hydroclipsHow the buffer works#
Instant Replay captures continuously while enabled. It keeps a bounded set of temporary video segments on disk, replacing older segments as new activity arrives. Press Alt + F10 to export the completed portion of the recent buffer.
The configured maximum is 20 minutes. The panel offers presets from 30 seconds to 20 minutes. The configuration range is 10–1200 seconds; a longer duration requires more temporary disk space.
Warm-up and clip length#
A buffer starts empty. Wait for capture to become active and for completed segments to exist before saving. The panel shows the available footage beside your selected duration, for example 30s / 5m ready. The replay button is enabled when completed footage is available. During startup it displays Starting Replay….
A five-minute setting does not instantly produce five minutes of footage. Shortly after launch, the exported clip may be shorter. Capture uses roughly two-second segments, so the saved end can lag the current moment by a small amount.
Temporary disk usage#
Buffer files are under %APPDATA%\Hydro Clips\native-buffer. A 20-minute buffer at 25 Mbps needs roughly 3.75 GB for video alone. Audio, exports and pinned manual recordings can require extra space.
Choose a shorter buffer when disk space is limited. Changing only the replay duration, output folder or saving unchanged settings preserves the buffer. Changing frame rate, resolution, bitrate or audio capture settings restarts it; allow it to warm up again. Increasing the duration retains existing footage and collects the additional history over time. A saved MP4 is independent of subsequent buffer pruning.
Replay during manual recording#
Manual recording keeps the segments needed for its session instead of letting buffer pruning remove them. Saving a replay exports a snapshot of completed segments. These operations are serialized. While a replay is being exported the panel displays Saving Replay…; simultaneous requests share the same clip.
Finishing a manual recording keeps enabled Instant Replay running and preserves its history. You can immediately save a replay covering activity before and during that recording. The completed manual recording remains in your clip library.