SearchByVideo: Describe a Moment, Get Its Timestamp

Product overview

SearchByVideo is an independent AI video search tool built around one specific problem: a video is a timeline, not a document, so finding a single moment usually means scrubbing from start to finish. SearchByVideo asks you to upload your own footage, has an AI describe it segment by segment, and then lets you describe the moment you remember in everyday language. It returns the timestamps of matching segments, ranked by confidence. It is not a reverse video search engine. The official About page states plainly that SearchByVideo will not tell you where a clip came from or find copies of a video across the web; it looks inside the file you give it. The team flags this as the single thing new visitors most often get wrong, and it is worth repeating before you sign up. On the technical side, the official description says a video is sampled into representative frames and passed through a multimodal vision-language model that understands what is happening on screen — objects, people, actions, settings and readable text — rather than relying on a transcript. That is why it can work on completely silent footage, on footage in a language the tool does not caption, and on scenes where nobody says the thing you are looking for out loud. The site names Google Gemini 2.5 Flash as the model and lists the analyzed material as people, actions, objects, settings, on-screen text, speech, sounds and music. The workflow has four steps: bring your footage or try the built-in sample, build the visual index, describe the moment, then jump into context and save the timestamp. The official site stresses that a video is analyzed once and can then be searched repeatedly at no extra credit cost, so you can query the same file from many angles — by object, by scene, by on-screen text. The limits are unusually explicit. Supported formats are MP4, MOV and AVI; WebM is not supported and should be converted to MP4 first. Video length is up to 30 minutes on Pro and up to 5 minutes without an active subscription, and longer videos are rejected before credits are charged. Each new analysis costs 5 credits regardless of length, and each analysis must finish within the server's 120-second limit; if it fails or finds nothing, credits are returned automatically. Timestamp precision is about 2–3 seconds per segment for clips under 1 minute, 5–10 seconds for 1–10 minutes, and 30–60 seconds for 10 minutes or longer. Uploaded files are deleted after 7 days while the search index stays. SearchByVideo is built and operated by Hommer Zhao, the founder and general manager, as an individual based in China. The product started in 2025, is self-funded and independent, and the site states it is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by Google, YouTube or any other platform whose tools it integrates with. Support is at support@searchbyvideo.net, with a stated typical response time of 24 hours. One boundary matters for expectations: the tool does not cut, export or download clips. It gives you the timestamp and you trim in your own editor. The site also states there is no public API. If you need to trace a clip's origin or build an automated pipeline, this is not the right category of tool. Everything below comes from the official pages; where the official material is silent, this article does not guess.

Core features

• Visual-first indexing: the official description says the AI describes people, actions, objects, settings, on-screen text, speech, sounds and music segment by segment, not just a transcript.
• Plain-language queries: type a description such as "ninja on the rooftop" or "cherry blossoms" with no tags or keyword syntax.
• Confidence-ranked timestamps: results are scored, and the site says off-topic segments are hidden rather than shown as guesses.
• Segment descriptions with each result: you can read what the AI saw in that segment and check it in the player.
• Analyze once, search many times: the site states searching an already-analyzed video costs no extra credits.
• Works on silent footage: because the analysis reads the picture, the official material says completely silent footage is searchable.
• Built-in interactive sample: the site offers a full search flow on a prepared sample index without an account.
• Seven-day file deletion: uploaded files are deleted after 7 days while the search index remains.

Use cases

• Creators and editors: pull a specific reaction or b-roll shot out of raw footage, then trim it in your own editor.
• Courses and research: jump to the point where a concept is explained in a recorded lecture or webinar.
• Screen recordings and meeting captures: retrieve one decision or one on-screen step from support, research or operations recordings.
• Game and training footage: scan recordings for a specific play or action.
• Personal archives: find a milestone moment inside long-accumulated family or personal video.
• Silent or unnarrated footage: the official material highlights moments nobody says out loud.

How to use

• Prepare the file: confirm it is MP4, MOV or AVI; the site says WebM is not supported and should be converted to MP4 first. Check length — up to 30 minutes on Pro, up to 5 minutes without an active subscription.
• Upload and build the index: the AI describes the video segment by segment with timestamps. The site states each new analysis costs 5 credits and must finish within the server's 120-second limit.
• Describe the moment in your own words: type what you remember — a person, an action, an object, a setting or on-screen text.
• Review and verify: results are ranked by confidence and include a description of the matching segment; check it in the player.
• Save the timestamp and return to your editor: SearchByVideo does not cut or export clips, so trimming happens in your own software.
• Keep querying from other angles: once indexed, the same video can be searched again by object, scene or on-screen text at no extra credit cost, per the official site.

Pricing

The official pricing page lists Pro at $24.99 per month or $99.99 per year (billed annually). Both include 150 credits per month, videos up to 30 minutes, and the site states roughly 30 video analyses per month with unlimited searches after analysis. Each analysis costs 5 credits regardless of length, and searching an analyzed video costs no extra credits. Monthly credits expire at the end of each billing cycle and do not roll over. The site states a 7-day money-back guarantee on the first subscription. The homepage also mentions 15 credits on signup with no card required. These figures come from the official pages; no other prices or discounts are asserted here.

Pros

• Unusually explicit limits: formats, length caps, credit cost, analysis time limit and timestamp precision are all stated with numbers.
• Not transcript-dependent: the official material says indexing covers picture and sound, so silent footage and unnarrated moments are searchable.
• Analyze once, search repeatedly: the site states repeat searches on an analyzed video cost no extra credits.
• Low-confidence results are filtered: off-topic segments are hidden instead of presented as guesses, per the official site.
• Automatic credit return: credits are returned if an analysis fails or finds nothing.
• Clear retention window: uploaded files are deleted after 7 days.

Limitations

• Not a reverse video search: the official About page says it cannot identify an unknown video or find where a clip came from online.
• No cutting or export: it returns timestamps only; trimming happens in your own editor.
• No public API: the site states there is no public API, which rules out automated pipelines.
• Format and length caps: WebM is unsupported, and videos are capped at 5 minutes without an active subscription and 30 minutes on Pro.
• Precision drops with length: the official figures are about 30–60 seconds per segment for videos of 10 minutes or longer.
• Credits do not roll over: monthly credits expire at the end of the billing cycle.

FAQ

Sources

Video Finder & Video Search — Find Any Moment | SearchByVideo Fetched 2026-11-09

Pricing — SearchByVideo AI Video Search Fetched 2026-11-09

About SearchByVideo — Who We Are & What We Build Fetched 2026-11-09