Facebook is downsizing data storage expenditures by deleting old live video feeds. Meta Platforms announced that beginning this week “new live broadcasts can be replayed, downloaded or shared from Facebook Pages or profiles for 30 days, after which they will be automatically removed from Facebook.” Prior to removing the content, users will be notified they have 90 days to download or transfer the material to other storage or convert it to a new reel. Previously, such content was stored indefinitely. Facebook stores more than 100 petabytes of material with an estimated 500 terabytes added each day. Continue reading Facebook’s New Storage Policy Limits Live Video to 30 Days

Amazon has pulled the plug on Inspire, its TikTok-type, short-form video and photo mobile feed designed to help customers explore and discover new products by browsing various categories. Like TikTok, Inspire used a vertical feed and opportunities to purchase products used by influencers and other customers. The shopping giant is instead referring customers to its shopping chatbot Rufus. Amazon has since November 2023 partnered with Instagram to promote shopping within the app, and also has a deal with Snap, so it still has ties to social shopping. Inspire was launched in December 2022 and expanded to national availability in May of 2023. Continue reading Amazon Replaces Social Shopping Feed with Rufus Chatbot

YouTube Shorts has upgraded its Dream Screen AI background generator to incorporate Google DeepMind’s latest video model, Veo 2, which will also generate standalone video clips that users can post to Shorts. “Need a specific scene but don’t have the right footage? Want to turn your imagination into reality and tell a unique story? Simply use a text prompt to generate a video clip that fits perfectly into your narrative, or create a whole new world,” coaxes YouTube, which seems to be trying out “Dream Screen” branding as an umbrella for its genAI efforts. Continue reading YouTube Shorts Updates Dream Screen with Google Veo 2 AI

Netflix is thinking about adding video podcasts as an inexpensive way to expand program offerings and boost engagement. The streamer has reportedly been in discussions with agencies in recent months, exploring talent to host talk-based video podcast shows. Netflix execs had previously considered the format but were skeptical it could work on the platform. Having witnessed YouTube’s explosive growth on television screens, which have surpassed mobile and desktop in terms of viewing hours, podcasts are now getting a second look as an entry point to creator-driven content. Continue reading Netflix Explores Podcasts in Push for Creator-Driven Content

TVs have become the primary viewing platform for YouTube in the U.S., surpassing mobile and desktop by watch time. The platform, which turns 20 this year, has gone from people “filming grainy videos of themselves on desktop computers to building studios and producing popular talk shows and feature-length films.” Content creators are “becoming the startups of Hollywood,” wrote CEO Neal Mohan in his annual letter to the YouTube user base. Mohan emphasized the company’s role in the entertainment ecosystem as 2024 marked the second consecutive year that YouTube was the most-watched streaming platform in the U.S., according to Nielsen. Continue reading TV Surpasses Mobile as YouTube’s Primary Viewing Platform

Adobe’s Firefly video is now in public beta as part of Firefly AI, now multi-modal with video, image and vector generation. Available for $10 for Firefly Standard or $30 for Firefly Pro, the Firefly app offers additional tiers for premium video and audio features, offering a degree of customization based on project needs. Adobe continues to position Firefly as “the only generative AI model that is IP-friendly and commercially safe,” offering the option of contractual IP indemnification to protect against infringement lawsuits “in the unlikely event of a claim involving a Firefly output.” Continue reading Adobe Firefly Video Now in Public Beta Starting at $10 Month

Snap has created a lightweight AI text-to-image model that will run on-device, expected to power some Snapchat mobile features in the months ahead. Using an iPhone 16 Pro Max, the model can produce high-resolution images in approximately 1.4 seconds, running on the phone, which reduces computational costs. Snap says the research model “is the continuation of our long-term investment in cutting edge AI and ML technologies that enable some of today’s most advanced interactive developer and consumer experiences.” Among the Snapchat AI features the new model will enhance are AI Snaps and AI Bitmoji Backgrounds. Continue reading Snap Develops a Lightweight Text-to-Video AI Model In-House

ByteDance has developed a generative model that can use a single photo to generate photorealistic video of humans in motion. Called OmniHuman-1, the multimodal system supports various visual and audio styles and can generate people doing things like singing, dancing, speaking and moving in a natural fashion. ByteDance says its new technology clears hurdles that hinder existing human-generators — obstacles like short play times and over-reliance on high-quality training data. The diffusion transformer-based OmniHuman addressed those challenges by mixing motion-related conditions into the training phase, a solution ByteDance researchers claim is new. Continue reading ByteDance’s AI Model Can Generate Video from Single Image

Most people know Hugging Face as a resource-sharing community, but it also builds open-source applications and tools for machine learning. Its recent release of vision-language models small enough to run on smartphones while outperforming competitors that rely on massive data centers is being hailed as “a remarkable breakthrough in AI.”  The new models — SmolVLM-256M and SmolVLM-500M — are optimized for “constrained devices” with less than around 1GB of RAM, making them ideal for mobile devices including laptops and also convenient for those interested in processing large amounts of data cheaply and with a low-energy footprint. Continue reading Hugging Face Has Developed Tiny Yet Powerful Vision Models

The U.S. Copyright Office has released Part 2 of its report on artificial intelligence, dealing with the legal and policy issues pertaining to copyright and generative AI. The two main takeaways are that legal questions concerning copyrightability and AI can be settled using existing federal law, requiring no legislative change. Also, “where AI ‘merely assists’ an author in the creative process, it does not change the copyrightability of the output.” Additionally, it reaffirms that any work created entirely by prompts (content “entirely generated by AI”) cannot be protected by copyright. Continue reading Copyright Office Says AI ‘Assisted’ Content Can Be Protected

Netflix has finally added a much-requested Season Download button for iOS that allows subscribers who use iPhones and iPads to download a complete season of episodes with one tap. Whether getting ready for a long flight or just looking to spend an evening binge-watching “Squid Games” or “Bridgerton” on a mobile device, the update provides a convenience. “On a show’s display page, look for the button right next to the Share option. Tap it, and the entire season will start downloading automatically — no more downloading episodes one at a time,” Netflix tells Apple fans. Continue reading Netflix Adds One-Click Full-Season Downloads for iOS Users

Free, ad-supported streaming video service Plex is introducing a new user interface and expanding its social media overlay, adding the ability for users to publicly share their Plex profiles and allow others to read and comment on their movie reviews. By default, all Plex users can be searched out by other Plex users within the app (unless they’ve changed that setting). Now, by opting to make profiles public on watch.plex.tv, they can be shared using the link and will also be searchable on the Web, showing what users have watched and have added to their watchlist, and more. California-based Plex offers ad-supported video-on-demand (AVOD) as well as linear FAST channels. Continue reading Plex Adds Public Profiles and Ways to Share Program Reviews

YouTube is rolling out new experimental features for Premium users and letting those paid plan subscribers access more than one test feature at a time. Among the exploratory features now available to YouTube Premium users is high-quality 256kbps audio on music videos and the ability to “jump ahead” on the web, something previously available only on mobile devices. For iOS users, picture-in-picture and smart downloads for YouTube Shorts are also among the new features. In addition, the company announced bundled pricing for those users who subscribe to both YouTube Premium and Google One Premium. Continue reading YouTube Premium Offers Speed Controls and Improved Audio

Netflix seems determined to test consumers’ price-value tolerance, raising by $2 the price of its premium tier, now $24.99 per month, while raising the cost of the standard ad-supported tier by $1, to $7.99 per month. Its approach is so far working. The news came with an earnings report that indicated new subscribers rose by 18.9 million in Q4, a 44 percent increase to 302 million worldwide members on close of 2024. For the year, revenue grew 16 percent and operating income expanded six points to 27 percent, exceeding $10 billion for the first time in company history. Continue reading Netflix Increases Subscription Prices as Memberships Surge

Projector company Xgimi unveiled a concept projector screen called Ascend — “the ultimate home entertainment solution” — that was one of CES’s most talked about offerings. A motorized 100-inch (diagonal) Ascend screen that rises from the floor with two built-in Harman Kardon sound bars was paired with Xgimi’s ultra short-throw Aura 2 4K projector for display during the show, which garnered positive word-of-mouth for its sleek design. It was also appreciatively noticed for what Xgimi says will be an affordable price, though the Chinese company stressed the technology is still in development. Continue reading CES: Xgimi Demonstrates 100-Inch Concept Projector Screen