Cicadas.ai testing record & methods
Cicadas.ai is an independent video workflow product, unaffiliated with the listed model providers. This record is published by Cicadas.ai and has a sample update dated September 22, 2026.
What we actually ran
On September 8, 2026, two budget-capped batches produced 11 paid outputs: ten published and one rejected for ghosting. Provider usage filtered to the project key totaled about $6.62 ($4.38 in batch one and $2.24 in batch two). Seven published clips use Kling 3.0 Pro; three use Veo 3.1 Fast.
Checks included full video decoding, duration and dimensions, frame inspection at multiple timestamps, and playback on the website. The four-second first/last-frame attempt showed ghosting; an eight-second attempt with a revised prompt was accepted. Source images are AI-created originals. Decorative reference art for text-generated clips was not an image input.
September 20 update: an eight-second paper-island example uses the same image at both endpoints. Full decoding and inspection at ten timestamps passed; clouds move, but seamless looping is not guaranteed. Estimated provider cost is $0.80; billing is unreconciled. A separate product transition that day failed visual acceptance for mid-clip ghosting. The table below is the current selection, not every historical test.
Real sample: kitten cutout
BEN v2 · September 21, 2026 · 2 seconds · 480 × 640 · silent. Compare the source and actual transparent WebM.
Actual alpha pixels and full decoding verified. Some fine fur and whiskers are softened; this short, slow-motion example does not validate fast action, audio or every editor. Preview colors are not baked into the download.
Estimated provider cost is about $0.0074 from the published rate and input pixel-frame count; this is not confirmed billing or a retail quote. This validates one transparent sample, not paid tool availability. Fal BEN v2
Real sample: coffee & morning light
SeedVR2 · September 21, 2026 · 2× · 2 seconds · 24 frames · silent. Both videos are displayed at the same size.
Full decoding and dimensions verified. Pastry and cloth textures look sharper in inspected frames; this is a selected AI-generated scene, not proof of recovered real-world detail. 4×, audio, faces, fine text and fast motion are not validated by this sample.
Estimated supplier cost: $0.0142 (1024 × 576 × 24 frames ÷ 1,000,000 × $0.001); billing is unreconciled and this is not a retail price. One real request was submitted. Fal SeedVR2
Samples, settings and outputs
Costs are provider usage or explicitly labeled estimates, not retail quotes. These are selected examples, not a randomized benchmark. Open a recipe to inspect its complete prompt.
| Sample | Model | Mode / duration | Cost | Output |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A paper city starts to move. | seedance-2.5 | text_to_video / 4s | Est. $0.88 | Play MP4 |
| A handcrafted island wakes up. | seedance-2.5 | image_to_video / 4s | Est. $0.88 | Play MP4 |
What these checks do not establish
- The generation samples validate only those two exact generation models. Standard Veo, other versions, every resolution and every parameter combination have not been verified.
- One Veo Fast sample contains a detected non-silent AAC track. Audio semantics, dialogue accuracy and lip synchronization have not been independently verified.
- There is no blind benchmark, independent quality ranking, conversion study or consistency guarantee. Text-only prompt drafts are untested. Generated results still need human review.
- Published real samples do not establish that the current workspace is connected to live generation. When a page says mock preview, the current interaction tests the interface workflow only.
Sources and update policy
Each model page links its provider documentation. Documented capabilities and this site’s test results are reported separately. Verification changes only after real checks; version names do not substitute for exact endpoints.