Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[CountryBumkin]

Now that v46 has added additional ComSkip features, I wanted to look into this feature a little more.

Is ComSkip just referring to the "jump ahead" abilty when watching pre-recorded TV content?
Or this feature removing the commercials from the recording so I don't need to manually jump ahead (skip 5, 10 seconds, etc.)?

Can someone explain what is needed to set this up (from this post it looks like there is an external program involved http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php/topic,100914.msg701063.html#msg701063)

That link is from last year. Is this still the way it is used or has the setup/use changed? Maybe it is two different things.

[Hendrik]

ComSkip just skips the commercials during playback, they don't get removed.

[tzr916]

If nobody else chimes in (and I have time), I will explain in depth but basically you use a file monitoring program to "send" your tv shows to comskip for processing. When a show is finished recording, Comskip processes the show and then outputs a text document with .EDL file type that MC uses during playback to skip at the time stamps given in the EDL. Right now MC automatically does the skipping, in addition we can use a remote button to manually skip past an entire commercial segment.

Unfortunately those time stamps that comskip created are not always accurate, so many of us have been requesting visual markers in the MC timeline AND the ability to toggle on/off the automatic skipping that MC does in real time (temporarily only use manual remote button skipping method).

[CountryBumkin]

So is this new feature;

2. NEW: Added a "Mark commercial positions on position OSD if data are available" option in Video options, for users of ComSkip.

for the regular "jump/skip head using the remote" - or is it only for those recordings you describe using the third-party software where an EDL file is needed?
I assume the latter unless the OTA broadcast includes this "commercial timestamp".

[JimH]

You assumption is correct.  It requires use of Comskip.

[Hendrik]

I assume the latter unless the OTA broadcast includes this "commercial timestamp".

Now that would be too easy, wouldn't it? They wouldn't want to make skipping commercials easy for you.

[Castius]

comskip just makes a basic txt file. (It has other formats it can export too)

You can also use Comclean make a new video from the edits points.

[CountryBumkin]

I understand now. Thanks
I'm just going to stay with using the remote to skip commercials, its so easy, and I don't have to worry about another installing more software (or having it accidentally remove parts of the TV program that should have been kept).

[JimH]

.. and I don't have to worry about another installing more software (or having it accidentally remove parts of the TV program that should have been kept).

I don't recall any reports of problems with Comskip.

[CountryBumkin]

I don't recall any reports of problems with Comskip.

Hi Jim,
I'm not aware of any problems with ComSkip. I was just commenting that for me I don't want the extra work/risk of installing additional software when MC does a good job on its own.

[tzr916]

File monitoring and comskip are a PAIN to setup. Lots of reading/research/setup/trial & error. But once it is set, it never breaks (see closing note).

The original recordings do not get edited or damaged whatsoever.

Once you have gone comskip, you never go back. It is the main reason I have not turned in my whole house PC based Tv DVR system for a consumer solution. I get the "smoking deal" letters from Comcast weekly to switch to their X1, and I actually liked Tivo when I had it previously. The deal breaker is always commercial skipping.

NOTE: Just two days ago, I noticed my shows were not skipping commercials. Didn't take me long to figure out what was wrong... After more than a full year of running Win10, suddenly Windows Defender decided that comskip.exe was a VIRUS and had quarantined it  ?  All fixed up!

[Castius]

I don't plan on file monitoring.
I plan on running and checking comskip on shows i keep forever. I made a sent to command for comskipGui.

[Mans]

Hi Castius,

Great day, would you be able to shine me your light on how you created the 'send to Comskip command' please ?

I've successfully configured Comskip nut i need manually to drop & drag my TS files into Comskip.
DirMon2 does it's job also but then it's actually another script running thing on top.
Where i think it should be possible to get the trigger for Comskip done directly by MC one a recording is finished.

Thanks for your input.

[tzr916]

...DirMon2 does it's job also but then it's actually another script running thing on top...

No ill affects of DirMon2 here. Runs as service in background. Knows when MC is done recording, sends TS file right to comskip for processing.

[Mans]

Great day Tzr916,

True and does it's job perfect.
Only it's another added service.
I was thinking MC could trigger ComSkip directly aswell once the TV recording has finished.

Thanks.

[muzicman0]

Is there any way to run Comskip on currently recording TV?  I have comskip set up so that it will start (and continue) on live TV (IE: it doesn't wait until the recording is finished to start), but I can't seem to get the markers to work until the recording is finished.  I manually copied the EDL file into the .jtv folder to test (figured I could script that part later).  But it doesn't seem to work...does EDL not work on .jtv files, or is there a trick for this?

[Yaobing]

Live TV and finished recordings are played with different playback engines.  You have to wait until the recording is over to use ComSkip.

[muzicman0]

OK...thanks.  I currently have it set up so that ComSkip starts running as soon as the recording starts.  That way, I can watch it right away when the recording is finished without having to wait for Comskip to run.  It seems to work well...I was just hoping I could copy the EDL file into the jtv directory (while recording is happening) so that if I started watching a show while it was still recording it would skip commercials.  Oh well.

[Castius]

I use "Send to (external)" on the right click menu.
https://wiki.jriver.com/index.php/Send_To

I make three commands.  comskip, comskipGui and comskip edit

Name: comskip
Program path: "<file location>\comskip.exe" (no quotes)
Parameters : "[Filename]" (with quotes)

same for comskipGUI.exe

To edit previous comskip videos. I had to do a little more work in parameters.
I have to replace the file type with "txt".

"Replace([Filename], .ts, .txt)" (with quotes)

(I still need to make it work for all files. For now, all i care about is ts and mp4 files)