AI-driven video generation is evolving at an unprecedented pace, with new models pushing the boundaries of creativity and realism. Notably, Chinese AI models are now taking the lead, showcasing remarkable advancements in text-to-video and image-to-video generation. From Kling AI’s high-quality, lip-synced videos to Pikadditions and advanced motion control in Pika 2.1, these models are redefining video production. Latest advancements like Byte Dance’s OmniHuman-1 and Goku are further pushing the boundaries of AI video generation. This article brings you 10 such cutting-edge tools and models from China that mark significant advancement in AI-powered video generation.
We will now explore 10 innovative text-to-video generation models and tools developed by Chinese AI companies, that are making waves in the industry. We’ll cover the key features of each tool and see their performance through a sample video. We’ll then compare these models to find out which one to use for generating what kind of video. So let’s begin!
1. Kling AI by Kuaishou Technology: Kling 1.6
Kling AI, the best known Chinese AI-powered video generation tool, has introduced its latest model, Kling 1.6. This powerful generative AI model is capable of creating videos from both text as well as image prompts. It also features videos with accurate lip sync for dialogues in English and Chinese.
Key Features:
- Generates 5 or 10 second videos, offering extensions of up to 3 minutes in the premium tier.
- Supports 1080p resolution at 30 fps.
- Has both text-to-video and image-to-video features.
- Offers various aspect ratios.
Prompt: “Zoom into a lighthouse on a cliff, on a dark, starry, stormy night with waves gushing beneath. Set it in a blue-themed background”
Video generated by Kling 1.6
Review:
Kling 1.6 generated a beautiful video capturing the essence of the prompt. The rocks and the waves look realistic while the rest of it looks like digital art. The zoom-in was not so smooth as it felt like two separate, yet similar videos, put together. Also, the storm was just added as rain towards the end.
2. Hailuo AI by Shanghai MiniMax
Hailuo AI is an AI-powered video generator that allows users to create videos from text or by uploading an image. It features various models for different types of video generation. The I2V-01-live model creates live characters and 2D videos, while T2V-01-Director lets users control camera movements like in real-life filming. Meanwhile, the S2V-01 model offers a subject reference feature, generating consistent characters with high fidelity and flexibility.
Key Features:
- Generates 6-second long videos at 1280×720 resolution and 25 fps.
- Offers text-to-video and image-to-video features.
- Provides a 3-day trial period with unlimited access.
- Includes a prompt enhancement feature for improved generation quality.
Prompt: “The camera starts with a bird’s-eye view, looking down at a dark rooftop. A superhero drops from the sky, landing in a dramatic pose as the ground cracks beneath him. A [Pedestal down,Tilt up] emphasizes the impact. As he slowly stands up, a heroic low-angle close-up captures his face with city lights glowing behind.”
Video generated by T2V-01-Director
Review:
Hailuo AI’s video generation skills are quite phenomenal. The crack on the roof and the superhero’s facial features looked very realistic. Even the backdrop of the city was very detailed and well defined. However, the transitions and character movement could have been better.
3. Hunyuan AI Video
Hunyuan AI Video is one of the most powerful open-source AI video generation models available today. With 13B parameters, the model generates high-quality videos from natural language text descriptions. It focuses on creating realistic scenes with accurate motion dynamics, catering to various applications in media and entertainment.
Key Features:
- Generates videos up to 16-seconds long.
- Supports various resolutions up to 720p x 1280p.
- Emphasizes accurate motion dynamics.
Prompt: “Woman practicing yoga in a lush garden setting with greenery and birds in the background.”
Video generated by Hunyuan AI
Review:
Hunyuan AI has shown its excellence in generating realistic human figures and movements in this video. There is high level of detailing seen in the textures – be it the woman’s clothes, hair, or the wooden flooring. Even the leaves on the sides look realistic, while the birds and the backdrop maybe a bit out of proportion and focus.
4. Luma Ray 2
Ray 2 by Luma Labs AI is an advanced video generation model that focuses on creating photorealistic videos with intricate details. It excels in rendering lifelike textures and lighting, making it ideal for applications requiring high visual realism.
Key Features:
- Generates photorealistic videos of up to 10 seconds.
- Supports video outputs at 540p and 720p resolutions.
- Creates smooth, cinematic, and lifelike camera movements that match the intended emotion of the scene.
Prompt: “A herd of wild horses galloping across a dusty desert plain under a blazing midday sun, their manes flying in the wind; filmed in a wide tracking shot with dynamic motion, warm natural lighting, and an epic.”
Video generated by Luma Ray 2
Review:
Luma’s Ray 2 has indeed stepped up form its previous version. The video it generated shows the horses and their movement with great precision and accuracy. The lighting component could have been better adjusted, as the horses look too shiny to be in the middle of a dusty dessert. Hence, realism and contextual awareness fade a bit in this case.
5. Pika 2.1
Pika 2.1 is the latest iteration of Pika Labs’ AI-powered video generation tool. Its new Pikadditions feature lets users edit and merge real footage with AI-generated visuals. Along with that, the new model borrows the ‘Scene Ingredients’ feature from its previous version, where it can automatically extract people, objects, and locations from uploaded images.
Key Features:
- Supports full HD resolution in 1080p.
- Offers various animation styles such as 3D, anime, and cinematic realism.
- New improved features include Realistic Physics Simulation, Dynamic Lighting Effects, and Advanced Motion Control.
Prompt: “Close-up with smooth camera movement: A tiger cub sits in a picturesque green meadow, surrounded by gently fluttering butterflies. The camera tracks one butterfly as it slowly flies towards the cub and delicately lands on its nose. Lighting: Soft daylight highlighting intricate details like the cub’s fur texture and the butterfly’s wings. Camera: Shot on a full-frame (A7S3) with a 35mm lens, ensuring cinematic sharpness and depth.”
Video generated by Pika 2.1
Review:
Pika 2.1 created an HD video with exceptional clarity and detailing. Although an animated video, the colours and textures in the video are also commendable. The video generation tool seems to have a much better understanding of camera angles, movement, and lighting. Moreover, unlike most other models in this list, Pika 2.1 adds a watermark to it’s generated videos, upholding AI transparency.
6. PixVerse by Visual China & Aishi Technology
PixVerse is an innovative AI-powered video creation platform that enables users to transform text and images into dynamic, engaging videos. The platform excels in anime-style video generation, while offering unique styles, effects, and features like lip sync and video extension. It also features a Turbo mode for instantaneous video generation.
Key Features:
- Creates videos that are 5 or 8 seconds long.
- Supports video generation up to 1080p resolution.
- PixVerse Turbo feature generates videos in as little as 5 to 10 seconds.
Prompt: “Anime style video of a young warrior with spiky hair and a glowing sword standing atop a cliff, overlooking a futuristic city at sunset.”
Video generated by PixVerse
Review:
When it comes to creating animated videos especially anime-themed or cartoons, PixVerse definitely makes its mark. The character generation was spot on, including the detailing of the hair and the sword. The lighting was also done well. The city however looked modern, although not futuristic, as asked in the prompt.
7. Jimeng AI by ByteDance
Jimeng AI is an AI video-generation app developed by Faceu Technology, a subsidiary of ByteDance – the parent company of TikTok. The app offers various subscription plans, allowing users to create up to 2050 images or 168 AI videos per month.
Key Features:
- Generates videos of less than 5 seconds.
- Creates videos based on image and text prompts in English and Chinese.
- Offers frame to frame precision control.
Prompt: “Close up of an elegant and dazzling emerald ring, set in white gold, with small, brilliant diamonds around it. The emerald is green like the eyes of a mysterious forest, cut into a perfect oval shape. Show natural reflections, shadows, and lighting.”
Video generated by Jimeng AI
Review:
Jimeng AI created a video where the ring looked quite realistic. The finishing and detailing of the ring is remarkable, and the model’s accuracy in light and shadow is also commendable. This tool seems to be a good choice for generating product videos and advertising content.
8. Qwen2.5-Max by Alibaba
Qwen2.5-Max is a large-scale Mixture of Experts (MoE) model developed by Alibaba’s AI research team. It is the first AI chatbot to offer a video generation feature for free. The model has been pretrained on over 20 trillion tokens and further refined through Supervised Fine-Tuning (SFT) and Reinforcement Learning from Human Feedback (RLHF). This training and understanding gives it an edge in generating contextually accurate videos.
Key Features:
- Generates 5-second videos for free.
- Excels in generating contextually accurate videos with clarity.
- Accessible via Qwen Chat.
Prompt: “Generate a scene of an American husky dog running on the beach wearing a red chequered jacket”
Video generated by Qwen2.5-Max
Review:
The video generated by Qwen2.5-Max looks hyper-realistic with the dog’s movements shown accurately. Even its fur and the texture of the jacket look life-like. The beach and skies in the background look too plain, but the video does do justice to the prompt.
9. OmniHuman-1 by ByteDance
OmniHuman-1 is the latest and most advanced AI video generation framework developed by ByteDance. It is designed to generate realistic human videos from a single image combined with motion signals such as audio or video. Apart from humans, it can also animate cartoons, animals, and artificial objects, making it suitable for various creative applications.
Key Features:
- Features multimodal input integration including images and audio clips.
- Produces videos with accurate lip-syncing, natural gestures, and detailed facial expressions, ensuring high realism.
- Supports images of any aspect ratio, including portraits, half-body, and full-body shots.
Sample videos generated by OmniHuman-1
Review:
ByteDance’s OmniHuman-1 seems to be a breakthrough in AI-powered image-to-video generation. The videos generated by the framework showcase a deeper understanding of anthropometry and human movement. It also shows commendable accuracy in coherence between the frames.
10. Goku by ByteDance
Goku is yet another innovative video generation model by ByteDance. The model uses rectified flow Transformers to achieve state-of-the-art performance in both image and video generation tasks. It can generate highly creative videos depicting the combination of humans and objects, as well as animations and animal behaviors.
Key Features:
- Offers efficient generation speed and high image quality.
- Integrates advanced techniques including meticulous data curation, model design, and flow formulation.
- Combines AI-generated human models and real-life objects for creating commercial ads.
Sample videos generated by Goku
Review:
ByteDance outdoes itself with the Goku model. This video generation tool looks good at creating realistic human videos that look like real-life recordings. Its ability to bring together people and objects seamlessly is also very promising.
Conclusion
The rapid advancements in AI-driven video generation models are transforming the landscape of content creation. From models like Kling 1.6 and Qwen2.5-Max to new technologies like OmniHuman–1 and VideoJAM, generative AI is really pushing the boundaries of video generation.
Whether you’re a content creator, developer, or AI enthusiast, the 12 models covered in this article are a must-try to experience the latest advancements in the field. With further improvements in resolution, length, and interactive controls, the future of AI-generated video looks more promising than ever.
Frequently Asked Questions
A. OmniHuman-1 is ByteDance’s advanced AI video generation framework designed to create realistic human videos from a single image, using motion signals like audio or video. It also supports animations for cartoons, animals, and objects.
A. Goku is an AI-powered video generation model developed by Shangshu Technology in collaboration with Tsinghua University. It utilizes the U-ViT architecture, integrating diffusion and transformer models to create high-quality, realistic videos.
A. Some of the best Chinese AI video generation models include Kling AI, Hailuo AI, Hunyuan AI Video, Jimeng AI, Goku, and OmniHuman-1. These models offer advanced features such as high-resolution generation, lifelike animations, and precise motion dynamics.
A. Hunyuan AI Video and Qwen2.5-Max are two of the most powerful open-source AI video models, offering high-quality video generation with accurate motion dynamics.
A. OmniHuman-1 by ByteDance specializes in generating realistic human videos from a single image, with precise lip-syncing, natural gestures, and expressive facial animations.
A. Hailuo AI’s T2V-01-Director provides extensive control over camera movements, simulating real-life filming techniques like tilts, tracking shots, and close-ups.
Sabreena Basheer is an architect-turned-writer who’s passionate about documenting anything that interests her. She’s currently exploring the world of AI and Data Science as a Content Manager at Analytics Vidhya.
