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Windows => Television => Topic started by: jmone on May 31, 2018, 03:53:57 pm

Title: Comskip: Any Suggestions for INI Settings (Aus FTA)?
Post by: jmone on May 31, 2018, 03:53:57 pm
I've got the Donation Version of Comskip working but it tends to be rather inaccurate in identifying the commercial sequences for MC to skip.  I've had a bit of a play with the INI configurator but there are 100 and 1 different options.  Any suggestions on what works well for Australian FTA recordings?
Thanks
Nathan
Title: Re: Comskip: Any Suggestions for INI Settings (Aus FTA)?
Post by: astromo on June 08, 2018, 05:31:37 pm
I'm sure I've given comskip a go in the past and didn't get that far with it.

From dim memory, part of the issue is that Australia has rather poor standards and/or enforcement. Ever tried to complain to ACMA about the loudness level of commercials? I have and the response left me with the view that they are a toothless tiger cub. No threat to anyone.

Back on topic, because of the variability allowable in the editorial design of ads in Australia, AI like comskip struggles to pick where ads start and the feature begins consistently between stations. TV stations do it different ways. I use TVReDo regularly and its ad recognition works well for some stations, e.g. SBS / ABC, but the mainstream commercial channels are a real mixed bag.

I'm sure I've got some details wrong. I'd expect that RoderickGI is more clued up than me. I'd be interested to read his thoughts.

All that said, I'd be very grateful if you find a silver bullet.
Title: Re: Comskip: Any Suggestions for INI Settings (Aus FTA)?
Post by: RoderickGI on June 08, 2018, 08:21:11 pm
My experience with VideoReDo TV Suite is the same as yours Astromo; It isn't very reliable and needs human intervention to fix many false positives and missed commercial breaks.

I use it mostly for movies, and any dark movie will cause multiple false positives. Some commercials seem to have very little, if any black frames to detect, and some just run straight over the top of programs so there is no way to detect them, except perhaps sound changes. I have tried all sorts of settings in VideoReDo, but I can't really improve the reliability. Honestly though, I have had a couple of goes, spent a few hours, but gave up. I now use VideoReDo as a first cut, then manually check the cuts and fix them.

Because of the above I haven't even tried ComSkip. If you get it working Nathan then please do share. But I'm not hopeful.

Besides, TV is a bit of a joke in Australia these days. I rely on it less and less. With the MHEG5 EPG being removed I now use the EIT EPG, and that is near useless. If I can't find a program automatically and have it record, I just go without, except for a few staple programs. I know, I could use IceTV, but that doesn't suit me at the moment.

So carry on. Be the guinea pig again Nathan!  :D
Title: Re: Comskip: Any Suggestions for INI Settings (Aus FTA)?
Post by: jmone on June 08, 2018, 08:31:58 pm
:)  I gave up which is why I asked (it's not such an issue I'm going to spent time on it)!  On the EPG side, I now use IceTV (updates every 30min for all the major channels) and MC's DVB-T OTA (once every day to fill in the more esoteric channels that ICETV does not curate the EPG for).  This all works very well.