the current frame. DLSS uses machine learning to combine samples in the current frame and past frames, and it can be thought of as an advanced and superior TAA implementation made possible by the available tensor cores.<ref name="NVIDIA" /> [[Nvidia]] also offers [[deep learning anti-aliasing]] (DLAA). DLAA provides the same AI-driven anti-aliasing DLSS uses, but without any upscaling or downscaling functionality.<ref name=":4" />
 
It operates on similar principles to [[Temporal anti-aliasing|TAA]]. Like TAA, it uses information from past frames to produce the current frame. Unlike TAA, DLSS does not sample every pixel in every frame. Instead, it samples different pixels in different frames and uses pixels sampled in past frames to fill in the unsampled pixels in the current frame. DLSS uses machine learning to combine samples in the current frame and past frames, and it can be thought of as an advanced and superior TAA implementation made possible by the available tensor cores.<ref name="NVIDIA"/>
 
[[Nvidia]] also offers [[deep learning anti-aliasing]] (DLAA). DLAA provides the same AI-driven anti-aliasing DLSS uses, but without any upscaling or downscaling functionality.<ref name=":4" />
 
== Architecture ==
With the exception of the shader-core version implemented in ''Control'', DLSS is only available on [[GeForce 20 series|GeForce RTX 20]], [[GeForce 30 series|GeForce RTX 30]], [[GeForce 40 series|GeForce RTX 40]], and [[Quadro#Quadro RTX|Quadro RTX]] series of video cards, using dedicated [[AI accelerator]]s called '''Tensor Cores'''.<ref name="nvidia20"/>{{Failed verification|date=March 2024}} Tensor Cores are available since the Nvidia [[Volta (microarchitecture)|Volta]] [[graphics processing unit|GPU]] [[microarchitecture]], which was first used on the [[Nvidia Tesla|Tesla V100]] line of products.<ref>
{{cite web|url=https://www.tomshardware.com/news/nvidia-tensor-core-tesla-v100,34384.html|title=On Tensors, Tensorflow, And Nvidia's Latest 'Tensor Cores'|publisher=tomshardware.com|date=2017-04-11|access-date=2020-04-08}}</ref> They are used for doing [[Multiply–accumulate operation|fused multiply-add]] (FMA) operations that are used extensively in neural network calculations for applying a large series of multiplications on weights, followed by the addition of a bias. Tensor cores can operate on FP16, INT8, INT4, and INT1 data types. Each core can do 1024 bits of FMA operations per clock, so 1024 INT1, 256 INT4, 128 INT8, and 64 FP16 operations per clock per tensor core, and most Turing GPUs have a few hundred tensor cores.<ref>{{Cite web|title=TENSORTensor CORECore DL PERFORMANCEPerformance GUIDEGuide|url=https://developer.download.nvidia.com/video/gputechconf/gtc/2019/presentation/s9926-tensor-core-performance-the-ultimate-guide.pdf|url-status=live|website=Nvidia|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111223322/https://developer.download.nvidia.com/video/gputechconf/gtc/2019/presentation/s9926-tensor-core-performance-the-ultimate-guide.pdf |archive-date=2020-11-11 }}</ref> The Tensor Cores use [[CUDA]] [[Warp (CUDA)|Warp]]-Level Primitives on 32 parallel threads to take advantage of their parallel architecture.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://devblogs.nvidia.com/using-cuda-warp-level-primitives/|title=Using CUDA Warp-Level Primitives|publisher=[[Nvidia]]|date=2018-01-15|access-date=2020-04-08|quote=NVIDIA GPUs execute groups of threads known as warps in SIMT (Single Instruction, Multiple Thread) fashion.}}</ref> A Warp is a set of 32 [[Thread (computing)|threads]] which are configured to execute the same instruction. Since [[Windows 10 version 1903]], Microsoft Windows provided [[DirectML]] as one part of [[DirectX]] to support Tensor Cores.
 
The Tensor Cores use [[CUDA]] [[Warp (CUDA)|Warp]]-Level Primitives on 32 parallel threads to take advantage of their parallel architecture.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://devblogs.nvidia.com/using-cuda-warp-level-primitives/|title=Using CUDA Warp-Level Primitives|publisher=[[Nvidia]]|date=2018-01-15|access-date=2020-04-08|quote=''NVIDIA GPUs execute groups of threads known as warps in SIMT (Single Instruction, Multiple Thread) fashion''}}</ref> A Warp is a set of 32 [[Thread (computing)|threads]] which are configured to execute the same instruction.
 
== CriticismIssues and criticism ==
ItEspecially hasin beenearly criticizedversions thatof byDLSS, implementingusers DLSSreported inblurry theirframes. Andrew gamesEdelsten, gamean developersemployee noat longerNvidia, havetherefore ancommented incentiveon tothe optimizeproblem themin soa thatblog theypost alsoin run2019 smoothlyand inpromised that they nativewere resolutionworking on currentimproving PCthe hardware.technology Forand example,clarified forthat the gameDLSS ''[[AlanAI Wakealgorithm 2]]''was inmainly trained with [[4K resolution]]image atmaterial. That the highestuse graphicsof settingsDLSS withleads [[Rayto tracingparticularly (graphics)|rayblurred tracing]]images enabledat lower resolutions, thesuch useas of[[Full DLSSHD]], inis Performancedue modeto isthe recommendedfact eventhat withthe currentalgorithm high-endhas graphicsfar cardsless suchimage asinformation theavailable [[Nvidiato GeForcecalculate RTXan 4080]]appropriate inimage ordercompared to achievehigher 60resolutions fpslike 4K.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-10-26 |title=AlanNVIDIA WakeDLSS: 2Your onQuestions, PC is an embarrassment of richesAnswered |url=https://www.digitaltrendsnvidia.com/computingen-us/geforce/news/alannvidia-wakedlss-2your-pcquestions-performanceanswered/ |access-date=2024-07-09 |websitepublisher=Digital TrendsNvidia |language=en-us}}</ref>
 
Furthermore, theThe use of DLSS frame generation may lead to increased [[input latency]],<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-11-21 |title=When a high frame rate can lose you the game |url=https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/when-frames-dont-win-games/ |access-date=2024-07-09 |website=Digital Trends |language=en}}</ref> andas well as [[visual artifacts]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-03-08 |title=Nvidia DLSS 3 Revisit: We Try It Out in 9 Games |url=https://www.techspot.com/article/2639-dlss-3-revisit/ |access-date=2024-07-09 |website=TechSpot |language=en-US}}</ref> It has also been criticized that by implementing DLSS in their games, game developers no longer have an incentive to optimize them so that they also run smoothly in native resolution on modern PC hardware. For example, for the game ''[[Alan Wake 2]]'' in [[4K resolution]] at the highest graphics settings with [[Ray tracing (graphics)|ray tracing]] enabled, the use of DLSS in Performance mode is recommended even with current-generation high-end graphics cards such as the [[Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080]] in order to achieve 60 fps.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-10-26 |title=Alan Wake 2 on PC is an embarrassment of riches |url=https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/alan-wake-2-pc-performance/ |access-date=2024-07-09 |website=Digital Trends |language=en}}</ref>
 
== See also ==
* [[GPUOpen#FidelityFX Super Resolution|FidelityFX Super Resolution]] – competing upsampling technology from [[AMD]]
* [[Intel XeSS]] – competing technology from [[Intel]]
* [[Intel XeSS]] – an AI-augmented upscaling technology from [[Intel]]<!--XeSS is being discussed at GDC on March 23rd and 24th, so I suspect this won't be a redlink much longer. Feel free to remove this notice if the link exists.-->
* [[PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution]] – similar technology from [[Sony]]
 
== References ==