OpenAI has officially unveiled its advanced AI video generation software, Sora, marking its public debut nearly ten months after it was first introduced in February 2024. The new iteration, named Sora Turbo, incorporates significant enhancements compared to the initial model. This upgraded version is available for ChatGPT Plus and Pro subscribers at a monthly cost of $20 or $200, respectively, accessible to users in the U.S. and many other countries outside the EU and UK.
Sam Altman, cofounder and CEO of OpenAI, announced the release during a live stream as part of the company’s holiday series, “12 Days of OpenAI.” Users can utilize Sora to create a diverse array of video content from text inputs or still images, generating clips that are between 10 and 20 seconds in length. The software supports various resolutions from 480p to 1080p and can produce videos in different formats such as landscape, square, and vertical.
A distinctive feature of Sora is its user-friendly interface, which allows users to switch between grid and list views to manage their video generations effectively. Additionally, a Storyboarding mode enables users to create multiple interconnected clips within a Timeline view, facilitating seamless transitions and custom edits.
ChatGPT Plus subscribers can generate up to 50 videos each month at 480p resolution, while the Pro plan caters to more demanding users with unlimited generations, higher resolutions, and longer durations.
OpenAI also mentioned plans to introduce tailored pricing options to better serve a variety of users by early 2025, indicating a commitment to accessibility and user needs.
The announcement was initially broken by tech reviewer Marques Brownlee, known as MKBHD, who provided insights, including both impressive and occasionally flawed outputs from the Sora software. While the generator can produce astonishingly life-like footage, it has also been observed to create inaccurate details, such as nonsensical text and unnatural physics. Nevertheless, OpenAI has implemented strict measures to prevent the generation of likenesses of real individuals and the portrayal of violence or explicit content.
In a twist, the release followed a leak of Sora by early testers on the platform Hugging Face, who protested the company’s beta testing approach. They highlighted the contradiction of hundreds of artists contributing their time and effort without compensation, while a select few were offered minimal rewards in exchange for their creative outputs.
Sora’s launch comes at a time when the market for realistic AI video generation is rapidly evolving, with competitors like Runway, Luma AI, and several Chinese companies making significant strides in similar technologies within the last few weeks. Despite OpenAI’s strong brand recognition from its success with ChatGPT, the emergence of numerous alternatives could challenge Sora’s position in the market.
In summary, OpenAI’s Sora reflects a significant advancement in AI video generation technology, blending innovative features with a user-friendly interface. While the competitive landscape is intensifying, the potential for creative expression and storytelling through Sora presents exciting opportunities for users and content creators alike, paving the way for future developments in artificial intelligence applications. This launch is a testament to the rapid innovation occurring within the field and signifies a new chapter for content creation.