Twin Clips: Find and Remove Duplicate Video Files

The Video Storage Problem

Video files are by far the largest files on most Macs:

4K videos - 300-400 MB per minute
1080p videos - 100-200 MB per minute
Screen recordings - 50-150 MB per minute

Duplicate videos can waste tens of gigabytes without you realizing it.

How Duplicate Videos Happen

Common Sources

Imports and Backups

Same video imported multiple times
Backup copies in different folders
Videos copied from devices repeatedly

Downloads

Re-downloading the same video
Multiple quality versions
Failed downloads restarted

Editing Workflow

Original and edited versions
Export attempts
Render outputs

Screen Recordings

Multiple takes of the same recording
Test recordings never deleted
Duplicate captures

DiskCleanKit's Twin Clips Feature

Our video duplicate finder identifies identical video files across your system.

How It Works

1. Content analysis - Compares actual video content

2. Hash matching - Identifies byte-for-byte identical files

3. Smart grouping - Groups all copies together

What We Find

Exact duplicate videos
Same video in multiple locations
Videos with different names but same content
Copies across internal and external drives

Using Twin Clips

Running a Scan

1. Open DiskCleanKit

2. Go to Twin Clips

3. Select locations to scan:

Movies folder
Downloads
Desktop
External drives

4. Click Find Twin Clips

5. Wait for analysis (may take time for large collections)

Reviewing Results

Results show:

Video thumbnail for easy identification
File size of each duplicate
Location of each copy
Total wasted space per group

Selecting Videos to Remove

For Each Duplicate Group

Choose which copy to keep:

Keep in primary location - Movies folder usually
Keep newest - Most recently modified
Keep on fastest drive - SSD over HDD

Bulk Selection

For faster cleanup:

Auto-select all duplicates to remove
Keep one copy of each video
Review before confirming

Special Considerations

Video Projects

Be careful with:

Final Cut Pro source files
Adobe Premiere project media
Active project footage

These may look like duplicates but are needed by your editing software.

Different Formats

Not duplicates:

Same video in different codecs (H.264 vs HEVC)
Different resolution versions
Compressed vs original

DiskCleanKit only flags truly identical files.

External Drive Videos

Consider:

Is this an intentional backup?
Do you need copies on multiple drives?
Is the external drive your archive?

Scanning Large Collections

Performance Tips

For large video libraries:

Scan during off-hours
Start with specific folders
Use SSD for faster scanning

Scan Time Expectations

100 videos - 1-2 minutes
500 videos - 5-10 minutes
1000+ videos - 15-30 minutes

After Cleaning

Verify Important Videos

After removing duplicates:

1. Check that kept videos play correctly

2. Verify your video editing projects still work

3. Confirm backups are intact if intended

Organize Remaining Videos

With duplicates gone:

Create a logical folder structure
Move videos to appropriate locations
Consider external archive for old videos

Results to Expect

Typical space savings:

10-50 GB for casual users
50-200 GB for video enthusiasts
200+ GB for videographers

Video duplicates are often the biggest storage waste. Twin Clips helps you reclaim that space!