Approvee — Best-of Proofing & Review

The best features from Frame.io, ReviewStudio, Ziflow & Filestage — mapped against what Approvee already has, what to add, and the one thing none of them can do. Approvee is the agency's proofing tool: review video, images, PDFs and sites, collect timecoded feedback, and route approvals — then ship the fix automatically.

Created 2026-07-22 · Refs: frame.io/features/review-and-approval · reviewstudio.com · Approvee already has guest review + timecode comments + annotations + approvals

Head start: Approvee isn't build-from-zero. The code already has guest magic-link review (/review/[token]), timecoded video comments, annotations, threaded feedback & replies, and approval decisions. That's the hard part of Frame.io already done. This spec is about adding the best-of on top — and leaning into the differentiator.

✅ VERIFIED WIRED & WORKING (2026-07-22): Approvee is deployed & live at approvee.online (green build). Confirmed against the live database: the feedback_items.timecode_seconds column exists (timeline comments save) and the project-assets storage bucket exists & is public (video uploads work). The full send-a-video → timecoded-comments → approve flow is ready to use now — no migration or setup pending.

1 The one thing none of them have

Frame.io, ReviewStudio, Ziflow — they all collect feedback and stop there. Approvee already has a feedback → GitHub issue → Claude Code auto-fix → PR pipeline. That means:

"Approve and it ships." A client leaves a comment ("make the logo bigger", "fix the hero copy"), Approvee turns it into a code change and opens a PR — never auto-merging to prod. No other proofing tool closes the loop from feedback to shipped fix. This is the wedge — market Approvee on it. Plus suite integration: creative comes from Addee, the client sees it in the Dashee portal.

2 Best-of feature matrix

Have already in Approvee · Extend partially there · Build new · Edge Approvee-only

Feature	Frame.io	ReviewStudio	Approvee
Timecoded video comments	✓ frame-accurate	✓	Have
Guest reviewers (no account, magic link)	✓	✓	Have
Threaded comments + replies	✓	✓	Have
Approval decisions	status only	✓ Approve / w-changes / Reject	Have (extend to 3-state)
Drawing/markup on frame (pen, arrow, box, highlight)	✓	✓	Extend annotations
Multi-format (image, PDF, live web, audio — not just video)	video-first	✓ all formats	Build
Version stacking + side-by-side compare	✓ version stacks	✓ compare + diff	Extend (versions exist)
Ranged comments (span a time range)	✓	—	Build
@mentions + reactions + resolve/complete	✓	✓	Extend
Approval routing (sequential/parallel stages, required approvers)	basic	✓ review groups	Build
Deadlines + reminders	✓	✓	Build
Live/synced review sessions (presenter mode)	—	✓ live review	Build
Notifications + email digests	✓	✓	Extend
Review dashboard (all proofs, statuses, who's pending)	✓	✓	Build (+ admin dashboard gap)
White-label / per-client branding	enterprise	✓	Build (agency edge)
Audit trail (who approved what, when)	✓	✓	Build
Feedback → auto-fix → PR	—	—	Edge — Approvee only
Camera-to-Cloud (footage uploads from camera)	✓ C2C	—	skip (niche)

3 What to build, in order

Phase 1 — polish the core & ship it (it's already built, just stranded)

Commit + deploy the existing video-review + pipeline work (per today's audit it may be uncommitted/on a branch — same pattern as Rankee/Replyee).
Add an admin dashboard (Approvee is one of the 7 missing it).
Extend approval to a clean 3-state decision (Approve / Approve-with-changes / Reject) + overall proof status (Needs review → In review → Approved).

Phase 2 — best-of that clients feel immediately

Drawing/markup toolset on the frame/image (pen, arrow, box, highlight) — extend annotations.
Multi-format proofing: images, PDFs, and live website review (huge for your web clients) + audio.
Version stacking + side-by-side compare (with image/PDF diff).
Deadlines + reminders and a review dashboard (what's pending, who owes a decision).

Phase 3 — workflow & agency polish

Approval routing: sequential or parallel stages, required approvers.
White-label per client (logo/colors) — the agency reseller edge.
Live/synced review sessions + audit trail.
Lean the marketing hard into "approve and it ships" (the auto-fix pipeline).

4 Positioning

Don't out-Frame.io Frame.io on video polish — you won't win on C2C or Premiere panels. Win on: (1) one tool for every deliverable your agency ships (video + web + PDF + image), (2) white-label so it's the client's branded review space, and (3) the close-the-loop auto-fix nobody else has. That's a proofing tool built for an agency that also builds the sites — which is exactly what Boom Media is.