📚 SentinelPlayer Documentation

🎯 Introduction

SentinelPlayer is a revolutionary family-friendly video player designed by a parent for parents worldwide. It allows you to watch great movies with your family by automatically skipping or muting inappropriate scenes.

What Makes SentinelPlayer Unique?

• 100% Free - No ads, no subscriptions, no hidden costs
• Complete Privacy - Works offline, no data collection
• Easy to Use - Mark scenes in real-time while watching
• Smart Lock System - Child-proof protection with password
• Share Lists - Help other families with your skip lists

Who is it for?

• Parents - Protect children from inappropriate content
• Schools & Educators - Show educational content safely
• Religious Families - Watch movies aligned with your values
• Anyone - Who wants control over what they watch

✨ Key Features

🔐 Lock/Unlock System - Complete Guide

Understanding the Lock Button

The lock button is located at the top of the player, next to the "SENTINEL PLAYER" title. It's large, prominent, and shows the current status:

• 🔒 LOCKED - Red button - Protection active
• 🔓 UNLOCKED - Green button - Editing mode

Default Behavior

⚠️ IMPORTANT: The app always starts in LOCKED mode when launched. This ensures maximum safety for children.

How to Lock (Enable Protection)

1. Click the 🔓 UNLOCKED button
2. That's it! No password needed
3. Button turns red 🔒 LOCKED
4. Segments now auto-skip when seeking/playing

Why no password? Parents should be able to quickly enable protection without friction.

How to Unlock (Edit Mode)

1. Click the 🔒 LOCKED button
2. Enter your password
3. If correct, button turns green 🔓 UNLOCKED
4. Now you can edit segments, right-click to select, etc.

Why password? Prevents children from disabling the protection.

Password Management

• First Time: You'll be prompted to create a password
• Same Password: Used for unlocking and accessing "Segments" menu
• Forgot Password: No recovery - choose wisely!
• Change Password: Via "Segments" menu when unlocked

What Happens When Locked?

• ✅ Segments auto-skip during playback
• ✅ Arrow keys skip over segments
• ✅ Timeline slider skips to segment edges
• ✅ Resume from saved position skips segments
• ❌ Cannot right-click to select segments
• ❌ Cannot edit segment boundaries
• ❌ Cannot access "Segments" menu

🎯 Marking Segments - Step by Step

Method 1: Keyboard Shortcuts (Recommended)

1. Unlock the app first (🔓)
2. Play the video
3. When you see inappropriate content starting:
   • Press Ctrl + [ to mark START
   • You'll see a message: "Segment start marked"
   • Orange overlay appears on timeline
4. When the scene ends:
   • Press Ctrl + ] to mark END
   • Segment saved automatically!
   • Red bar appears on timeline

Method 2: Control Panel Buttons

1. Unlock the app
2. Click the red "⏺ Mark Start" button when scene begins
3. Click the red "⏹ Mark End" button when scene ends

Method 3: Segments Menu

1. Go to Skip Segments menu → Manage Segments
2. Click "Add New Segment"
3. Manually enter start time (HH:MM:SS)
4. Enter end time
5. Choose type (Skip or Mute)
6. Click Save

Best Practices for Marking

• Start Early - Mark slightly before the scene starts
• End Late - Mark slightly after the scene ends
• Test It - Seek through the marked segment to verify
• Descriptive Labels - Add notes like "Violence scene" or "Profanity"

✏️ Editing Segments - Advanced Guide

Why Edit Segments?

• Marked too early/late
• Need frame-perfect accuracy
• Want to adjust based on subtitle timing
• Refine someone else's shared list

Selecting a Segment

Method 1: Right-Click (Recommended)

1. Unlock the app (🔓)
2. Right-click on any red/orange bar in the timeline
3. Segment turns blue when selected
4. Message appears: "Segment selected"

Method 2: Keyboard Navigation

1. Unlock the app
2. Press ↑ Up or ↓ Down arrows
3. Cycles through all segments
4. Selected segment turns blue

Adjusting Boundaries - Mouse Drag

1. Select a segment (turns blue)
2. Hover mouse over the left edge (start) or right edge (end)
3. Cursor changes to ↔ resize cursor
4. Click and drag the edge
5. Video seeks in real-time! You see exactly what frame you're at
6. Release mouse to save

Adjusting Boundaries - Keyboard (Precise)

Adjust START point:

• Ctrl + ← Move start backward 1 second
• Ctrl + → Move start forward 1 second

Adjust END point:

• Ctrl + Shift + ← Move end backward 1 second
• Ctrl + Shift + → Move end forward 1 second

Live Video Preview

🎥 Key Feature: When adjusting boundaries, the video automatically:

• Pauses playback
• Seeks to the position you're adjusting
• Shows the exact frame in real-time
• Updates as you drag or press keys

This lets you see precisely what content will be at the start/end of the segment!

Deleting Segments

1. Go to Skip Segments menu → Manage Segments
2. Find the segment in the list
3. Click "Delete" button
4. Confirm deletion

🎨 Segment Types

🔴 Skip Segment (Red)

Use for: Visual inappropriate content

• Violence, gore, graphic scenes
• Nudity or sexual content
• Disturbing imagery

What happens:

• Video jumps from start to end instantly
• Both video and audio skip
• No black screen - seamless jump

🟠 Mute Segment (Orange)

Use for: Audio inappropriate content

• Profanity, bad language
• Inappropriate dialogue
• Audio-only content issues

What happens:

• Video continues playing normally
• Audio mutes automatically
• Subtitles hide automatically
• Audio/subtitles restore after segment

How to Change Segment Type

1. Go to Skip Segments → Manage Segments
2. Find your segment
3. Toggle "Mute Audio Only" checkbox
4. Checked = Mute (Orange)
5. Unchecked = Skip (Red)

⌨️ Complete Keyboard Shortcuts Reference

Pro Tips for Keyboard Shortcuts

• Use Ctrl + [ and Ctrl + ] while watching - no need to pause!
• Combine Up/Down navigation with Ctrl+Arrows for quick editing workflow
• Hold keys for rapid adjustments (e.g., hold Ctrl+→ to move start forward quickly)

💾 Import/Export Skip Lists

Why Share Lists?

• Save time - don't re-mark movies others have done
• Help other families enjoy safe content
• Build a community library of skip lists
• Perfect for educators and schools

Exporting Your Lists

1. Open video with marked segments
2. Click "Export" button in control panel
3. Enter password (if set)
4. Choose save location
5. File saved as: MovieName.json

Importing Lists

1. Open the video file
2. Click "Import" button
3. Enter password
4. Select the .json file
5. Segments load automatically!

File Format

Skip lists are saved as .json files containing:

• Video file hash (ensures correct video)
• All segment start/end times
• Segment types (skip/mute)
• Labels and notes

Security

• Import/Export require password if set
• Prevents children from importing/exporting
• Files are plain JSON - human readable
• No personal data in export files

🎬 Use Cases & Examples

💡 Pro Tips & Best Practices

Marking Efficiently

• Mark liberally - Better to skip a bit extra than miss something
• Use Mute for language - Keeps story continuity better than skipping
• Overlap OK - App handles overlapping segments correctly
• Test before sharing - Watch through once with lock ON to verify

Editing Workflow

1. Mark rough segments first (quick pass)
2. Watch video with lock ON to test
3. Unlock and fine-tune using Ctrl+Arrows
4. Use drag for larger adjustments
5. Final test with lock ON
6. Export and share!

Lock System Tips

• Always lock when done editing - One click protection
• App starts locked automatically - Forget to lock? You're covered!
• Unlock only when needed - Minimize exposure to unlocked mode
• Strong password - Kids are smart! Use a good password

Performance Tips

• Close other apps for smooth 4K playback
• Use SSD for best seeking performance
• Limit segments to <100 per video (performance)
• Keep app updated for latest improvements

🔧 Troubleshooting

Video won't play

• Check codec: Install VLC codec pack
• File corrupted: Try opening in VLC first
• Unsupported format: Convert to MP4/MKV

Segments not skipping

• Check lock status: Must be locked (🔒 red button)
• Segment disabled: Check in Segments Manager
• Auto-skip off: Enable in Skip Segments menu

Can't unlock the app

• Password incorrect: Try again carefully
• No password set: Create one from Segments menu first
• Forgot password: No recovery - you'll need to reinstall (segments lost)

Editing doesn't save

• Must be unlocked: Can't edit when locked
• File permissions: Run app as administrator
• Disk full: Check free space

Import fails

• Wrong video: Import list must match video file hash
• Corrupted file: Re-download the JSON
• Password needed: Enter correct password

App crashes or freezes

• Update app: Check for latest version
• Graphics drivers: Update GPU drivers
• Too many segments: Reduce to <100
• Report bug: Contact support with details

🔬 Technical Specifications

System Requirements

Supported Formats

Data Storage

• Segments: Stored locally in %APPDATA%/SentinelPlayer/
• Password: Encrypted, stored locally only
• Resume positions: Saved per video
• No cloud sync: Complete offline operation
• No telemetry: Zero data sent to servers

Performance

• Segment skip: < 100ms latency
• Audio mute: < 50ms latency
• Seeking: Hardware-accelerated
• Max segments: 1000 per video (100 recommended)
• Memory: ~200 MB base + video buffer

Privacy & Security

• ✅ 100% offline - no internet connection required
• ✅ No data collection or telemetry
• ✅ No ads or tracking
• ✅ Password encrypted with AES-256
• ✅ Original videos never modified
• ✅ Open source (MIT License)

Version Information