Playback for video editors

Build an editing reel from your clients' YouTube videos

Find the best moments, string them together, and share one link.

Works with client videos, brand content, personal projects and more.

  1. 1

    Paste a video

    Use a YouTube link: your own work or a client's. No upload needed.

  2. 2

    Pick your best moments

    Set the start and end of each clip you want to include.

  3. 3

    Share one link

    Playback strings your clips together into a Cut. Share it, embed it, or pin it to your profile.

See it in action

Build a reel from a real project.

Interactive demo

Rip Curl Pro Portugal, day 1 highlights · World Surf League

0:00.01:00.02:00.0

Make it a Cut View source

Keyboard shortcuts

Control playback without leaving the keyboard.

JKL
Back, pause, forward
,.
Move in small steps
Shift
Slow motion while held
O
Turn looping on or off
See all shortcuts
Space
Play or pause
←→
Back or forward 1 second
,.
Previous or next frame
JKL
Shuttle back / stop / forward
O
Loop the moment on or off
[]
Set loop IN / OUT
\
Back to the whole moment
P
Practice: passes, your-turn gap, count-in
T
Tap the tempo (Music practice)
Shift
Hold to slow to 0.25×
M
Mirror the picture left to right
F
Theater mode
Esc
Close panel / Exit theater / Reset loop
?
Show or hide this list
Page Down
Play / Pause
Page Up
Restart loop

On any Playback, press ? for this list. Frame steps assume 30 frames a second, because YouTube does not share the real rate.

Questions

Can I use unlisted videos?
Yes, if the channel allows embedding. An unlisted video plays in YouTube's embedded player for anyone who has the link. A private video plays nowhere but YouTube, so it cannot be part of a reel.
What happens if the client takes the video down?
The moment stops playing here too, because Playback never kept a copy. Your take and the rest of the Cut stay as you left them.
Do I need to clear my client's footage?
Portfolio sites ask you to upload the finished video, and the finished video is usually your client's. A Playback stores only the video's ID, the start and end, the speed and your words. The moment plays from the client's own YouTube upload, with their title and channel on the page.
Can a client step through my cut?
Anyone with the link can step through a transition one frame at a time (frames assume 30 per second, because YouTube does not share the real frame rate), hold Shift to watch at quarter speed, or loop the three seconds that matter.
Can I show the before and after?
Compare holds two moments together under one remote: the rough cut against the final, or your edit against the reference the client sent, as long as both are on YouTube.
Is it OK to use someone else's YouTube video?
Playback never downloads, copies or re-hosts a video. The video plays from YouTube's own player, on YouTube's terms, with YouTube's own ads. What Playback saves is a pointer: the video's ID, a start and end time, a speed, and your words. If the owner removes the video from YouTube, it stops playing here too.
A credit only the channel can give
Ask the channel to add "Edited by playback.tv/@yourhandle" to the video's description. When a Playback page opens, it reads that description through YouTube's official API, and if your line is there, every Playback of that video shows "Edited by @yourhandle". A link with no role word reads as the channel's own account instead ("Source: @handle"), so keep the words "Edited by". Nobody but the channel can add that line.