Photonseed

Practical guides

How to find a video in your own library from a screenshot or clip

Maintained by Photonseed · Updated

You remember a shot from a saved video, but the filename tells you nothing. Use a screenshot or short clip to look for candidate source videos, then check the matching section and file location.

This searches videos already indexed in your own MediaDNA Library. It does not search the whole web or identify the source of any online video. Save and index the source material first.

Workflow illustration

From a screenshot to a file you can use

  1. From a screenshot to a file you can use: Start with a clear screenshot Start with a clear screenshot
  2. From a screenshot to a file you can use: Inspect the candidate time range Inspect the candidate time range
  3. From a screenshot to a file you can use: Verify the preview and file location Verify the preview and file location

1. Prepare the library and your query

Make sure the folder that may contain the source video has been added and indexing has finished. Connect the drive if you need to open the original. Begin with material you know is in the library to check your setup.

Use a clear screenshot or a supported video file containing the clip. Select an image or video file, or paste one image or supported media file from the clipboard. Content Search does not accept natural-language prompts or a pasted web URL as a video query.

2. Search with a screenshot

Choose an image in Content Search, or paste one screenshot or image from the clipboard. With a compatible browser connector and desktop build, the Chrome companion can also capture a video frame or the visible page for local search.

Review the candidate videos and time ranges. An image match can point to a section rather than one exact frame. If an image is mostly player controls, text or a generic scene, try another frame that shows more of the footage.

3. Search with a short video clip

Start a video-file search with your clip. Choose “Continue with section search” to look for source videos containing that clip or a continuous overlapping section.

Full-video matching and section matching answer different questions. A longer source can contain your clip without being a duplicate of the entire query file. Use the time ranges to inspect where the overlap occurs.

4. Try a screenshot from a video you already own

Choose a video you recorded yourself, add its folder and finish indexing. Pause at a distinctive scene and save one clear screenshot. Keep the video filename and the approximate time as your own reference; do not put them into the image query.

Search with that screenshot, inspect the candidates and play the suggested ranges. Compare them with your reference and check the actual file path. If the frame is mostly a title card, player controls or a generic background, repeat with a different scene. This gives you a repeatable way to check your own library without assuming a guaranteed match.

5. Try a short excerpt from a longer recording

Make a short excerpt from one of your own indexed recordings and note where it starts in the original. Use the excerpt for a video-file search, then choose “Continue with section search”. The excerpt does not have to be added to the library first.

Inspect the returned range in the longer recording and compare the sequence, not just one frame. Record whether it is the material you need and whether the file is available. Finding an excerpt inside the original is a section match; it does not make the two full files duplicates.

6. Check the match and locate the file

Inspect the preview and play the candidate around the returned time range. Compare the visible sequence with your screenshot or clip before choosing the file for your project.

Check the file location as well as the image. Several stored copies can contain the same material. Locate the accessible original and continue in your editing tools; search results do not establish ownership or reuse rights.

7. When there is no useful match

Check library coverage first: was the source saved, is its folder included, and has indexing completed? A video that was never indexed cannot appear just because it is available on a website.

Try a different clear frame, or section search if you have moving footage. No result is not proof that the source does not exist or that a clip is original. Review the library and query before drawing that conclusion.