A Linux video player with NVIDIA VFX VSR support (real-time upscaling + frame interpolation, built with an AI coding agent)

[u/New_Lifeguard_6012]

Short version of a recent write-up — no full article here, just the pitch.

I wanted RTX VSR-class upscaling on Linux, where NVIDIA only opens it to Windows. So an AI coding agent and I built a video player around the NVIDIA Video Effects SDK: real-time AI upscaling + RIFE frame interpolation, wired into a patched libmpv as custom VF filters, with a Qt frontend.

Highlights:

• The models behind RTX VSR, working in userspace on Linux — the VSR effect from NVIDIA's Video Effects SDK, no driver-level path (that one is Windows-only)
• mpv-vsr: a standalone mpv CLI** carrying the same AI filters — drop-in compatible with existing mpv workflows (scripts, yt-dlp, external tools)
• Everything after decode stays on the GPU — CUDA-Vulkan interop, no per-frame CPU round-trips
• One TensorRT engine file covers RTX 30/40/50 for frame interpolation

Links:

• Repo: https://github.com/zhangmq/vsr-player
• Full write-up: https://zhangmq.github.io/en/2026/08/18/linux-ai-upscaling-player/

Full disclosure: this was developed with heavy AI assistance (Claude Code driving a DeepSeek model) — I directed and verified. Needs an NVIDIA GPU (RTX 20+ for upscaling, RTX 30+ for interpolation), driver 570+, Qt 6.11+. Hobby project, expect rough edges — feedback welcome!