Recommended settings.
Video Spell Checker reads the text in your video optically, the same way a viewer does. A few habits at export time make the results noticeably more reliable.
Check the master, not the proxy
Check these
- ProRes 422 / 422 HQ · (or 4444) masters
- High-bitrate H.264 / HEVC · delivery exports, YouTube or broadcast quality
- HD (1280×720) or above · 1080p and 4K are ideal
Avoid checking
- ProRes Proxy / 422 LT · proxy codecs soften text edges, which blurs the difference between a real typo and compression noise
- Sub-HD exports · below 1280×720, small text may not be readable at all
- Screen-share or re-recorded copies · always check the exported file, not a capture of it
The app warns you at import when a file is a proxy codec or below HD resolution. Analysis still runs, but expect more items in the low-confidence list. And check the exact file you intend to deliver: a spelling pass on the proxy doesn't guarantee the online master, since text is occasionally revised during conform.
Analysis mode: Automatic is the right default
Automatic runs the recommended pipeline: text detection on your Mac, scene-aware skipping, all false-positive filtering, and Spell Checker Cloud verification of every remaining flag. For nearly all footage this is the most accurate configuration.
Switch to Manual only when you have a specific reason:
| Setting | Recommended | When to change |
|---|---|---|
| Sample rate | Every scene change | Leave as is. Fixed intervals can miss text that appears between samples |
| Minimum text size | 24 px | Lower it only if the video has important small text (fine print, captions) |
| Cloud verification | On | Turn off only for footage that must never leave the machine. Expect more low-confidence items to review by hand |
| Black-frame check | Per project | Turn on for broadcast deliverables; leave off for social cuts where black is a creative choice |
Language
Choose the English variant your project is delivered in, not where it was edited. Favorites passes a US check and fails a Canadian or British one; colour is the reverse. Currently supported: US, UK, Canadian, and Australian English. More languages are coming; the app never lets you select a language it can't genuinely check.
Timecode
If your export carries a timecode track (Premiere Pro, Final Cut, and Resolve include one in QuickTime exports by default), the app reads it automatically. Every timecode in reports and exported markers matches your NLE, even for sequences starting at 00:59:58:00. Files without one simply count up from zero.
Screen recordings and busy frames
Software UI in screen recordings produces a lot of on-screen text that isn't your copy. Two tools keep the report clean:
- Analysis regions. Draw up to four boxes on the viewport (the rectangle button in the transport bar) to restrict checking to where your titles actually live, such as the lower third. Only the drawn area is analyzed or uploaded for verification.
- "Contains screen recordings" (Manual mode) down-ranks frames dense with UI text so app chrome doesn't flood the results.
Reviewing results
- Confirmed errors are the findings that count. Every one has been through the full pipeline and visually confirmed against the actual frame.
- Low confidence items are things the app deliberately kept visible rather than silently discarding: probable OCR misreads, text physically in the shot, titles caught mid-animation. A clean file reads PASSED with these tucked away. Expand the section if you want to double-check, and right-click Mark as Error if the app got one wrong.
- Add to Dictionary any brand names or people the dictionary doesn't know; they'll never be flagged again.
Export cheat sheet
| Deliverable | Use |
|---|---|
| QC sign-off | PDF report. Verdict banner, one numbered row per finding with a frame thumbnail marking the text's location |
| Fix pass in Premiere Pro | Export Markers → Premiere Pro (XML), or the Video Spell Checker panel, which imports markers onto your sequence via source timecode |
| Fix pass in DaVinci Resolve | Export Markers → DaVinci Resolve (EDL), then right-click the timeline → Timelines → Import → Timeline Markers from EDL |
| Records / tracking sheet | CSV |