Getting started
Indexing and your data
Indexing turns a recording into evidence that is tied to time in the original file. This guide explains what that evidence is, what may be sent for processing, and how to read coverage.
Your originals stay in their folders
CutroomOS does not upload or move your original video files. It reads them where they are.
What may leave your Mac
| Category | Examples | When |
|---|---|---|
| Original files | Your video files | Not uploaded |
| Derived media | Sampled frames, extracted audio, thumbnails | During indexing, when permitted |
| Technical data | Duration, format and other probe data | During indexing, when permitted |
| Questions and evidence | Your question text and the selected evidence | When you ask a question that needs an answer-writing service |
You can use CutroomOS for discovery only. Capabilities that need a service do not run when you have not allowed that data flow, and the app explains the reduced functionality.
Reading coverage
Indexed does not mean every possible kind of understanding exists for every frame. Each video shows which evidence is available, such as recognized speech or visual observations, and any time ranges that are missing.
- Partially indexed: some evidence or time ranges are usable. Search and questions use what is available, and the video shows which coverage is missing.
- Needs update: the file or the relevant index changed. Older references are marked stale until you update.
- Failed: a specific job failed with a reason. Retry or resolve the cause; other videos keep working.
A limitation is stated plainly, for example “Speech indexed; visual evidence not available for this video.”
Following indexing in Activity
Activity groups work into Active, Waiting, Completed and Needs attention, with each video’s stage and the reason anything is waiting. Indexing work survives restarts and dropped connections, so finished videos are not processed again. Turning off automatic indexing for a folder stops new automatic submissions.
Progress percentages appear only when the amount of work is actually known. CutroomOS does not show invented time or cost estimates.
Working offline
Without a connection you can browse your cached library, open available local files and filter by filename and folder. Search and answers need their cloud services, so they don’t work offline.