Just seven months after it unveiled its Veo AI video generator, Alphabet division Google DeepMind has announced Veo 2. The new tool can generate videos of up to 4K resolution, whereas the first Veo could only handle up to 1080p. Google is claiming improvements in the physics of the scenes that the upgraded Veo generates, as well as better “camera control” (there is no real camera involved, but the user can prompt the model for specific camera shots and angles, from close ups to pans to “establishing shots.”) DeepMind also announced an updated version of its Imagen 3 text-to-image model, though the changes—like “more compositionally balanced” images and improved adherence to artistic styles—clearly aren’t big enough to warrant a full new version number. Imagen 3 first rolled out in August. Veo 2’s step up to 4K suggests DeepMind is pulling ahead of rival AI labs in video generation. OpenAI finally released its Sora video generator a week ago, after having unveiled it all the way back in February, but the output of Sora (specifically, the Sora Turbo version that is now available to ChatGPT Plus and Pro users) remains limited to a maximum resolution of 1080p. Runway, which is perhaps the most popular of the current AI video generators, can only export at an even fuzzier 720p.

Full report : Google DeepMind’s new Veo 2 AI video generator offers 4K resolution as well as camera control for better shots.