Help & FAQ

Start with the Core Four steps — they get your library browsable and watchable fast:

• Scan — add your video folders and let SceneSort index everything.
• Clean filenames — review and apply suggested renames. Every change is previewed before it's applied.
• Remove duplicates — identify and remove identical or near-identical files.
• Review — confirm studios, performers, and categories for anything still unmatched.

Once those four steps are done, your library is ready to browse and watch. Everything else — watermark OCR, embedding metadata, scene splitting — is optional and can be done whenever you like.

Yes — the first scan does all the heavy lifting. SceneSort reads every file's metadata, generates thumbnails, and builds your library index from scratch. For large libraries (tens of thousands of files or terabytes of content) this takes time.

The good news: every scan after the first is fast. SceneSort only processes files that are new or have changed, so re-scans are incremental — you're not waiting for the full process again.

A progress bar at the bottom of the screen shows exactly where things are up to.

Your scan folders are configured in Settings. SceneSort remembers them between launches — you only need to set them up once. Folders are scanned recursively, so subfolders are included automatically.

You can add local drives, external drives, and UNC network paths (e.g. \\NAS\Videos) as scan sources.

Never. SceneSort is non-destructive by design. Every suggested rename is shown to you for review before anything is applied. You can accept, edit, or skip each one individually.

File moves (Organise) are also previewed, run in the background, and include a free-space check before anything is touched. Deleted files go to the Recycle Bin, not permanent deletion. There is a full Undo available at every stage of the workflow.

Under Settings you can choose how deeply SceneSort reads each file during a scan. The recommended approach:

• Fast mode (day-to-day use) — skips deep media-detail reading and keeps watermark OCR off. Scans are quick and the app stays responsive.
• Full mode (end of session) — enables detailed reads, OCR, and embedding. Run this when you're done using the app and happy to leave it running in the background.

If the app appears slow or unresponsive, it's almost certainly running a background process — embedding metadata, running watermark OCR, or moving files. These are computationally heavy operations and limit some other capabilities while they run.

Check the progress bar at the bottom of the screen — it shows the current operation and percentage complete. The app is not frozen; it's working.

If you need to stop a running operation, use the Stop button. Any completed work up to that point is saved.

When you close SceneSort, you'll be asked if you want to write all your confirmed studios, performers, categories, and settings to your hard drive. The app will stay open until this is finished — don't force-close it.

This is worth doing regularly. The more confirmed data you push, the smarter SceneSort becomes — future scans will detect studios and performers faster and more accurately because they're drawing on a richer knowledge base.

Depending on the size of your library and what's been processed, this may take a little while.

Watermark OCR uses the offline Windows OCR engine to read on-screen studio watermarks from your actual video frames. It's how SceneSort identifies a studio when the filename gives no clues at all.

It's computationally intensive — it needs to open, sample, and analyse frames from each video file. For large libraries this takes time, which is why it's not run inline during a normal scan. It runs on-demand, in the background, and is fully cancellable.

Everything happens locally. No frames or data leave your computer.

SceneSort uses two layers of duplicate detection:

• Metadata matching — compares file size, duration, and filename similarity. Fast and catches most obvious duplicates.
• Visual frame comparison — samples actual frames from each video and compares them perceptually. Catches re-encodes and files that have been compressed or repackaged differently.

You can choose the depth of detection in Settings — a lighter pass for speed, or a deeper visual comparison for thoroughness. Every flagged duplicate is shown to you for confirmation before anything is removed.

This can happen when files share very similar metadata — nearly identical file sizes, similar durations, and similar names — even though the actual content is different. A common example is a series of files named something like Scene 1, Scene 2, Scene 3 from the same studio, all roughly the same length.

In the duplicate review screen, SceneSort shows you a frame capture from each file so you can visually confirm they're different before doing anything. If they're clearly different content, simply skip or dismiss the duplicate flag.

Nothing is deleted without your explicit confirmation.

Yes. The duplicate detection covers both file duplicates and knowledge base duplicates — including multiple spellings of the same performer or studio name. You'll see groups of variants; tick which ones should be merged and SceneSort consolidates them into one canonical name.

Fuzzy matching also helps here — SceneSort recognises common typos and alternate spellings automatically during detection.

Use the browse filters along the top of the library: Performer, Studio, Category, Resolution, Status, Year, or Favourites. Combine filters to narrow down exactly what you're looking for, then double-click any file to play it instantly.

There's also a global search bar for when you know a specific name or title. Results update as you type.

• Compact view — dense list, great for large libraries where you want to scan quickly.
• Detail view — shows metadata alongside each file: duration, resolution badge (4K / 1080p / 720p), codec, studio, and performers.
• Thumbnail view — shows a frame preview from each video at a glance. Thumbnails are grabbed from ~20 seconds into each file so you see real content, not a studio logo.

Switch between views using the view toggle in the top-right of the library.

Click the star icon on any file in any view to add it to Favourites. Click again to remove it. Your Favourites are saved in your local library index and persist across rescans.

To see only your starred files, select the Favourites filter tile in the browse bar — it sits alongside Performer, Studio, Category, and the other filters.

SceneSort Pro plays through your own video player rather than locking you into a built-in one. Double-click any file and it opens in your default player (such as VLC), so you get a familiar viewer with full controls.

Your library window stays exactly where you left it, so the moment you finish watching you can keep browsing — it’s your one-stop spot to find and watch everything you own.

Yes, fully. SceneSort supports UNC network paths (e.g. \\NAS\Videos) as scan sources. Multi-terabyte NAS libraries are a supported use case.

For best performance on a NAS, use Fast mode in Settings during normal use. NAS I/O is slower than local disk, so running deep processing or watermark OCR against a network drive in the background is fine — just leave the app open and let it run.

SceneSort checks available free space on the target drive before moving any files, including NAS paths. If a move fails, you'll see a clear report of which files didn't move and why.

Common causes: the NAS has less free space than expected, a network interruption during the move, or a permissions issue on the target folder. Check the failure report and address the specific issue — then you can re-run the Organise step for the affected files.

No. SceneSort Pro has no server to send data to. All processing — filename cleaning, studio and performer detection, OCR, duplicate detection, scene splitting, metadata embedding — happens entirely on your computer.

There are no accounts, no cloud sync, no telemetry, and no internet connection required. Your files and your library data never leave your machine.

All library data — your confirmed studios, performers, categories, favourites, scan history, and settings — is stored in a local SQLite database on your PC. It's a single file, fully portable, and entirely under your control.

Thumbnail previews are cached on disk as compressed JPEG files. Nothing is stored remotely.

Optionally, SceneSort can write the studio, performers, and category you've confirmed directly into the video file's own container tags — losslessly, without re-encoding.

If you later share that file with another SceneSort user, their copy will already be classified when they scan it. The information travels with the file itself.

This is entirely opt-in. Enable it in Settings under Automation.

The Free edition is the full application with every feature unlocked — capped at processing 500 files. There's no time limit and no card required.

Pro is a one-time purchase of US$49.95. It removes the 500-file cap entirely, giving you unlimited files and a lifetime licence including all future updates.

If you have a library of more than 500 files, the Free edition lets you verify everything works well on your setup before you buy.

Yes. One payment, lifetime licence, all future updates included. No recurring charges, no renewal reminders, no feature tiers behind a higher subscription.

Try the full app on your first 500 files before you buy, so you know it works on your setup. Please contact support before initiating any chargeback — we'll work to resolve any issue first. Full details are on our Refund Policy page.

That's also why the Free edition exists: try every feature on your first 500 files and confirm it works on your specific setup before purchasing.

Go to the Review Queue — it shows everything still needing a studio, performer, or category. Click the suggestion chips to apply one of the ranked options, or type a name manually. Once confirmed, SceneSort learns it permanently and will recognise it in future scans.

SceneSort also supports abbreviation expansion (e.g. recognising PML as a known studio). If a name keeps getting missed, confirm it once from the Review Queue and it'll be caught automatically from then on.

This was a known issue in earlier versions and has been resolved. If you're on the latest version and a step won't advance, check that the current step has fully completed — the progress bar should be at 100% and the step should show as done.

If it's still stuck, use the Stop button to cancel the current operation cleanly, then restart the step. If the issue persists, contact support with a description of which step is affected.

Email support@scenesortpro.com. Include a description of what you were doing, what happened, and which step or screen was involved. If the issue caused a stall, the diagnostic log in Settings can help pinpoint the cause — attach it if you can.