Snap is rolling out its fifth generation of Spectacles — standalone AR glasses that enable use of Lenses to “experience the world together with friends.” The firm is also launching a Spectacles Developer Program, and at a rental fee of $99 per month, that’s who the devices are aimed at, for now. Spectacles are powered by Snap OS, optimized to leverage people’s natural responses to interacting with their environment. They work seamlessly with mobile devices, turning smartphones into custom game controllers with Lenses. There’s even a Spectator Mode, “so friends without Spectacles can follow along, mirror your phone screen, and more.” Continue reading Snap Targets Developers with $99 per Month AR Spectacles

Amazon is transferring its OpenSearch platform to the Linux Foundation’s new OpenSearch Software Foundation. By handing a third-party the open-source project it has developed internally since 2021, Amazon hopes to accelerate collaboration in data-driven search and analytics, an area of focus due to the proliferation of model training. Not to be confused with commercial search (Google, Bing), engines like OpenSearch are geared toward enterprise and academia. Because it is licensed under Apache 2.0, OpenSearch is a viable starting point for organizations that customize internal platforms for searching, monitoring and analyzing large volumes of data. Continue reading AWS Transfers OpenSearch Stewardship to Linux Foundation

The OpenAI board’s Safety and Security Committee will become an independent board oversight committee, chaired by Zico Kolter, machine learning department chair at Carnegie Mellon University. The committee will be responsible for “the safety and security processes guiding OpenAI’s model deployment and development.” Three OpenAI board members segue from their current SSC roles to the new committee: Quora founder Adam D’Angelo, former Sony Corporation EVP Nicole Seligman and erstwhile NSA chief Paul Nakasone. OpenAI is currently putting together a new funding round that reportedly aims to value the company at $150 billion. Continue reading OpenAI Bestows Independent Oversight on Safety Committee

Google announced the company is making its new AI assistant Gemini Live available free to all Android users. The move follows the feature’s release last month to Gemini Advanced subscribers. This general release will occur gradually, and only in English for the time being. Gemini Live lets users have a more natural, free-flowing conversation with their phones than was available through Google Assistant via the “Hey, Google” prompt. Gemini inquiries are meant to be conversational, eliciting a back and forth that queriers can interrupt, adding more detail or veering to another topic entirely. Continue reading Google Begins Rolling Out Gemini Live Free to Android Users

Dolby Labs has introduced cloud-based solutions to support clients with real-time, interactive streaming capabilities. The announcement, made from IBC 2024 in Amsterdam, follows Dolby’s July acquisition of streaming tools provider THEO Technologies, which services top sports, media and entertainment companies worldwide. Dolby and THEO promise streaming that is “more interactive, personalized, and delivered with extremely low latency.” Dolby will also offer a new capability, THEOads, providing an advertising environment “that is optimized for the dynamic nature of live content.” Continue reading Dolby to Expand Its Cloud-Based Live Streaming with THEO

Blackmagic Design announced that its new URSA Cine 17K 65 camera is available for orders from resellers worldwide, starting at $29,995. The cinema camera, which includes a massive 65mm RGBW 17,520 x 8,040 sensor with larger photo-sites for 16 stops of dynamic range, was previewed in April at NAB. Its features include interchangeable PL, LPL and Hasselblad lens mounts and industry standard Lemo and Fischer connections. The base model comes with 8TB of internal storage and also has high-speed networking built-in for media uploads and syncing to Blackmagic Cloud. Continue reading Blackmagic URSA Cine 17K Camera Priced Starting at $30K

In its ongoing effort to strike the right balance between ad targeting and consumer data collection, Google Ads is introducing a new process it calls “confidential matching.” Relying on the hardware and software used for confidential computing in Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs), Google says this new approach allows businesses to securely manage their first-party data. They’ll still be able to use it to reach customers and measure the impact of their digital ad campaigns, but the information will be isolated “during processing so that no one — including Google — can access the data being processed.” Continue reading Google Ads Adopts Open-Source TEE Setup for Data Privacy

A new study by Roku and National Research Group found that streaming may be a more effective marketing tool for theatrical exhibition than social media or television. According to the research, 44 percent of what the survey categorizes as “moviegoing streamers” claim a trailer on a streaming service would increase their interest in seeing a film in a theater while 43 percent indicate the same of trailers on social media. These numbers slightly edged out the 41 percent who say ads on broadcast or cable TV would encourage them to visit a theater. However, it’s worth noting that the survey also suggests 72 percent pay more attention to TV commercials than ads on social platforms. Continue reading Roku and NRG Study Finds Streaming Benefits Theater-Going

OpenAI is previewing a new series of AI models that can reason and correct complex coding mistakes, providing a more efficient solution for developers. Powered by OpenAI o1, the new models are “designed to spend more time thinking before they respond, much like a person would,” and as a result can “solve harder problems than previous models in science, coding, and math,” OpenAI claims, noting that “through training, they learn to refine their thinking process, try different strategies, and recognize their mistakes.” The first model in the series is being released in preview in OpenAI’s popular ChatGPT and in the company’s API. Continue reading OpenAI Previews New LLMs Capable of Complex Reasoning

Backed by Alibaba and Tencent, Chinese startup MiniMax has launched a new text-to-video model called Hailuo AI that is quickly gaining traction on social media based on its impressive capabilities, with comments ranging from “fantastical” to “hyper-realistic.” The free, web-based tool has already triggered videos that have gone viral, despite the current limitation of only 6-second clips. However, an image-to-video model is reportedly coming soon, in addition to a version 2 that promises longer video duration and improved motion. Unlike the Jimeng AI text-to-video model that was issued by ByteDance last month, the MiniMax technology is available outside of China. Continue reading Hailuo AI: China’s MiniMax Releases Free Text-to-Video App

Los Angeles-based production company Pressman Film is turning to crowdfunding to finance its latest slate. The indie studio behind films including “American Psycho,” “Wall Street” and “The Crow” is targeting $1.5 million in the first tranche, hosted by investment firm Republic. As the movie industry continues to regain its footing following the impact of COVID-19 and the Hollywood strikes, companies continue to seek innovative ways to move forward. “Get in on the ground floor of the filmmaking process, get exclusive insider perks, and share in the returns,” explains Republic’s website. Minimum buy-in is $200. Continue reading Pressman Film Joins Republic on Crowdfunding Capital Raise

Adobe is showcasing upcoming generative AI video tools that build on the Firefly video model the software giant announced in April. The offerings include a text-to-video feature and one that generates video from pictures. Each outputs clips of up to five seconds. Adobe has developed Firefly as the generative component of the AI integration it is rolling out across its Adobe’s Creative Cloud applications, which previously focused on editing and now, thanks to gen AI, incorporate creation. Adobe wasn’t a first-mover in the space, but its percolating effort has been received enthusiastically. Continue reading Adobe Publicly Demos Firefly Text- and Image-to Video Tools

Sony’s $700 PlayStation 5 Pro promises improved graphics and gameplay. The midcycle upgrade, releasing next month, aims to keep the console competitive with — or better than — ever-evolving game PCs. Sony says the new model supports 8K gaming, an upgrade to the native 4K available with the PS5. For those gamers interested in a disc drive for the PS5 Pro, an $80 model is available. Sony Interactive Entertainment’s popular “Gran Turismo 7” racing simulation game is poised to be the first 8K title for the PS5 Pro. Sony says the GPU on the PS5 Pro has 67 percent more compute and 28 percent faster memory, for rendering that is 45 percent faster than its predecessor. Continue reading New Sony PS5 Pro Supports 8K and Improves 4K Ray Tracing

Canon’s new EOS C80 is a professional full-frame 6K cinema camera designed for filmmakers that require a compact yet full-featured device. It is the company’s first cinema model with an RF mount. It also has a back-illuminated, stacked CMOS image sensor with triple-base ISO, which Canon says delivers “stunning imagery in a wide range of lighting conditions.” Base ISOs of 800, 3200 and 12,800 allow for full dynamic range. New to the EOS C line is 12G-SDI output, while Canon’s latest Dual Pixel CMOS Autofocus — Dual Pixel AF II — has been added. The C80 also lets users choose from different autofocus frame sizes. Continue reading Canon EOS C80 Offers Full-Frame 6K Recording for Pro Video

Senza is a connected TV app that parent Synamedia says can “transform the economics of reaching viewers” by offloading streaming controls from set-top boxes and dongles to the cloud. Synamedia claims Senza can reduce streaming costs by up to 90 percent while maintaining content security. The platform can be used to deliver to home TV screens as well as offsite locations such as bars, hotels and stadiums. “Senza moves the user experience from devices — such as connected TVs and streaming sticks — into the cloud and offers an HTML5 interface to quickly launch free, low-cost or premium services,” according to the company. Continue reading Synamedia Reimagines TV Streaming with New Cloud Device