User Guide

1. Getting Started

1.1 What is Vindexr?

Vindexr is a professional video archive and AI-powered assistant designed for video editors, content creators, and media professionals. It helps you organize, search, and manage your video footage with intelligent features including:

• AI-powered transcript search across your entire media library
• Visual search to find frames by image similarity or text description
• Automatic transcription using WhisperKit speech recognition
• Object detection and scene classification
• Edit collections with in/out points for organizing selects
• Direct integration with DaVinci Resolve and Adobe Premiere Pro
• Support for professional formats including RED R3D and Blackmagic BRAW

1.2 System Requirements

• macOS 14.0 (Sonoma) or later
• Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3/M4/M5) with 8GB RAM minimum
• Internet connection for license activation and Claude AI features
• For RED R3D support: RED SDK (included)
• For BRAW support: Blackmagic RAW SDK (included)

1.3 License Activation

Vindexr requires a valid license to operate. When you first launch the app, you will see the license activation screen.

• Enter your license key in the format: XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX
• Click "Activate" to validate your license
• Once activated, you can view your license status and token usage in Settings

2. Interface Overview

2.1 Main Window Layout

The Vindexr interface is divided into three main areas:

• Sidebar (Left): Contains your folder hierarchy, collections, and navigation options
• Browser (Center): Displays media files in your selected folder with thumbnails and metadata
• Detail View: Opens when you select a media file, showing the video player, transcript, and collection tools

2.2 Sidebar

The sidebar provides navigation for your media archive:

• Folders: Organize your media into folders and subfolders
• Collections: Your saved collections of edit points
• Visual Search Index: Access visual search indexing options

2.3 Right Sidebar Tabs

When viewing a media file, the right sidebar offers four tabs:

• Transcript: Word-by-word transcription with timestamps and search
• Collections: Manage edit points and collections for the current file
• Vindexr AI: Chat interface for AI-powered search and collection building
• Metadata: Technical metadata, and color palette

3. Importing Media

3.1 Supported Formats

3.2 How to Import

• Select a folder in the sidebar or create a new one
• Drag and drop files or folders onto the browser area
• Alternatively, use the toolbar import button

Vindexr will automatically process imported files in the background, generating thumbnails, transcribing audio, detecting objects, and classifying scenes.

3.3 Background Processing

When files are imported, Vindexr queues them for background processing. You can view the processing queue by clicking the processing indicator in the sidebar. Processing includes:

• Thumbnail generation
• Audio transcription (WhisperKit)
• Object detection (Vision AI)
• Scene classification
• Color palette extraction

3.4 Duplicate Detection

Vindexr uses file hashing to detect duplicate imports. When a duplicate is detected, you will be notified that duplicate files were skipped during import.

4. Video Playback & Navigation

4.1 Video Player Controls

The video player supports standard playback controls:

• Space: Play/Pause
• Left/Right Arrow: Step backward/forward one frame
• J/K/L: Reverse/Pause/Forward playback (standard NLE controls)
• Home/End: Jump to beginning/end of video

4.2 Setting In/Out Points

Mark sections of video for your edit collections:

• I: Set In Point at current playhead position
• O: Set Out Point at current playhead position
• C: Add current In/Out range to active collection

4.3 RED R3D & BRAW Playback

Vindexr includes native RED SDK support for playing R3D files. The player automatically detects R3D files and uses the RED decoder for optimal quality. BRAW files are played using the included Blackmagic RAW SDK, handling all compression levels and color science settings.

5. Transcription & Search

5.1 Automatic Transcription

Vindexr automatically transcribes audio from your video files using WhisperKit. The transcript panel shows word-by-word text with precise timestamps. Click any word to jump to that point in the video.

5.2 Transcript Search

Use the search bar in the Transcript tab to find specific words or phrases. Search results are highlighted, and you can jump directly to the timestamp by clicking a match.

5.3 Video Search Bar

The video search bar above the player offers multiple search modes:

• Text: Search through the transcript for spoken words
• Visual: Search for frames by visual similarity or description

6. Vindexr AI Assistant

6.1 Overview

Vindexr AI uses Claude AI to understand your requests and automatically create edit collections based on your criteria. You can control the AI provider settings and token usage from the settings gear.

6.2 Search Modes & Scope

The AI can search via Text, Visual, or Both. You can limit the scope to the Current File or the Current Folder.

6.3 Creating Collections with AI

Ask the AI in plain language: "Find all mentions of the product launch" or "Select the best interview soundbites." Review the results and click "Create Collection" to save them.

7. Visual Search

7.1 Visual Search Indexing

Before using visual search, videos must be indexed. This usually happens automatically during import, but you can manually re-index files by right-clicking them in the browser.

7.2 Searching Visually

Once indexed, type a description (e.g., "sunset over water") in the search bar and select Visual mode. Results show matching frames with similarity scores.

8. Edit Collections

8.1 What Are Edit Collections?

Edit collections are organized sets of video segments. They track the source file, in-point, and out-point for each segment.

8.2 Creating & Managing

Create new collections in the Collections tab. Reorder edit points via drag-and-drop, delete unwanted selects, and use Preview All to play through your entire selection sequence.

9. Export & NLE Integration

9.1 Export Formats

• EDL (Edit Decision List): Universal format compatible with most NLEs
• XML (Final Cut Pro XML): Rich format preserving more metadata

9.2 DaVinci Resolve & Adobe Premiere Pro

Send collections directly to your favorite NLE. Note that DaVinci Resolve requires the Studio version for scripting API access. Premiere Pro integration requires the Vindexr UXP plugin.

10. Metadata & Analysis

The Metadata tab displays everything from basic file info to camera-specific metadata for R3D/BRAW. It also includes Color Palette extraction and a list of Detected Objects and Scene Tags.

11. Keyboard Shortcuts

12. Tips & Best Practices

• Organize: Use folders to group by project or client.
• AI Queries: Be specific. "Both" mode is best if you're unsure if a moment is spoken or visual.
• Performance: Keep media on fast SSDs and let background processing finish for the best experience.

Ready to master your archive?