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Runway goes 3D with new AI video camera controls

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Runway goes 3D with new AI video camera controls

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As the AI video wars continue to wage with new, realistic video generating models being released on a near weekly basis, early leader Runway isn’t ceding any ground in terms of capabilities.

Rather, the New York City-based startup — funded to the tune of $100M+ by Google and Nvidia, among others — is actually deploying even new features that help set it apart. Today, for instance, it launched a powerful new set of advanced AI camera controls for its Gen-3 Alpha Turbo video generation model.

Now, when users generate a new video from text prompts, uploaded images, or their own video, the user can also control how the AI generated effects and scenes play out much more granularly than with a random “roll of the dice.”

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Instead, as Runway shows in a thread of example videos uploaded to its X account, the user can actually zoom in and out of their scene and subjects, preserving even the AI generated character forms and setting behind them, realistically putting them and their viewers into a fully realized, seemingly 3D world — like they are on a real movie set or on location.

As Runway CEO Crisóbal Valenzuela wrote on X, “Who said 3D?”

This is a big leap forward in capabilities. Even though other AI video generators and Runway itself previously offered camera controls, they were relatively blunt and the way in which they generated a resulting new video was often seemingly random and limited — trying to pan up or down or around a subject could sometimes deform it or turn it 2D or result in strange deformations and glitches.

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What you can do with Runway’s new Gen-3 Alpha Turbo Advanced Camera Controls

The Advanced Camera Controls include options for setting both the direction and intensity of movements, providing users with nuanced capabilities to shape their visual projects. Among the highlights, creators can use horizontal movements to arc smoothly around subjects or explore locations from different vantage points, enhancing the sense of immersion and perspective.

For those looking to experiment with motion dynamics, the toolset allows for the combination of various camera moves with speed ramps.

This feature is particularly useful for generating visually engaging loops or transitions, offering greater creative potential. Users can also perform dramatic zoom-ins, navigating deeper into scenes with cinematic flair, or execute quick zoom-outs to introduce new context, shifting the narrative focus and providing audiences with a fresh perspective.

The update also includes options for slow trucking movements, which let the camera glide steadily across scenes. This provides a controlled and intentional viewing experience, ideal for emphasizing detail or building suspense. Runway’s integration of these diverse options aims to transform the way users think about digital camera work, allowing for seamless transitions and enhanced scene composition.

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These capabilities are now available for creators using the Gen-3 Alpha Turbo model. To explore the full range of Advanced Camera Control features, users can visit Runway’s platform at runwayml.com.

While we haven’t yet tried the new Runway Gen-3 Alpha Turbo model, the videos showing its capabilities indicate a much higher level of precision in control and should help AI filmmakers — including those from major legacy Hollywood studios such as Lionsgate, with whom Runway recently partnered — to realize major motion picture quality scenes more quickly, affordably, and seamlessly than ever before.

Asked by VentureBeat over Direct Message on X if Runway had developed a 3D AI scene generation model — something currently being pursued by other rivals from China and the U.S. such as Midjourney — Valenzuela responded: “world models :-).”

Runway first mentioned it was building AI models designed to simulate the physical world back in December 2023, nearly a year ago, when co-founder and chief technology officer (CTO) Anastasis Germanidis posted on the Runway website about the concept, stating:

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A world model is an AI system that builds an internal representation of an environment, and uses it to simulate future events within that environment. Research in world models has so far been focused on very limited and controlled settings, either in toy simulated worlds (like those of video games) or narrow contexts (such as developing world models for driving). The aim of general world models will be to represent and simulate a wide range of situations and interactions, like those encountered in the real world.

As evidenced in the new camera controls unveiled today, Runway is well along on its journey to build such models and deploy them to users.


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Apple’s AirTags have dropped to one of their best prices to date

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Apple’s AirTags have dropped to one of their best prices to date

Thanksgiving is just around the corner, meaning airports everywhere are about to get slammed. Thankfully, if you plan on flying out of town this holiday season, Apple’s AirTags can help you speed through the baggage claim with some extra piece of mind. A four-pack normally goes for $99, but right now, you can buy them for just under $74 at Walmart and Best Buy — a mere $1 shy of their best price to date.

If you own an iPhone, Apple’s AirTags are the best Bluetooth trackers you can buy. They offer impressively precise tracking thanks to Apple’s ultra wideband chip and their ability to tap into Apple’s vast Find My system, which lets them cover a broader range than Bluetooth alone. You can also share them with up to five people — assuming your phone is running iOS 17 or 18 — allowing everybody to keep tabs on valuables if you’re traveling with a family or group. The water-resistant trackers even have user-replaceable batteries, so you don’t need to get a new one whenever a battery dies. Now, if only Apple outfitted them with a lanyard hole or some way to attach them to your bag…

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Liquid cooling solutions gain momentum as AI workloads turn up the heat in data centers

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Liquid cooling solutions gain momentum as AI workloads turn up the heat in data centers

Artificial intelligence is driving unprecedented demand in data centers, as the need for processing vast amounts of data continues to surge.

As tech giants race to expand their infrastructures to accommodate AI workloads, they are faced with the growing challenge of how to sustainably and affordably power these operations – and this has even led companies like Oracle and Microsoft to explore nuclear energy as a potential solution.

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3 underrated shows on Amazon Prime Video you need to watch in November

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3 underrated shows on Amazon Prime Video you need to watch in November
A little person in a fox mask holds a gun to the back of Billy Zane's head in Mad Dogs on Amazon Prime Video.
Amazon Studios

Did you know that Amazon Prime Video launched a series almost a decade ago with a killer cast that was met with solid reviews but was canceled? Mad Dogs didn’t get the due it deserved. That show counts among three underrated shows on Amazon Prime Video you need to watch in November.

The other two shows are likely ones you have heard of before but never took the time to watch. They received mixed reviews but played a significant role in their respective genres. Without one, for example, we might not have seen shows like The Great, and without the other, NCIS would never have graced the small screen.

Need more recommendations? Then check out the best new shows to stream this week, as well as the best shows on Netflixbest shows on Hulubest shows on Amazon Prime Video, the best shows on Max, and the best shows on Disney+.

The Tudors (2007-2010)

A regal woman and man walk with hands linked in The Tudors.
CBC

Set in 16th-century England, this British Canadian historical fiction series fits right in with others of the same ilk, like The Gilded Age, The Great, and Bridgerton. If you like any (or all) of those shows, you’ll appreciate The Tudors, which is based on the reign of King Henry VIII, played by Jonathan Rhys Meyers. Also featuring Natalie Dormer (Game of Thrones), Henry Cavill (The Witcher), and Annabelle Wallis (Peaky Blinders), you’ll notice a lot of familiar faces among the main and guest starring cast.

From King Henry VIII’s challenges in the political sphere to a mysterious illness that takes over England, multiple marriages, ghosts, and betrayal, The Tudors covers all the juicy details of the former king’s life in its dramatized retelling. The series received mixed reviews from critics but was largely beloved by fans. Of the first season, Hollywood Reporter’s Barry Garron calls The Tudors a “solid and historically grounded drama that is dependably entertaining with performances often more riveting than the stories from which they arise.”

Stream The Tudors on Amazon Prime Video.

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JAG (1995-2005)

A woman in man in military uniforms standing in front of an American flag in JAG.
CBS

While fans have JAG to thank for the launch of NCIS, which serves as its spinoff, this legal drama doesn’t get the credit it deserves. In fact, JAG was canceled by NBC after its first season due to low ratings but picked up by CBS where it finally took off and continued on for nine more seasons. Taking place within the Department of the Navy’s Office of the Judge Advocate General in Washington, D.C., the series centers around judge advocates (aka lawyers) who handle criminal cases within the sphere of military justice.

JAG provided a unique angle in an oversaturated primetime procedural space by having many episodes featuring stories inspired by real-life events, like the USS Cole bombing and the Kelly Flinn incident. Despite its intriguing focus, talented cast, and the fact that JAG spawned what has become one of the longest-running scripted live-action primetime series in U.S. history, the series has become overshadowed by others, and it’s ripe for rediscovery.

Stream JAG on Amazon Prime Video.

Mad Dogs (2015-2016)

Four men together, two sitting two standing while looking at something intently in Mad Dogs on Amazon Prime Video.
Amazon Studios

Inspired by the British series of the same name, Mad Dogs only lasted a single season, but it’s still an entertaining watch. The comedy thriller centers around four underachieving 40-something-year-old men, old high school friends, who decide to travel to Belize to visit their old friend who, unlike them, is a successful businessman living a lavish life. While there, they try to let loose and live in the moment, but it turns into a vacation from hell.

The cast is impressive, including Ben Chaplin (The Truth About Cats & Dogs), Michael Imperioli (The Sopranos, The White Lotus), Romany Malco (Weeds), Steve Zahn (The White Lotus), and Billy Zane (Titanic). It’s a wonder with a cast like that why Mad Dogs didn’t get more attention or a renewal.

Co-showrunner Shawn Ryan, who also created The Shield and the Netflix smash hit series The Night Agent, told The Hollywood Reporter that someone leaked the ratings of the show to him and purports that it was the third-highest-rated show behind only Man in the High Castle and Bosch at the time of launch. He claims the high viewership and good reviews weren’t expected and “they already had made a business decision to move on.” As far as underrated shows that deserve to be brought back go, Mad Dogs makes the cut.

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Stream Mad Dogs on Amazon Prime Video.






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Snapdragon 8 Elite heats up quite a bit during intense GPU use

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Snapdragon 8 Elite's Antutu scores show massive improvements

According to leaks, the new Snapdragon 8 Elite chip will power the entire Galaxy S25 series. It seems that Samsung couldn’t fix the low yield rates of its 3nm wafers in time, so it had to scrap the Exynos 2500 chip. This is great news for fans of the lineup, as the new Qualcomm SoC sees major improvements in power. That said, it seems that the Galaxy S25 series chip presents a potential heating issue during graphical stress benchmarks.

The Snapdragon 8 Elite shows a potential heating issue during GPU tests

The leaked benchmarks of the Snapdragon 8 Elite-powered devices have shown impressive results. The new Oryon custom cores inherited from the Snapdragon X chips are the main highlight. However, it seems that one particular situation causes special stress on the SoC.

Android Authority and Digital Trends ran GPU-focused benchmarks on the Realme GT7 Pro, an upcoming Android flagship phone. The device boasts of using Qualcomm’s most powerful chip. During GPU benchmarks, sources claimed that the phone got noticeably hot. The heating levels even triggered warnings about the temperature of the device. At that point, the Realme flagship disabled all functions except for calls for a few minutes.

The high temperatures during the GPU benchmark even prevented the Realme GT7 Pro from completing the 3DMark stress test. This test pushes the capabilities of the device’s GPU to the max, so it’s normal for the temperature to rise. However, it’s not so normal for the app to crash before returning results. Regarding temperatures, the Realme GT7 Pro reached 46°C at its highest point.

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The chip performs well outside of GPU benchmarks, even in heavy gaming

It’s quite possible that the problems described above are more related to the stress tests than to an actual heating problem on the chip. According to the same sources who ran the stress tests, the Realme GT7 Pro performed much better in every other situation. The device ran normally even during heavy gameplay, with no crashes or high temperature notifications.

The Xiaomi 15 Pro, another Snapdragon 8 Elite-powered device, was also put through heavy gaming tests under demanding conditions. The device ran titles like Genshin Impact, Honkai: Star Rail, and Honor of Kings at maximum graphical settings. The result was high performance with controlled temperatures in all cases. So, it doesn’t seem like Qualcomm’s latest SoC has a problem handling demanding tasks. If anything, it might not perform at its best in the 3DMark stress tests.

Basically, if you’re worried about a potential heating issue with the Galaxy S25 lineup’s Snapdragon chip, you can rest easy.

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New Apple repair program will fix iPhone 14 Plus’ rear camera issue for free

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New Apple repair program will fix iPhone 14 Plus' rear camera issue for free

Apple has determined that “a very small percentage” of iPhone 14 Plus models are having rear camera issues, and it has launched a service program to repair them for free. If your phone isn’t showing a preview when you use its rear camera, then you may be eligible to get your phone fixed at no cost — you can also contact Apple to get a refund if you’d already paid for a repair. The affected devices were manufactured between April 10, 2023 and April 28, 2024, around half a year after the model started shipping in 2022.

You can check your device’s serial number on the official repair program page to know if your device is included. To get it fixed, you can bring your phone to an Apple Authorized Service Provider or to an Apple retail store after making an appointment. You can also contact Apple Support if you want to mail your device to a repair center. The program covers repairs for all eligible phones for three years after the original date of purchase, so you may want to keep it in mind in case your unit starts exhibiting the issue in the future. Apple says it may “restrict or limit repair” to the unit’s original region of purchase, though, so you’ll have to check with the company if you bought your iPhone while traveling outside your country.

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Levellr raises funds for tools to manage Discord communities

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Levellr raises funds for tools to manage Discord communities

Levellr has raised $1.75 million for its community management and insights tools used by companies to manage Discord communities.

The money comes from from a group of video games and media industry investors including Mitch Lasky, Fuel Ventures, Colopl Next and LFG Holdings (headed by SuperAwesome founder Dylan Collins) as well as senior executives from Krafton, Riot Games, Amazon, EA and SuperAwesome. 

Levellr also announced that Collins, the serial entrepreneur behind companies including SuperAwesome, Jolt and Demonware, is joining the company as chairman. In an email to GamesBeat, Collins said the Discord tools are already used by more than 60 game studios and tech companies including Scopely, Hutch, Pathea, the NFL, Google and YouTube.

Discord has become one of the largest messaging platforms in the world, with over 200 million monthly active users. It has become one of the most popular new digital engagement spaces for Gen Z and Gen Alpha players.

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The value of Discord communities is increasingly being realized across gaming organizations, with multiple teams tapping into the value provided by Levellr’s software, including  professional community managers, marketing, partnerships and licensing, customer support, engineering and commercial teams.

Levellr’s Discord tools are used across hundreds of communities by major gaming and consumer brands to provide detailed analytics, sentiment tracking, in-community engagement, content scheduling, monetization features and key enterprise functionality.  

Levellr gives you insights into your community on Discord.
Levellr gives you insights into your community on Discord.

Tom Gayner, CEO of Levellr, said in a statement, “As community and superfan engagement has become increasingly important for revenue growth, we’re incredibly pleased to raise capital from angel investors who see and deal with some of these challenges daily. Rising UA costs and the excess of opportunity for players and consumers is creating astonishing bottlenecks around customer acquisition, which has woken the industry up to the importance of community platforms. Discord is an incredible space for community engagement and we’re excited to be contributing towards that ecosystem”

Founded by Tom Gayner and Ben Barbersmith in 2021, Levellr’s team is distributed across North America and Europe with customers globally. The company has 22 people, starting in London and New York. They have remote employees as well.

The founders have been building communities for the last decade, Gayner in gaming, consumer and entertainment brands from his time at Interpublic Group agencies, and Barbersmith from his time at YouTube.

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“When we launched Levellr over three years ago, we noticed a growing shift with traditional social media platforms moving from spaces where we engage in the conversation, to becoming broadcast media platforms at their core, with the platforms encouraging short-form algorithmic content,” the founders said in an email to GamesBeat. “This shift was pushing community driven businesses in gaming, consumer and entertainment to move conversations onto platforms like Discord and Reddit, where they could bring together their players and users into one space to give engaged users a microphone and make them part of the conversation in a way that traditional social was no longer providing.”

They added, “But what publishers, developers and brands couldn’t articulate, was what the value of a community on Discord was providing. How much game time are you driving from those users? Are you re-engaging lapsed users? What is the dollar value of a user on Discord? How do you increase that dollar value? How do you sift through the thousands of messages sent by your players on a daily basis and turn that into nuggets of insights that can drive decision making across the business?”

And they said, “We took those challenges & learnings from our early customers to build our software solutions to ultimately help them power unmatched insights, drive meaningful engagement & turn communities into revenue generating platforms. Today our tools plug into Discord and Telegram, but Reddit is on the roadmap for 2025 and we’ll continue to be layering on additional community platforms to give our customers a one source of truth for what is a fragmented community landscape.

Prior to this round, Levellr has been largely bootstrapped, raising just over $1 million. Although breakeven in Q2 this year, the company felt it was time to respond to customer demand and raise some capital to move faster.

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“We wanted money which was experienced and connected in the gaming industry, so we’re pleased that the majority of investors are experienced founders and operators from the industry,” the founders said.

As for what the company does, they said they are seeing community and superfan engagement become increasingly important for revenue growth, driven by rising user-acquisition costs and the excess of opportunity for players and consumers creating astonishing bottlenecks around customer acquisition, which has woken the industry up to the importance of community platforms.

But community building comes with challenges, they said.

“None of our customers could concretely explain internally or externally what the value of their community was before working with us. It was evident they had highly engaged communities based on the number of users and daily messages sent, but how do they actually turn that engagement into business insights and value?” they said.

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“Our software, which plugs into our customers communities, provides them with access to unparalleled insights via our AI driven social listening tools which they can access through our dashboards and API’s, whilst driving engagement within communities via our unique gamification tools which we can connect directly to gameplay across multiple platforms to turn communities from a separate island for conversation into a truly connected ecosystem with our customers products and games,” they said.

Levellr gives you a glimpse of your Discord community.
Levellr gives you a glimpse of your Discord community.

They added, “In September alone, we crunched over three billion data points for customers who are receiving millions of messages in communities per month. This provides a literal goldmine of information to publishers, studios and brands who are using the insights we are driving to fuel change across developer, data and analytics, publishing, player insights, marketing, licensing and community teams.”

And customers are seeing the value, they said. Levellr’s software has been able to prove with existing customers that on average, a Discord user is six times more valuable than a non-Discord user through spend on and off platform, which the company can surface via integrations into e-commerce platforms and customer CRM’s.


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