Usage Guide
Learn how to get the best results from LTX Video Generator.
Table of contents
- Basic Workflow
- Gemma Prompt Enhancement
- Image-to-Video
- Adding Audio
- Writing Effective Prompts (LTX-2.5)
- Using the Queue
- History Features
- Tips for Best Results
Basic Workflow
1. Write Your Prompt
Enter a descriptive text prompt. For LTX-2.5, write one flowing present-tense paragraph (shot, lighting, action, character, camera, audio). Spoken lines only in quotes.
Good prompt:
Handheld medium close-up, cool overcast light on a street corner. A busker in his late 40s — weathered face, grey stubble, battered acoustic guitar — stops mid-riff and looks past the camera. Soft traffic hum. He speaks in a low urgent whisper, “They’re coming.” He pauses and holds the silence.
Less effective:
“busker scary” /
Beat./JUMP CUT 1 (2.5–5s): …
2. Choose a Preset
Select a preset from the dropdown to quickly configure parameters:
| Preset | Resolution | Frames | Steps | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quick Preview | 512×320 | 49 | 15 | Quick tests |
| Standard | 768×512 | 121 | 30 | Balanced quality |
| High Quality | 768×512 | 121 | 40 | Best results |
| Portrait | 512×768 | 97 | 30 | Vertical videos |
| Square | 512×512 | 97 | 30 | Social media |
The LTX-2 Unified model uses a 2-stage generation pipeline with built-in audio. ltx-2-mlx distilled (LTX-2.5 Distilled / Q8 DiT and the 12GB 2.3 pack) is a single 8-step pass. ltx25_dev is half-res dev+CFG then distilled-LoRA refine. MiniMax H3 runs the native h3 binary (24 fps, frames snap to 5+17n).
MiniMax H3 variants
All three stay on Metal h3.c. No MLX-H3, ANE, GGUF, or ComfyUI runtime.
model_id | Weights | Disk | RAM | Steps | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
minimax_h3 | Official MiniMaxAI BF16 | ~144GB | 32GB+ | 4 / 20 / 50 presets | Stock antirez/h3.c |
minimax_h3_int8 | Comfy-Org int8 DiT + MiniMaxAI TE/VAE | ~92GB (~20GB extra if BF16 is cached) | 24GB+ | Same presets | h3.c-int8 (GPU ConvRot de-rot). Slight quality drop. |
minimax_h3_turbo | Official BF16 + folded Turbo v4 LoRA | ~144GB + ~3GB CoW | 32GB+ | Fixed 6 | First generate bakes the LoRA. Do not combine with reuse. |
3. Generate
Click the Generate button. Progress shows:
- Model loading status
- Stage 1 and Stage 2 denoising progress
- Video encoding and saving
4. View Results
- Queue sidebar shows real-time progress
- History tab displays all generated videos with thumbnails
- Videos save to your configured output directory
Gemma Prompt Enhancement
Improve results by having Gemma rewrite your prompt with vivid details:
- Go to Settings > Generation and enable Enable Gemma Prompt Enhancement
- In the prompt view, expand Prompt Enhancement (Gemma)
- Optionally enable Use uncensored enhancer to avoid content filters (first run downloads ~7GB)
- Click Preview enhanced prompt to see the rewritten prompt before generating
- Generate as usual—the enhanced prompt is used automatically
If enhancement returns empty (e.g. safety filter), the app auto-retries with filtered words replaced, then merges originals back.
Image-to-Video
You can animate images into videos:
- On the main Generate screen (prompt column), expand the Image to Video disclosure section — it sits below Prompt Enhancement and above Negative Prompt.
- Click Select Source Image… and pick an image file; it becomes the conditioned first frame.
- Optionally adjust Image Strength (1.0 = full influence, lower = more motion freedom).
- Write a prompt that describes the motion; then generate as usual.
Adding Audio
Voiceover / Narration
Add text-to-speech voiceover to your videos:
- Expand the Voiceover / Narration section
- Choose your source:
- MLX Audio (Local) - Free, runs on-device, good quality
- ElevenLabs (Cloud) - High quality, requires API key
- Select a voice from the dropdown (10 voices for MLX, 9 for ElevenLabs)
- Enter your narration text
- Generate your video - audio will be added automatically
You can also add audio later by right-clicking any video thumbnail in the Video Archive.
Background Music
Add AI-generated instrumental music (requires ElevenLabs API key):
- Expand the Background Music section
- Toggle Generate background music on
- Choose a genre from the dropdown:
- Organized into 9 categories with 54 total presets
- Preview the prompt by hovering over the selection
- Music automatically matches your video length
Music Genre Categories
| Category | Genres |
|---|---|
| Electronic | EDM, House, Techno, Ambient, Chillwave, Synthwave, D&B, Trance |
| Hip-Hop/R&B | Trap, Lo-Fi, Boom Bap, Slow R&B, Modern R&B, Soul |
| Rock | Classic, Alternative, Indie, Metal, Punk, Acoustic |
| Pop | Modern, Indie, Dance, Acoustic |
| Jazz/Blues | Smooth, Bebop, Lounge, Electric Blues, Acoustic Blues |
| Classical/Cinematic | Orchestral, Piano, Chamber, Epic, Tense, Uplifting |
| World | Latin, Reggae, Afrobeat, Middle Eastern, Asian |
| Country/Folk | Modern, Classic, Acoustic Folk, Indie Folk |
| Functional | Corporate, Motivational, Relaxing, Suspense, Action, Romantic, Happy, Sad, Dramatic, Mystery |
Audio from History
Add audio to previously generated videos:
- Go to Video Archive
- Right-click any video thumbnail
- Select Add Audio (or Replace Audio if it already has audio)
- Choose from three tabs:
- Voiceover - Add narration only
- Music - Add background music only
- Both - Add voiceover and music together
When combining voiceover and music, the music is automatically ducked to 20% volume so the voice remains clear.
Writing Effective Prompts (LTX-2.5)
Follow the official LTX-2.5 guides: prompt guide · docs. Copy-paste examples: EXAMPLES.md.
Six ingredients
- Shot — scale / lens / genre look
- Scene — lighting, palette, atmosphere
- Action — present-tense verbs that move
- Characters — age, clothes, physical emotion cues (not abstract labels)
- Camera — how and when it moves
- Audio — ambience, music, speech
Structure
- Single take: one flowing paragraph, ~4–8 sentences, present tense.
- Dialogue: only spoken words in
"quotes"; name language / accent / delivery. - Pauses: write as action (he pauses, holds the silence). Avoid bare
Beat.— the model may speak it. - Multishot: one chronological paragraph; name cuts in prose (A hard cut transitions to…); re-ID subjects and state audio continuity. Do not use
START FRAME/ numbered JUMP CUT lists. - Mac / Distilled–Dev: prefer a single continuous take for dialogue + face; native multishot / Prompt Relay / DFR is incomplete on
ltx-2-mlx.
Leave enhancement off when dense
A well-formed 2.5 prompt often needs no rewrite. Gemma / --enhance-prompt helps short or foreign-model prompts; leave it off when you already wrote the full cinematic paragraph.
Using the Queue
Add Multiple Generations
- Write your prompt
- Click Add to Queue (instead of Generate)
- Modify the prompt or parameters
- Add more to the queue
- Videos generate one after another
Batch Variations
Click the batch menu (stack icon) to:
- Generate 3 variations
- Generate 5 variations
- Each uses a random seed for different results
Queue Management
- Cancel the current generation with the X button
- Remove pending items from the queue
- Clear the entire queue with the Clear button
History Features
Browse Videos
- Thumbnails show a frame from each video
- Sort by newest, oldest, or prompt alphabetically
- Search prompts to find specific videos
Video Details
Click a video to see:
- Full video preview (loops automatically)
- Original prompt
- All generation parameters
- Timestamp and generation duration
- Seed value for reproducibility
Actions
- Show in Finder - Reveal the video file
- Share - Share via macOS share sheet
- Reuse Prompt - Copy prompt back to input
- Delete - Remove video
Tips for Best Results
Start Small
- Use Quick Preview preset first
- Iterate on prompts quickly
- Only increase quality for final renders
Use Negative Prompts
Click the disclosure arrow to add negative prompts:
worst quality, blurry, jittery, distorted, watermark
Reproducible Results
- Note the seed value of good generations
- Enter the same seed to reproduce results
- Useful for making variations with slight prompt changes
Memory Management
- Higher resolutions use more memory
- Close other apps if you encounter issues
- 32GB RAM minimum, 64GB recommended