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Getting Started

VDO is a personal video library management application built for macOS. At the moment, it is available only for Mac, though a Windows version may be added in the future. If you have a large collection of videos on your system and find it difficult to organize or search through them, VDO is designed to help.

VDO is actively evolving. If you want to see what features are planned or under consideration, visit the product roadmap.

Installation (macOS)

Download and launch

  1. Go to the Releases page or the download link on the website.
  2. Download the latest macOS .dmg file, for example VDO-0.0.1.dmg.
  3. Open the downloaded .dmg file. A Finder window will appear showing the app icon and an Applications folder shortcut.
  4. Drag VDO.app into the Applications folder.
  5. Optional but recommended: eject the disk image by clicking the eject button next to it in the Finder sidebar.
  6. Open the Applications folder and double-click VDO.

Terminology

The following terms are used frequently throughout the application:

  1. Collections: A collection is a group of video files stored together in the library as physical folders with the same name. Collections are organized by year, so the same collection name may exist in different years.
  2. Smart playlists: Smart playlists are system-generated groups of videos. Some depend on how you use the application and update automatically based on available data.
  3. Library root: The library root is the folder that VDO scans for your videos. The application also stores relevant data inside it to provide faster access.
  4. Watched folder: A watched folder is any folder outside the library that VDO monitors for new files. Videos in watched folders do not get the full set of features such as tags or playlists. You need to import them into your existing collections first. Think of watched folders as external collections that are waiting to be reviewed or imported into the library.
    Note: Videos inside watched folders are not searchable.

Setting up your library

Once you have installed VDO, open it from the Applications folder or search for it using Spotlight (Cmd + Space) and type “VDO”. Follow these steps to set up your library:

  • When the app opens for the first time, it shows a welcome screen and asks you to choose a library root. Click the button and select the folder that contains your videos.
  • After you select the folder, VDO begins scanning the videos inside it. This may take anywhere from a few seconds to several minutes, or longer, depending on the number of videos and the speed of your storage device. Do not close the app while the import is in progress.
  • After the import process is complete, VDO will take you to the collections section. From there, you can browse your files by selecting the relevant collections.

    Notes: Deeply nested collections are flattened by combining their names and organizing them by year. You can rename collections later in Settings > Collections.

  • You can then preview your video files and add metadata such as tags, title, quality, and star rating to individual videos.

Installing AI models

If you want to use AI-powered features to improve search, go to Settings > Advanced and enable AI. You will be shown three quality tiers of AI models. Choose the tier that best matches your system capabilities and your needs.

You can refer to the tech specs page in this documentation to help decide which model tier is suitable for your system. Each tier includes multiple AI models, and you will need to download them before the features become available.

Tier Description When to choose
Basic These models are smaller, run faster, and provide decent accuracy. They support only English and offer basic scene detection. Choose this tier if you want basic AI features, need to save storage space, or are running VDO on an older Mac. It is also suitable if you do not need support for other languages and are comfortable correcting results when needed.
Standard These models are larger, typically over 5 GB, and provide better capabilities for visual description, audio transcription, and multilingual support. Choose this tier if you have a capable system, need support for multiple languages including major Indian languages, and want better results with fewer errors.
Advanced These models go a step beyond the Standard tier. They can capture more nuance in both audio and visuals, and generate richer, more detailed descriptions. They are slower and require significantly more system resources. Choose this tier if you want the best offline video analysis possible and your system has enough performance and storage to handle it.

Use the download button to download the required models. You can cancel the download at any time.

Notes: Model downloads may take some time depending on your internet speed. We recommend keeping your system connected to power during the download. Since these models can be large, a fast and stable network connection is recommended.