Introducing Clipstart

Clipstart complements your photo application to give you a place that is designed for home movies. Import your movies, tag, search, and upload with one click to Flickr, Vimeo, and YouTube. You can even quickly upload a trimmed portion of a movie without needing to save a new copy. If you have dozens or hundreds of short movies from an iPhone or Flip camera, Clipstart provides the workflow to finally make sense of them.

Screencast Video

Quick 2-minute introduction to the basic features in Clipstart as well as keyboard shortcuts and tips.

Screenshots

Click the thumbnails below for screenshots of some of the Clipstart interface.

Feature Highlights

• Import videos from the iPhone, new iPod Nano, Flip cameras, SD cards, and more.

• No-prompt upload to send the video to Flickr, Vimeo, and YouTube with a single click.

• Fast keyboard-driven tagging interface that doesn't get in your way.

• Trim the movie selection to upload without modifing the original movie file — or save the trimmed version, new in 1.4.

• Browse by year, tag, and full name, filepath, and tag search.

• Automatically finds all your movies on first launch so you're ready to tag and upload.

• Batch export your videos, even creating an HTML site from templates — WebDAV publish new in 1.4.

• Capture video from the iSight directly into your Clipstart library — new in version 1.2.

• Import movies from a connected camera or SD card with thumbnail previews.

• Points to movies anywhere on your hard drive, or automatically copies them to a central location.

• Name, tags, and "taken on" date automatically set on Flickr.

• Change current privacy upload settings at any time.

• Natively play and edit Flip Video files.

• Upload history keeps track of which files you have uploaded.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I upgrade from the Mac App Store version of Clipstart to the direct download version? → Version 1.5 is a free upgrade, but it's only available as a direct download linked above. After downloading it and replacing your version from the Mac App Store, if it prompts you for registration, please fill out this form to get a new serial number.

Do I need a Flickr Pro or Vimeo Plus account? → No, but it is recommended. Flickr will only allow 2 movie uploads per month for basic accounts. Vimeo has fewer restrictions, but places bandwidth limits on basic accounts and offers prioritized conversion and more HD for paid users. In either case, by upgrading to a paid Flickr or Vimeo account you are supporting the services that Clipstart depends on for sharing movies.

Why can't Flickr process my iPhone 3GS videos? → There appears to be a problem with Flickr recognizing some 3GS videos, even uploaded from the Flickr web site. Flickr is aware of the issue. Using Clipstart's "Convert with Options" command from the Videos menu and checking "Convert to H.264" usually fixes the problem.

What about Viddler or Blip.tv? → The plan is to add support for more video sites in future versions of Clipstart. Please email support so that I can prioritize the services you want.

Where can I get help with Flickr video? → The Flickr web site's video help page is a great starting place, and includes information on bandwidth limits and supported movie types. If Flickr does not recognize one of your movies, try having Clipstart convert to H.264 before it uploads (choose Convert with Options under the Movie menu).

How do I stop the FlipShare application from starting when I connect the Flip? → Choose Preferences from the FlipShare menu and uncheck "Start FlipShare when camcorder inserted".

Can I upload in HD? → Yes, Clipstart can play, trim, and upload HD videos, new in version 1.2. See the application help for details. Vimeo will allow 1 upload per week, or unlimited uploads for Vimeo Plus.

Should I use Clipstart for managing my feature-length movie collection? → Probably not. Clipstart is designed for home movies that you shoot yourself or other short videos.

Download Clipstart

Download 1.5 (ZIP, 9 MB)

Any problems? Try the beta version of version 1.5.1.

Clipstart is not currently available for purchase.

Coupon applied! Click the Buy Now button below to get Clipstart for 20% off via PayPal.

Questions? Email [email protected]

Latest News

3/16/2016 — While I work on the next major version, a bug fix release version 1.5.1 is available as a beta download.

7/2/2012 — The Clipstart 1.5 release adds a new Consolidate command for finding duplicates in your library, or adding files that aren't yet managed by Clipstart. Plus new AppleScript support for uploading, performance improvements, and bug fixes.

2/23/2012 — Clipstart 1.4 brings WebDAV publish, a trim command, full-screen mode on Mac OS X 10.7 Lion, and more improvements.

2/7/2010 — New advanced search, smart tags, and more in version 1.3. Details in the release notes and help.

12/31/2009 — Version 1.2.4 is out with dozens of bug fixes and improvements. See the release notes.

9/10/2009 — Clipstart works great with the new 5th generation iPod Nano with video camera. Just select your iPod in iTunes and check "Enable disk use". Your iPod Nano will appear in Clipstart just like any other supported video camera.

9/3/2009 — Snow Leopard support and new features in version 1.2, including batch export, web site creation, Twitter upload, iSight capture, and more.

7/20/2009 — Lots of bug fixes in version 1.1.1, available now. Better support for the iPhone 3GS, more consistent keyboard shortcuts, and more.

6/30/2009 — Version 1.1 is out with import from iPhone 3GS, upload to YouTube, better tracking of video files if they move or are renamed, easier to move between external hard drives, pref for space key Quick Look, and more bug fixes and minor improvements. Full release notes.

Developer Weblog

My name is Manton Reece and I wrote Clipstart. I occasionally blog about Clipstart and other topics at manton.org.