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HBO Max is the latest streaming getting into vertical video — sort of.
The streamer on Tuesday launched two new mobile features in the U.S. The headline one is titled “HBO Max Shorts,” and is “designed to help users discover something to watch by highlighting iconic and memorable scenes from the HBO Max library in a vertical, scrollable feed,” per the platform.
Right now, the feature is being tested with “select iOS users in the U.S.” More devices and more markets will come, as will sports shorts.
Users can tap the “Shorts” icon on the bottom navigation menu to “browse trailers, clips, and bonus content,” the announcement continues. The algorithm will delivery vertical videos for you based on watch history. A user can then choose to watch a series or film immediately, add it to their “My List,” or do nothing at all.
The clips are created by an in-house AI tool, HBO Max says, “which helps human editors select and verticalize content by using machine learning algorithms that utilize scene-level metadata to comb through thousands of hours of titles and suggests the most compelling, high-impact scenes for discovery.” So, yes, there are real humans involved in the process (at some point).
To be clear, HBO Max Shorts are not original vertical videos — not yet at least — they are simply trimmings of existing programming rendered into a new presentation ratio.
Deepna Devkar, senior vice president of machine learning engineering, said, “We’re thrilled to launch this application of AI to accelerate the creation of these clips and look forward to quickly expanding to make even more of our amazing content offering discoverable through this new feature.”
The other new feature in a test phase is called “Ask HBO Max.” It too uses AI to comb through content via “natural language,” like “in the mood for a comedy,” “dysfunctional family drama,” or “best movie for a girls night in.”
“These new mobile features build on intuitive, familiar behaviors subscribers use every day. Both ‘HBO Max Shorts’ and ‘conversational search’ translate those behaviors into new ways to discover programming across the HBO Max service, making it easier and more seamless for subscribers to find something to watch,” said Liesel Kipp, executive vice president of product management, Warner Bros. Discovery.
English (US) ·