Vidu AI - Is this the AI video generator to kick Runway off its throne?
It's not going to be easy to crack the video genAI market for Vidu AI: the big players have been identified, not much space to squeeze in between the first row. Runway, Kling, Luma and Flux (the independents) are the companies I see ahead of SoraAI or Veo (the enterprise additions from OpenAI and Google). But maybe it's a bit too early to decide now, video generators have been around for the general public for maybe 2-3 years.
Let's take a look if Vidu AI video generator is capable of challenging the top tier of video GenAI and where it might even overtake them.
My first impression of Vidu AI
What sticks out to me first is Vidu's generosity: They offer a daily new credit top up with 20 points. The Runways and Midjourney have already passed the phase where they give freebies in exchange for training their model. While in the meantime most other video generators have realised that they need to make money to survive, Vidu AI scores by letting us try their product.
I’ve tested Vidu Q1 and I really like the clear navigation and dashboard of Vidu AI, easy to get around and productive. Let's make Vidu AI showcase how video creation works via text to video. Let's bring an animation to life.
I usually upload one prompt for all AI video generators, so I can compare the quality with each other. This prompt is ‘2 people are looking at each other, one is an AI robot, the other a woman. The background is space and the mood is friendly. Make the two protagonists shake their hands.’
The AI video that Vidu AI has created reminds me of pikalabs, it has a slight touch of animation. The background colours add a magical touch, check out the video below.
Vidu AI's Special features
Templates: Now we're getting to the fun part. There are so many fun templates to choose from, I can let my protagonists balloon up, nap, become ghibli-fied, make them kiss, and become stuffed animals in a candy world.
This is Vidu's strength, it lets you become a creator of your video world! Generate lots of fun video content as an AI avatar and transform as anything you like.
Reference to video - is a feature I haven't seen anywhere else yet. I can add multiple images, videos, or documents as a reference plus a prompt. I can see how this will become a great feature, once it can produce longer sequences than 5 seconds.
The image to video offers a feature where you can add the start and end frame of the clip, which allows you to create more personalised videos. Also a newer feature and one where Vidu can shine.
Vidu AI creates effortlessly AI Sound effects, much better than Freepik, where I have last tested this feature in its beta phase. I had asked Vidu to generate a cosmic wind for my two protagonists, shaking hands in space. I've never heard a cosmic wind in real life, but this is how I'd imagine it.
Other Special Features of Vidu Q1
Cinematic transitions through the First-to-Last Frame feature
1080p video output for clips up to 5 seconds (it's a newer feature among mainstream AI video generators)
More stable and expressive animations with improved character consistency
AI-generated sound effects at 48 kHz quality
Vidu's PROs:
Lot's of great templates to play around with
The mobile app works really well
Great intuitive dashboard
Price is very competitive
Great special features such as AI sound effects
Vidu’s Cons:
Many pop-ups for plan upgrade
Conclusion about Vidu AI
Vidu AI is great for fun features and templates to play around with. They clearly focus on animation style and excel in it. It’s also interesting to see a video generator focusing on video GenAI and effects and filters at the same time, which is a clear advantage as you don’t have to switch tools anymore. This versatility makes Vidu a great tool to recommend.
Also the price of Vidu is very competitive, especially the entry/standard price category is very attractive.
