Video Indexer Tab¶

The indexer tab is a unique feature of Fast Video Cataloger.

Skip video smaller than -- When scanning videos for indexing, ignore video files smaller than this number of bytes, even if they look like a video.

Skip video in folders containing -- When adding folders to be indexed any folder that contain this string will be ignored. For example; With ".prv" here no videos would be indexed from a folder called "movies.prv"

Skip video with name containing -- When adding videos to be indexed any video name that contains this string will be ignored. For example; With "-trailer" here a video named "move-trailer.mp4" would be skipped.

Capture video-frame after - Default is 30 seconds. This feature allows you to choose how far into each video the system will go before selecting the first frame to represent the whole video in the Video Catalog window.

Then capture every - This is the time interval after the first frame has been captured, at which each subsequent frame will be captured and used to demarcate and populated the Video Scenes window.

But capture at least -- Sets the minimum number of frames that will be captured. If the above "Capture video-frame after" and "Then capture every" value would lead to a fewer number of video frames than you wish, then extra frames at equal intervals will be interpolated to meet the number specified here. By default, entering 1 in this box will neutralize any effect.

Resize screenshots - The default is 320 pixels. Higher resolution gives better results for face recognition and scene classification but will result in larger catalog files.

Extract metadata from -- Once a video has been indexed, the program can extract some automatic metadata.

If the ".nfo files" option is checked, the program will check for a .nfo file next to the video file and extract metadata from that File.

If the "video files (MediaInfo)" option is checked, the program will check for various metadata inside the video file and add that metadata as extended video properties.

If the "video files (ShellInfo)" option is checked, the program will check for various metadata stored inside the video file and add that metadata as extended video properties. This option uses Windows, and this is the info you would typically see if you pick properties on a video file in windows explorer.

If the "video files (XMP)" option is checked, the program will check for various XMP metadata stored inside the video file and add that metadata as extended video properties. XMP is often used by video software, for example, from, Adobe, and can include information about the edit and the shot. This can be really useful if you want to do custom integrations with other software.

If the "video path" option is checked, the program will use the path to the video file to try to assign keywords automatically. You can control how the program tries to extract keywords from the Auto Keywording tab in preferences. When you add videos from the "Add videos" window, a column shows what keywords will be added to a file.

Based on MetaData -- Rotate, if checked, will automatically rotate thumbnails if the metadata says the video is rotated. This flag requires the extracted metadata from the video file checkbox to be set. Some mobile cameras set the flag, and the video file is not rotated; instead, they rely on the mobile to rotate the screen. To play the video with the correct rotation, you also need a video player that can rotate the video in real-time. If you select the madvr player in the program, it will play it rotated correctly.

Title always from filename -- When checked, the title will always be the filename. When not checked, the title will be the metadata title if it was extracted.

Add transcript from srt file -- When indexing, check if there is an srt file next to the video file, i.e., a file with the same name as the video but with the srt extension instead of the video extension. If an SRT file was found, it will be added as transcript for the video.

Auto-detect actors during indexing -- Try to find actors in the actors library in the captured thumbnails. This will slow down indexing, you can also do this later from the maintenance menu.

Scene Classification -- Try to determine the type of scene for each thumbnail. This will slow down indexing, you can also do this later from the maintenance menu.

Object detection -- Try to detect objects in each thumbnail. This will slow down indexing, you can also do this later from the maintenance menu.

Remove thumbnails without faces -- When checked, thumbnails where no face is detected are automatically removed after indexing completes. This runs after face recognition and scene classification so all analysis data is available. This setting does not apply when capturing a single frame. See also the Face Recognition preferences for detector settings.

But keep if keyworded -- When "Remove thumbnails without faces" is enabled, this option preserves faceless thumbnails that already have scene classifications or detected objects. This lets you keep thumbnails that have been tagged by the scene classification or object detection pipeline even if no face was found.

Remove similar thumbnails -- When checked, consecutive thumbnails that look visually similar are automatically removed after indexing completes. This uses perceptual hashing (dHash) to compare each thumbnail to the last kept one and removes near-duplicates. This is useful for videos with slow-moving scenes or static camera angles that produce many nearly identical frames. This setting does not apply when capturing a single frame.

Threshold -- Controls how aggressive the similar thumbnail removal is. The value ranges from 0.50 to 0.99, where higher values are more conservative (only very similar thumbnails are removed) and lower values are more aggressive (more thumbnails are removed). The default is 0.90. See also Remove Similar Thumbnails for batch processing.

After adding video -- Refresh search, if checked, will automatically refresh the last search whenever a new video is added to the catalog.

Burst Capture - is an option that allows you to expand the number of thumbnails representing a particular scene, thus affording greater detail of its contents. The Burst Capture option becomes available in the pop-out menu when you right-click a scene in the Video Scenes window.

Burst capture time step -- Defines the time step between each frame in a burst.

Burst capture length -- Determines how many frames the burst extends.

Mask files -- When this option is checked, videos are automatically masked when they are added to the catalog. Please note that you can only play masked videos in the program and need the catalog to play or unmask the videos. If you use this feature, make backups of your catalog.

Delete Source files -- When a video file has been masked and added to the catalog, the unmasked source file will be deleted if this box is checked.

Debug output folder -- Specify here a local path to where the program can write debug files. Only write anything here if you are asked to by support. If you enter a path, you will get unnecessary log files, and the program will run slower.

Use Windows filters -- When this option is checked, the program will use the DirectShow filters installed with Microsoft Windows with their merit values when trying to capture videos. Fast Video Cataloger will use its built-in filters to capture video frames if this is not checked. Leaving this unchecked is the safest way to index and will manage most video formats. However, if you have installed codecs not handled by the built-in filters, you might need to check this box.

NOTE: If an Indexing fails, you can change this option and retry.