SeekframeHow to search security camera footage for a moment
If your camera saves clips as video files you can copy to a Mac, add the folder with those clips to Seekframe and describe what you are looking for: “a person at the front door at night”, “a white van in the driveway”. Seekframe finds the moment in the clips and opens the video at that second. It doesn't connect to cameras: it searches the saved files, and the footage never leaves your Mac.
Updated
Search saved camera clips
- Copy the clips to a folder on your Mac or on a drive: from the camera's app, its memory card or an export from your video recorder (NVR).
- Open one clip in QuickTime Player. If it plays, Seekframe can search it; MP4, MOV and M4V files usually do.
- Add the folder to Seekframe and let it index the clips. On an M1 Pro an hour of video takes about 26 seconds.
- Describe what you want to see:
a person carrying a box
,a dog in the garden
,a car at the gate at night
. Each result shows the time in its clip; select it and press Space to watch from there.
Tips for camera footage
- At night, leave out colours. Infrared footage is black and white, so
a person at the door
works better thana man in a red jacket
. - Describe the whole scene.
A delivery van parked in front of a house
finds more thanparcel
, because Seekframe looks at the picture as a whole. - Watch a little before and after. Seekframe checks a frame every couple of seconds and keeps it when the picture has changed, so a quiet hour takes up almost no space. The time shown can be a second or two away from the event, and something that crosses a small corner of the view very quickly can be missed.
- Try More Like This. Select a result and choose More Like This to find other clips that look like it.
Why this footage should stay at home
Camera clips show your door, your family and when you come and go. Seekframe has no account and no analytics, and the clips, the thumbnails it keeps and your searches stay on your Mac.
Questions
Does Seekframe connect to my cameras?
No. It searches clips that are already saved as files on your Mac or a drive. It doesn't watch live video.
My recorder exports files QuickTime can't play. Will Seekframe read them?
No. Seekframe searches the videos QuickTime Player can open: MP4, MOV and M4V, including HEVC. Many recorders can also export to MP4; if yours can, use that.
How much footage can I search for free?
Up to 10 hours of video in one folder on your Mac. Camera footage adds up fast, so for more hours, or for clips on an external drive, there's Seekframe Pro, a one-time $19.99.
Is the footage uploaded?
No. It is analysed where it is, on your Mac.