Help — Palimpseste Loupe
A magnifying glass for your videos: a zoom that stays sharp while the video plays, on Mac, iPhone and iPad — plus playback on Apple Vision Pro.
Contact us
For a problem, tell us your device (Mac, iPhone, iPad), the app version (About menu, or Settings → About on mobile), and if you can the format of the file involved.
Getting started
How do I zoom?
On Mac: pinch on the trackpad, use the scroll wheel, or View → Zoom In (⌘=). On iPhone and iPad: pinch with two fingers. Up to 16×, and — this is the whole point — without pausing.
The magnified picture is cropped, how do I move around?
Once zoomed: on Mac, drag with two fingers on the trackpad, or click and drag. On mobile, one finger is enough. The zoom is centred on the area you are viewing, not on the pinch point: move first, then magnify.
How do I step frame by frame?
On Mac, the ← and → arrow keys — playback pauses by itself on the frame you land on. On mobile, the two buttons on either side of pause.
The control bar disappears
This is intended: it fades after a few seconds of inactivity. A mouse move brings it back on Mac; a tap on the picture on mobile — and on iPhone and iPad it stays visible while paused, when you are examining.
What are the Watch and Analyse modes for?
On iPhone and iPad, the bar would be too crowded if it showed everything. Watch keeps the essentials — playback, timeline, capture. Analyse adds speed, rotations, clip markers and HD exports. The choice is in Settings (the gear), and it is remembered between sessions.
Can I open photos?
On Mac, yes: PNG, JPEG, HEIC, TIFF, GIF and whatever else your Mac can decode, with the same sharp zoom as on video. On iPhone and iPad the app opens videos; still images will come later.
When a file resists
My video will not open, or opens without a picture
Often it is not the video that is the problem but its container: MKV, AVI, FLV, raw H.264 streams. Palimpseste Loupe recognises this and offers to write a readable MP4 copy, without re-encoding — your pictures are copied exactly as they are, only the container changes. The original is never modified.
My video stutters — and it is smooth elsewhere
Some files pair their timestamps with the wrong pictures. They stutter in most players and stay smooth in a few, which makes you blame your computer. The defect is in the file. Palimpseste Loupe spots it on opening and offers a repaired copy: the same pictures bit for bit, with only the timing tables rewritten. No loss of quality.
The app tells me it cannot read my file
Then it is true, and it is deliberate: when a picture format is beyond what your device can decode, the app names it rather than leaving you with a black screen. An old DV format, for instance, reads on Mac but not on iPhone. Palimpseste Loupe never pretends to read what it cannot read.
Are my original files at risk?
No. A repair or a re-wrap always writes a copy, to the location you choose. The original is never touched. That said, the software is provided “as is”: always keep a backup of your files, here as anywhere else.
The Pro unlock
What is included in the app?
The whole instrument: playback, full ×16 sharp zoom, frame-by-frame stepping, speed, rotations and flips, still capture. The zoom is not limited — it is the product's promise, and it is not for sale.
What does Pro add?
The rescue — repairing a badly assembled video, opening a container your device refuses — and the HD exports of a still or a clip. Bought once, never a subscription.
How do I buy it?
At the moment you need it: when the app offers to rescue a file, the button offers the unlock, and the rescue follows immediately after the purchase. Otherwise, at any time: Palimpseste Loupe → Unlock Pro… on Mac, or Settings → Purchases on mobile.
I changed device, or reinstalled the app
Your purchase follows you: it is tied to your Apple account, not to the device. It usually comes back on its own. Otherwise, Restore purchases — in the same menu on Mac, in Settings → Purchases on mobile.
Does a purchase on Mac count on iPhone?
Yes. The app is a universal purchase: bought once, it installs on Mac, iPhone and iPad with the same Apple account, and the Pro unlock counts on all three.
Good to know
Is this editing software?
No, and deliberately so. No tracks, no effects, no transitions. Palimpseste Loupe is a magnifying glass and a workbench: you look closely, you measure, you repair.
Are my videos sent anywhere?
No. The app collects no data and does not access the network. On Mac it does not even declare a network entitlement: transmitting is technically impossible for it. The detail is in the privacy policy.
Does the HD export invent detail?
HD upscaling relies on a model provided by the system, and it reconstructs — it does not reveal what was never recorded. Where evidence matters (expert assessment, quality control), rely on the zoom, which shows only the pixels actually present.
Which devices are supported?
Apple Silicon Macs on macOS 26.4 or later, iPhone and iPad on iOS 26 — plus Apple Vision Pro for playback, spatial videos in relief included. HD export also needs a capable machine; when it is not, the command is simply absent — we never sell what the device cannot do.