Real-Time Virtual Background Without Any Software (Browser AI)
How to use AI background removal directly in your browser for live streams and video calls — no OBS plugin, no Zoom, no green screen. Works on Chrome and Edge with WebGPU acceleration.
Real-Time Virtual Background Without Any Software (Browser AI)
Every major video call app now has virtual backgrounds. But they come with strings attached: Zoom requires a subscription for the best models, Teams only works in Teams, and OBS plugins need drivers and configuration.
NSS Live Camera runs the same RMBG-1.4 AI model directly in your browser tab — no app to install, no plugin to configure, no account, no upload. Open the page, grant camera permission, pick a background, and you're running real-time background removal.
How It Works
When you open /live-camera:
- Your browser requests camera access via
getUserMedia - A Web Worker loads RMBG-1.4 (downloaded once, ~175MB, cached after first run)
- Every ~200ms, a frame is captured from your webcam and sent to the worker
- The AI produces a foreground mask for that frame
- The mask is applied in real time: background pixels are replaced with your chosen virtual background
- The composited result is rendered to a canvas on screen at your full camera resolution
Your webcam feed never leaves your browser tab. No frames are sent to any server.
Performance
| Device type | Expected inference fps |
|---|---|
| WebGPU-capable (Chrome/Edge + discrete GPU) | 8–12 fps |
| WebAssembly multi-threaded (WASM-MT) | 3–5 fps |
| WebAssembly single-threaded (WASM-ST) | 1–2 fps |
At 3–5fps, the background replacement is smooth enough for live calls — video streams naturally interpolate between frames, and viewer attention focuses on the speaker rather than fine edge detail.
Virtual Background Options
Blur — The original camera feed is blurred with a 15px Gaussian kernel and used as the background. Looks natural because the background still shows your real environment, just softened.
Solid colour — Choose any colour from the colour picker. Useful for chroma-keying in OBS (pick pure green #00b966 for classic green screen workflows) or for branded backgrounds.
Custom image — Upload any image (JPEG, PNG, WebP). The image is stretched to fill your camera dimensions.
None (transparent) — Outputs with alpha — useful for screen recording and compositing.
Using as a Virtual Camera in OBS
- Open /live-camera in Chrome or Edge
- Set your virtual background
- In OBS: Add Source → Window Capture → select your browser window
- Crop the OBS source to the canvas output (remove browser chrome)
- Use this as a video source in your scene
Alternatively, the Virtual Camera plugin for OBS lets you route the OBS preview to other apps as a camera device — giving you the NSS background in any video call app.
Using in Video Calls
Many video call platforms let you choose a virtual camera or share a browser window:
| Platform | Method |
|---|---|
| Discord | Share browser window as camera source |
| Google Meet | Use tab screen share |
| Zoom | OBS Virtual Camera route |
| Loom | Screen record the browser canvas |
Tips for Best Edge Quality
Good lighting matters. The AI works best when your face and body are clearly lit relative to the background. Backlighting (window behind you) degrades mask quality significantly.
Contrast helps. Wearing clothing that contrasts with your background gives the AI more information to work with. Dark clothing against a light wall, or vice versa.
Stable subjects blur less. The AI runs at ~5fps. If you move quickly, there will be a brief moment where the mask "catches up". Slower, more measured movements look cleaner.
WebGPU makes a real difference. On Chrome or Edge with a GPU, the jump from WASM to WebGPU is significant — roughly 3× faster inference. If you're on WebGPU, the lag is barely noticeable.
Related Tools
- Video Background Remover — for removing backgrounds from recorded video files
- GIF Background Remover — for animated GIFs
- Portrait Blur — bokeh blur for still photos