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Managing Your Recording Library

Learn how to effectively organize, manage, and maintain your Sentryrec recording library. This guide covers everything from basic organization to advanced library management techniques.

Understanding the Review Tab

The Review tab is your central hub for managing all recordings:

Navigation Basics

  1. Open Review Tab: Click "Review" in the main navigation
  2. Browse recordings: Scroll through thumbnail grid view of all recordings
  3. Filter and sort: Use toolbar options to organize your library
  4. Quick actions: Right-click any recording for context menu options

Recording Information Display

Each recording card shows:

  • Thumbnail grid: Visual preview of video content (9 thumbnails)
  • Model name: Performer's username
  • Cam site: Platform where recorded (Chaturbate, Stripchat, etc.)
  • Date and time: When recording was created
  • Duration: Total length of recording (HH:MM:SS)
  • File size: Storage space used

Viewing and Playing Recordings

Quick Play

  1. Single-click on any recording thumbnail to play it
  2. Video opens in your system's default video player
  3. Player depends on your OS:
    • Windows: Default is Windows Media Player (VLC recommended)
    • macOS: Default is QuickTime Player

Opening File Location

  1. Right-click on a recording
  2. Select "Open File Location" or "Show in Finder"
  3. File explorer/Finder opens with the recording selected
  4. Useful for:
    • Moving files manually
    • Sharing via USB drive
    • Uploading to cloud storage
    • Viewing multiple recordings at once

Recommended Video Players

For the best viewing experience, we recommend:

  • VLC Media Player (Free, all platforms) - Best compatibility
  • PotPlayer (Free, Windows) - Feature-rich
  • IINA (Free, macOS) - Modern macOS design

Organizing Your Library

Naming Conventions

Recordings are automatically named using your configured format. Default pattern: [ModelName]_[Date]_[Time]_[Site].mp4

Example: AshleyModel_2025-01-15_1430_Chaturbate.mp4

Customize naming format:

  1. Go to Settings > Advanced
  2. Find "Filename Format"
  3. Choose from available patterns or create custom format
  4. Options include:
    • Model name
    • Date (various formats)
    • Time (various formats)
    • Cam site name
    • Recording duration

Folder Organization

By default, all recordings go to one folder. For better organization:

Option 1: Organize by Model

  1. Create subfolders in your output directory
  2. Name folders by model name
  3. Manually move recordings to appropriate folders
  4. Example structure: 
    /recordings/
  /AshleyModel/
  /JessicaModel/
  /SamanthaModel/

Option 2: Organize by Site

  1. Create subfolders for each cam site
  2. Move recordings by site
  3. Example structure: 
    /recordings/
  /Chaturbate/
  /Stripchat/
  /MyFreeCams/

Option 3: Organize by Date

  1. Create monthly or yearly folders
  2. Archive older recordings periodically
  3. Example structure: 
    /recordings/
  /2025/
    /January/
    /February/
  /2024/
    /December/

Note: Manual organization doesn't affect Sentryrec's ability to display recordings in the Review tab.

Filtering and Searching

Built-in Filters

Use the Review tab toolbar to filter recordings:

  1. By Site: Show only recordings from specific cam sites
  2. By Date: Filter by date range (today, this week, this month, custom)
  3. By Duration: Show recordings longer or shorter than specified time
  4. By Model: Quick search by model name (if available in your version)

Manual Search Tips

If advanced filtering isn't available:

  1. Use your file explorer's search function
  2. Search by model name in the recordings folder
  3. Sort files by date, size, or name
  4. Create saved searches (Windows) or Smart Folders (macOS)

Managing Storage Space

Automatic Cleanup

Enable Auto-Delete for Short Recordings:

  1. Go to Settings > Advanced
  2. Find "Auto Delete Recordings Below Duration"
  3. Set threshold in seconds (e.g., 300 = 5 minutes)
  4. Recordings shorter than this are automatically deleted
  5. Useful for eliminating false starts and test recordings

Set Minimum Disk Space:

  1. Go to Settings > Basic
  2. Find "Minimum Disk Space for Recording"
  3. Set percentage (e.g., 10% = stop recording when only 10% free space remains)
  4. Prevents system from running out of disk space
  5. All active recordings stop when threshold reached

Manual Cleanup

Delete Unwanted Recordings:

  1. Select recording in Review tab
  2. Right-click and choose "Delete"
  3. Confirm deletion (this is permanent!)
  4. File is removed from disk and Review list

Bulk Delete:

  1. Sort recordings by duration or date
  2. Open file location in file explorer
  3. Select multiple files using Ctrl+Click (Windows) or Cmd+Click (macOS)
  4. Press Delete key
  5. Confirm batch deletion

Safe Deletion Practices:

  • ⚠️ Always preview before deleting
  • 📦 Consider archiving instead of deleting
  • 💾 Keep backups of favorite recordings
  • 🗓️ Delete recordings older than 6-12 months if space is limited

Archiving and Backup

Local Backup Strategy

External Drive Archive:

  1. Connect external USB drive or external SSD
  2. Create organized folder structure on drive
  3. Move older recordings from primary storage to external drive
  4. Label drive clearly (e.g., "Sentryrec Archive 2024")
  5. Disconnect when not in use to prevent accidental deletion

Best Practices:

  • Use 2+ TB external drives for large archives
  • Keep most recent 30 days on primary drive
  • Archive everything older to external storage
  • Organize archives by month or quarter
  • Consider SSD for faster access to archives

Cloud Backup Options

Cloud Storage Considerations:

  • ⚠️ Privacy Warning: Adult content may violate cloud service ToS
  • 💰 Cost: Can be expensive (1TB+ subscriptions needed)
  • 🐌 Speed: Upload can be slow for large video files
  • 🔒 Encryption: Use encrypted cloud storage for privacy

Safer Cloud Options:

  • Personal NAS (Network Attached Storage) at home
  • Private cloud servers (not public services like Dropbox)
  • Encrypted cloud storage services
  • Self-hosted solutions (Nextcloud, Syncthing)

Compression and Space Saving

Video Compression: Large recordings can be compressed to save space:

  1. Use Handbrake (Free):

    • Download from handbrake.fr
    • Import your recording
    • Select H.265 codec (better compression than H.264)
    • Reduce quality slider to 22-24 (still good quality)
    • Can reduce file size by 50-70%

  2. Batch Compression:

    • Select multiple files in Handbrake
    • Apply same settings to all
    • Process overnight
    • Replace originals once verified

When to Compress:

  • ✅ Recordings you want to keep long-term
  • ✅ Older recordings you rarely watch
  • ✅ When running low on storage
  • ❌ Don't compress favorites you watch often (quality loss)

Advanced Organization

Metadata and Tags

Use File Properties (Windows):

  1. Right-click recording
  2. Select "Properties" > "Details" tab
  3. Add tags, ratings, comments
  4. Search by metadata later

Use Tags (macOS):

  1. Right-click recording in Finder
  2. Select tags from tag menu
  3. Create custom tags (e.g., "Favorite", "Archive", "Delete Later")
  4. Search by tags using Finder

Creating Collections

Favorites Collection:

  1. Create a "Favorites" folder in your recordings directory
  2. Copy (don't move) your best recordings there
  3. Easy access to top content without searching
  4. Original files remain in main library

Curated Playlists:

  1. Create playlist files (.m3u or .m3u8)
  2. Use VLC or similar player to create playlists
  3. Add specific recordings to themed playlists
  4. Play playlists for curated viewing sessions

Monitoring Library Statistics

Check Your Library Size

Windows:

  1. Open File Explorer
  2. Navigate to recordings folder
  3. Right-click folder and select "Properties"
  4. See total size and number of files

macOS:

  1. Open Finder
  2. Navigate to recordings folder
  3. Select folder and press Cmd+I (Get Info)
  4. See total size and number of items

Track Recording History

Keep a simple log (optional):

  • Create spreadsheet or note file
  • Track recordings by model, date, duration
  • Useful for identifying favorites
  • Helps plan storage needs

Best Practices Summary

Daily Maintenance

  • ✅ Review new recordings each day
  • ✅ Delete obvious unwanted recordings
  • ✅ Check available disk space
  • ✅ Verify auto-recording working correctly

Weekly Maintenance

  • ✅ Organize recordings into folders
  • ✅ Archive older recordings to external drive
  • ✅ Review and adjust auto-delete settings
  • ✅ Check for duplicate recordings

Monthly Maintenance

  • ✅ Deep clean: delete recordings you'll never watch
  • ✅ Compress recordings you want to keep
  • ✅ Backup important recordings
  • ✅ Review storage statistics and plan accordingly
  • ✅ Update Sentryrec to latest version

Storage Guidelines

Recommended Storage by Usage:

  • Light use (1-3 recordings/day): 250-500 GB
  • Medium use (5-10 recordings/day): 1-2 TB
  • Heavy use (10+ recordings/day): 2-4 TB
  • Archive storage: 2-8 TB external drives

Average Recording Sizes:

  • 30 minutes: 250-500 MB
  • 1 hour: 500 MB - 1 GB
  • 2 hours: 1-2 GB
  • 4 hours: 2-4 GB

Troubleshooting

Recordings Not Showing in Review Tab

Solutions:

  1. Check if files exist in output directory
  2. Restart Sentryrec to refresh library
  3. Verify files are .mp4 format
  4. Check if Review feature is enabled in Settings

Can't Delete Recordings

Solutions:

  1. Close any video players that might have file open
  2. Close Sentryrec completely
  3. Delete through file explorer instead
  4. Check file permissions
  5. Restart computer if file is locked

Slow Review Tab Loading

Solutions:

  1. Disable thumbnail generation (Settings > Advanced)
  2. Reduce number of recordings in folder
  3. Archive older recordings
  4. Use SSD instead of HDD
  5. Upgrade RAM if system has less than 8 GB

Related Guides

Pro Tip: Treat your recording library like a personal streaming service. Good organization now saves hours of frustration later when trying to find specific recordings!

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