Capture sessions can optionally persist media for later search and playback. Control storage per-channel and access exported assets.
Quick Example
# After capture_session.exported webhook
cap = conn.get_capture_session("cap-xxx")
# Get the muxed video
video_id = cap.exported_video_id
video = coll.get_video(video_id)
# Search the captured content
video.index_spoken_words()
results = video.search("budget discussion")
for shot in results.shots:
print(f"{shot.start}s: {shot.text}")
shot.play()
Storage Control
Per-Channel Storage
Enable/disable storage for each channel:
# In desktop client
await client.start_session(
capture_session_id=cap_id,
channels=[
{"name": "mic:default", "store": True}, # Will persist
{"name": "display:1", "store": True}, # Will persist
{"name": "system_audio:default", "store": False} # Ephemeral
]
)
| Setting | Behavior |
|---|
store: true | Media persisted, available for search and playback |
store: false | Ephemeral - real-time processing only, no persistence |
Export only runs if at least one channel has store: true.
What Gets Exported
Muxed Video
The default “playable recording” containing:
- Video: Primary display (set via
primary_video_channel_id)
- Audio: All recorded audio channels mixed together
Use for:
- Playback and sharing
- Downstream indexing and search
- Simple “trim and publish” workflows
Raw Channel Assets
Individual assets for each stored channel:
| Channel | Asset Type |
|---|
display:1 | Raw video |
mic:default | Raw audio |
system_audio:default | Raw audio |
- Separate audio stems (mic vs system audio)
- Multi-track editing
- Custom muxing strategies
- Picture-in-picture composites
Accessing Exports
Via Webhook
The capture_session.exported webhook includes the muxed video ID:
{
"event": "capture_session.exported",
"capture_session_id": "cap-xxx",
"status": "exported",
"data": {
"exported_video_id": "m-xxx"
}
}
Via RTStream
Each RTStream has an exported_asset_id after export:
def on_exported(payload: dict):
cap = conn.get_capture_session(payload["capture_session_id"])
# Muxed video
video_id = payload["data"]["exported_video_id"]
# Raw channel assets
mics = cap.get_rtstream("mic")
if mics:
mic_asset_id = mics[0].exported_asset_id
displays = cap.get_rtstream("display")
if displays:
display_asset_id = displays[0].exported_asset_id
Editing with Raw Assets
Use raw assets when you need control over individual tracks.
Display Video + Mic Audio Only
from videodb.editor import Timeline, Track, Clip, VideoAsset, AudioAsset
cap = conn.get_capture_session("cap-xxx")
display_asset_id = cap.get_rtstream("display")[0].exported_asset_id
mic_asset_id = cap.get_rtstream("mic")[0].exported_asset_id
timeline = Timeline(conn)
timeline.resolution = "1280x720"
# Video track
video_track = Track()
video_track.add_clip(0, Clip(asset=VideoAsset(id=display_asset_id), duration=60))
timeline.add_track(video_track)
# Audio track (mic only)
audio_track = Track()
audio_track.add_clip(0, Clip(asset=AudioAsset(id=mic_asset_id, volume=1.0), duration=60))
timeline.add_track(audio_track)
stream_url = timeline.generate_stream()
Semantic Search
After export, captured content is searchable:
video = coll.get_video(exported_video_id)
# Index for search
video.index_spoken_words()
# Search
results = video.search("action items from the meeting")
for shot in results.shots:
print(f"{shot.start}s: {shot.text}")
shot.play()
Which Asset to Use?
| Use Case | Asset |
|---|
| Quick playback, sharing | Muxed video (exported_video_id) |
| Separate mic vs system audio | Raw channel assets |
| Multi-track editing | Raw channel assets |
| Custom audio mix | Raw channel assets |
| Picture-in-picture | Raw channel assets |
Next Steps
