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As Rust Cohle famously put it in HBO's True Detective, "Time is a flat circle." So it's maybe not a huge surprise that Max is the latest service to bring cable-style linear channels to a premium streaming service. It's starting to test such channels in the US. Some ad-free subscribers will see a Channels option on the homepage of adult profiles. This will take you to a selection of 24/7 feeds of HBO programming, including HBO and HBO 2 simulcasts. Other channels will showcase prestige drama, comedy and classic HBO shows, movies and documentaries. The channels work pretty much like any linear TV network in the modern age. You can restart shows, rewind and fast-forward. On select devices, youll be able to switch between channels directly in the player, without having to go back to the channels hub. This initial rollout lays the groundwork for more themed channels, which will start arriving next year. According to The Verge, Max may even offer personalized streaming channels down the road. These channels could help you avoid wasting time instead of scrolling through Max while figuring out what to watch. If youre in the mood to laugh, maybe just turn on HBO Comedy. Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) will surely be hoping that channels increase engagement and keep people using the streaming service. After all, lots of folks simply switch on the likes of CBS because they want to watch something and they trust the networks brand enough to deliver a show that suits them. Max already offers linear channels in Europe. Crave, a Canadian streaming service that has exclusive rights to the HBO library in that market, offers HBO and HBO 2 simulcasts as well. WBD notably pulled shows including Westworld and The Nevers from Max a couple of years ago. Roku and Tubi now offer free, ad-supported channels featuring HBO shows and other WBD programming. Rivals also have their own linear channels, including Disney+, Paramount+ and Peacock. Amazon, meanwhile, is shutting down Freevee and moving its programming to Prime Video. As if it weren't already evident enough that media conglomerates are trying to bring back the heady success that cable saw for decades, they're teaming up with each other through streaming bundles. One gets you Max, Disney+ and Hulu for $30 per month, while Comcast offers a package of Netflix, Peacock and Apple TV+ for $15 per month. Saving you money (compared with subscribing to these services separately) while dumping a ton of programming you don't care about into your lap? This is all really just cable 2.0.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/streaming-is-just-tv-all-over-again-165115834.html?src=rss
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Google has begun rolling out private access to its Veo and Imagen 3 generative AI models. Starting today, customers of the companys Vertex AI Google Cloud package can begin using Veo to generate videos from text prompts and images. Then, as of next week, Google will make Imagen 3, its latest text-to-image framework, available to those same users. With Veos rollout, Google says its the first hyperscale cloud provider to offer an image-to-video model. To that point, OpenAIs Sora model is still only available to select artists, academics and researchers though that could change quickly with the company teasing 12 days of product demos starting December 5. Of Veo, Google says the model creates 1080p footage thats consistent and coherent and can run beyond a minute. The tool is also capable of working with both text prompts and images. In the latter case, its possible to use either AI-generated or human-made pictures as the starting point for a video. Looking at the sample footage Google shared, its evident Veo, like all AI models, can struggle with cause and effect. For example, in the clip of the roasting marshmallows, the treats dont yellow and char as theyre exposed to the heat of a campfire flame. Artifacting is also an issue, as is apparent if you look closely at the hands in the concert footage. Google As for Imagen 3, Google says the model generates the most realistic and highest quality images from simple text prompts, surpassing previous versions of Imagen in detail, lighting, and artifact reduction. Here again, however, you dont have to look too closely to see Google has more work to do. In the first example of a group of friends sitting on the trunk of a car, the original prompt includes mention of flash photography, but the subjects are clearly backlit. One could argue that a flash was used to create intense backlighting, but if the idea behind the prompt was to create something representative of flash photography from the 1960s, this image isnt it. Still, Google is keen to get more of its enterprise customers using generative AI. Citing its own research, the tech giant says among companies using generative AI in production, 86 percent report an increase in revenue. However, a recent Appen survey found return on investment from AI projects fell by 4.6 percentage points from 2023 to 2024.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/googles-generative-ai-video-model-is-available-in-private-preview-160055983.html?src=rss
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Washington, DCs Attorney General Brian Schwalb is suing Amazon for allegedly excluding certain ZIP codes from enjoying Amazon Primes speedy delivery. Schwalb claims that, beginning in 2022, Amazon stopped using its in-house delivery systems for Wards 7 and 8 while still charging those customers the same amount for a Prime subscription. According to Census Reporter, Ward 7 and Ward 8 are 83 percent and 82 percent Black, respectively. According to the suit, instead of using its own trucks, Amazon relied on UPS and USPS carriers to make deliveries a decision that resulted in longer delivery times. Only 24 percent of packages to these Wards were delivered within two days. Schwalb also alleged that Amazon didnt notify any Ward 7 and Ward 8 residents about these changes. Worryingly, this isnt the first time Amazon has been called out for excluding majority-Black neighborhoods from the full benefits of a Prime membership. A damning 2016 report in Bloomberg indicated the practice was common across several metro areas. Amazon has since provided Prime Free Same-Day Delivery to Bostons Roxbury neighborhood, Chicago's South Side and the Bronx in New York City.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/amazon-sued-for-alleged-prime-delivery-disparities-in-two-majority-black-dc-neighborhoods-150049496.html?src=rss
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