Few days ago I found hd is better than non-hd. But recently I can't tell their difference neither.

Sora 2 HD API

Vision Model
openai/sora-2-hd
by OpenAIrelease date: 10/1/2025

Sora 2 HD builds upon Sora 2's foundation of realistic video generation, trading off faster processing for significantly enhanced visual clarity and sharpness while maintaining the same resolution.

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Sora 2 HD API - Background

Overview

Sora 2 HD is an advanced text-to-video AI model developed by OpenAI, designed to generate high-definition video and synchronized audio from natural language prompts. As an enhanced version of Sora 2, Sora 2 HD maintains the same frame dimensions but delivers significantly improved visual clarity and detail, making it suitable for applications demanding superior video quality. The Sora 2 HD API enables developers and businesses to integrate state-of-the-art video and audio generation capabilities into their workflows, supporting a wide range of creative, educational, and commercial use cases.

Development History

Sora 2 HD was officially released on October 1, 2025, as the high-definition variant of the Sora 2 model, which itself debuted on September 30, 2025. Building on the original Sora system, Sora 2 introduced major improvements in video-audio synchronization, physical realism, and user controllability. Sora 2 HD further refines these advancements by focusing on enhanced video clarity, leveraging optimized model architecture and decoding techniques to deliver sharper, more realistic outputs, albeit with increased generation time.

Key Innovations

  • High-definition video generation with improved visual fidelity while maintaining original frame dimensions
  • Synchronized audio and dialogue generation tightly coupled with video content
  • Enhanced user control over video style, composition, and motion through advanced prompt conditioning

Sora 2 HD API - Technical Specifications

Architecture

Sora 2 HD is based on a hybrid Transformer and diffusion architecture, utilizing spatio-temporal patch representations in a latent space. The model employs a recaptioning layer to enhance prompt alignment, a core Transformer-Diffusion network for video token generation, and a high-capacity decoder for reconstructing high-definition frames. Audio generation is integrated via a synchronized audio module, ensuring precise alignment between video and sound. The architecture includes advanced control and safety layers for user input, content filtering, and rights management. Sora 2 HD API exposes these capabilities for seamless integration.

Parameters

While the exact parameter count is undisclosed, Sora 2 HD is presumed to operate at a multi-billion parameter scale, leveraging deep and wide Transformer layers optimized for high-resolution video and audio synthesis. The model is engineered for scalability and high-fidelity output, supporting demanding enterprise and creative workloads.

Capabilities

  • Generation of high-definition video with synchronized audio from natural language prompts
  • Fine-grained user control over video style, composition, and motion through the Sora 2 HD API
  • Support for diverse visual styles, complex scenes, and realistic physical interactions

Limitations

  • Longer generation times due to increased computational requirements for high-definition output
  • Current constraints on maximum video duration and complexity, with best results for short to medium-length clips

Sora 2 HD API - Performance

Strengths

  • Exceptional visual clarity and detail in generated videos, surpassing previous Sora versions
  • Robust synchronization of audio and video, enabling realistic dialogue and sound effects

Real-world Effectiveness

In real-world deployments, the Sora 2 HD API delivers highly realistic, visually compelling video and audio content suitable for professional media, advertising, and entertainment. The model excels in scenarios requiring precise style control, physical realism, and seamless audio-video alignment. Users report improved creative flexibility and audience engagement, though generation latency must be considered for time-sensitive applications.

Sora 2 HD API - When to Use

Scenarios

  • You have a creative production team needing to generate high-quality promotional videos from text descriptions. The Sora 2 HD API is ideal for this scenario, as it produces visually stunning, high-definition videos with synchronized audio, streamlining content creation and reducing reliance on traditional filming. This enables rapid prototyping and iteration for marketing campaigns.
  • You are developing an educational platform that visualizes complex scientific concepts or historical events. By leveraging the Sora 2 HD API, you can transform textual explanations into engaging, accurate video content with synchronized narration and sound effects, enhancing learner understanding and retention while saving on animation costs.
  • You operate a social or entertainment app where users remix, personalize, or share AI-generated videos. The Sora 2 HD API supports advanced features like cameo insertion and video remixing, allowing users to create and share high-definition, interactive content. This drives user engagement and differentiates your platform in a competitive market.

Best Practices

  • Craft detailed, descriptive prompts to maximize video quality and alignment with intended outcomes when using the Sora 2 HD API.
  • Leverage the API's control parameters to fine-tune style, motion, and composition, ensuring outputs meet specific brand or creative requirements.

Technical Specs

Release Date10/1/2025
Input Formats
textimage
Output Formats
video

Capabilities & Features

Capabilities
text to-video generationvideo and audio synchronized generationenhanced physical realismsteerable video creation (control over style, motion, composition)diverse visual style supportsocial video app integration (cameo, remix)fine grained user controlssupport for content filtering and copyright management
Supported File Types
.mp4