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Quick Example

import videodb

conn = videodb.connect()
video = conn.get_collection().upload(url="https://example.com/video.mp4")

# Create an index with a prompt
index_id = video.index_scenes(
    prompt="Extract key decisions and action items"
)

# Search returns playable evidence
results = video.search("budget approval", index_id=index_id)
for shot in results.shots:
    print(f"{shot.start}s: {shot.text}")
    shot.play()  # Opens in browser
Comparison showing video search results with and without indexing, demonstrating how indexing finds exact moments

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Index Types

Scene index visual example showing search query 'Show me the bomb explosion scene' with matching video frames and timestamps
TypeMethodUse Case
Visualvideo.index_scenes()Describe scenes, detect objects
Spokenvideo.index_spoken_words()Transcripts, spoken content
Audiortstream.index_audio()Audio analysis, topics

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Key Properties

  • Prompt-driven - You define what to extract with natural language
  • Additive - Multiple indexes on the same media
  • Non-destructive - Add/remove without affecting source
# Multiple indexes = multiple perspectives
safety_index = video.index_scenes(prompt="Identify safety issues")
summary_index = video.index_scenes(prompt="Summarize each segment")
transcript = video.index_spoken_words()

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Search Scopes

# Single video
results = video.search("product demo")

# Single stream
results = rtstream.search("intrusion")

# Collection-wide
results = coll.search("quarterly results", index_type="scene")

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Playable Evidence

Every search result includes playable proof: 
for shot in results.shots:
    shot.start        # 45.2 (seconds)
    shot.end          # 52.8
    shot.text         # "CEO announces Q3 results"
    shot.search_score # 0.87
    shot.play()       # Verify the result
Search across visual and spoken content: 
results = video.search(
    query="budget discussion",
    index_type=["scene", "spoken_word"]
)
  • Union - Broader recall (results from any index)
  • Intersection - Higher precision (matches in all indexes)

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Best Practices

  1. Be specific in prompts - “Identify safety violations” beats “describe what you see”
  2. Use specific queries - “red car entering lot” beats “car”
  3. Verify with playback - Always validate with shot.play()
  4. Create focused indexes - One index per question or domain

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What You Can Build

Keyword Search Compilation

Create highlight reels from keyword-based search

Multimodal Search

Combine visual and spoken indexes for powerful queries

Character Clips

Extract clips featuring specific people from video libraries

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Next Steps

Indexing Guide

Detailed indexing patterns

Semantic Search

Advanced search techniques