On Commercials...

I think this might be what you're looking for:

http://www.hack7mc.com/2009/08/setup...-skipping.html

I use it and it works great. Keep in mind that no commercial-skipping app is 100% accurate, but I find that ShowAnalyzer works correctly about 80% of the time. You can also fine tune it for specific shows.

If it doesn't properly detect a commercial break it will skip past it to the next marker. You can hit the left arrow button on your remote, if you're using the default key assignments, and it will return to the spot where you skipped from. You can then fast forward past the commercial manually. Occasionally you'll get a recording that indicates no commercial file was created and you'll be prompted to create one. If the file doesn't exist, chances are the recorded program has some issues that caused ShowAnalyzer to terminate when trying to map it. Saying yes to the prompt doesn't usually work if this occurred.

You can configure ShowAnalyzer to skip past the commercials automatically without any intervention from the viewer. This is great until you run into a situation where the commercial mapping isn't correct. Pressing the left arrow key won't necessarily return you to the previous spot with the autoskip feature on, which is why I prefer to do it manually. You can turn autoskip on and off using the down arrow button.

The bottom line is that the program works well most of the time. Broadcasters don't always leave dead space between the commercial and the program being aired, which is what most commercial skipping apps look for when mapping the breaks. If you have to skip past it manually, it's not that much of an annoyance.

I use a combination of comskip and dvrmstoolbox +dtbaddin for wmc7
if you donate to the creator of comskip ($10) you can get a version that can work directly with the .wtv file instead of having to convert to dvr-ms first.

Hope this helps.

I couldn't get automatic commercial skipping working well enough to keep up the WAF. I eventually uninstalled it.

You don't have to convert wtv files to dvr-ms for use with ShowAnalyzer. It works fine with straight wtv files with no conversion required.


You might want to check out the ShowAnalyzer School feature to customize it for individual programs. The automatic skipping feature is hit or miss, which is why I choose to do it manually. If the commercial isn't mapped properly I just FF through it to get to the next show segment. Otherwise it's a simple press of the right arrow to skip the commercial. Apparently there's also a 29-second skip feature when using the next chapter button on your WMC remote, but I haven't tried it yet.

I used ShowAnalyzer with DVRMS. If I have to tweak the program for each show then that'll mean downtime on my HTPC which means less WAF. Teaching the wife multiple FF techniques isn't going to work either.

I've adjusted the skip fwd and rew times so that it skips easier using the registry edits. I just can't get the automated skipping working well enough to let it work on its own. It also appears that development has stopped on ShowAnalyzer.

I realize that ShowAnalyzer works directly with .wtv (so does the donator version of comskip...which i believe is cheaper than ShowAnalyzer?)

Also, I've read that support of ShowAnalyzer is obsolete or non existant at this point. Comskip is still going strong and the developer is very good at providing support over at his forum.

I use Show Analyzer in conjunction with DVRMSToolbox and the DTb add-in for automated commercial skip. Is it perfect? No. Does it work great? Yes! Sometimes it fails to skip a commercial set, but that's really no big deal to me. Did I have to mess with settings for individual shows? Hell no! Just import the profile from the show analyzer forum and let 'er rip! Just the one main profile, mind you, not individual profiles for individual shows. I use DTb's file watcher as opposed to Show Analyzer's as I found it far more stable. And the DTb add in for automated commercial skipping just plain works. Check the wikis and forums for each individual product for install and config instructions, but once it's set up' it works great. I've been using babgvant's applications since 2005, and I have to say, Andy is one of the best developers out there, hence DTb works so well, and does so much!

i have the same setup, just substitute ShowAnalyzer with Comskip (I guess it boils down to preference). I think it works great as well. And if it is off or doesn't mark the commercial exactly (which is rare mind you) I simply turn it off via the dtb addin controls, so I never lose any of my recording. it just works!

You don't have to tweak it for every program, but it's an available option if you want to use it. You either hit the right arrow to skip or use the FF button to pass thru the commercial. Where are you coming up with multiple FF techniques?

Why FF/skip forward at all? Install the DTb add-in and you don't have to lift a finger, or thumb. Awesome automated laziness.

There have been multiple FF techniques mentioned in this very thread, see post 4. I have used SA with DVRMS and had the DTb add-in installed and it skipped automatically.

However, sometimes it didn't and the time that it overskipped and went to the end of the following commercial break is when it failed. At the end of the show I hit delete and then my wife mentioned not seeing such and such part of the show. So we could have realized that the program screwed up, but we didn't. I didn't feel like jumping through all the hoops to make profiles for shows it fails to detect. And then telling my wife that it skips automatically (high WAF), but sometimes it doesn't so pay attention. When it skips too far then hit this button to skip back, then this button to disable autoskip and then skip the commercial normally, then turn auto skipping back on (way low WAF).

If it was just me then I'd be all over it, but the way it is now it just isn't going to work. If Comskip plus DVRMS works a lot better then I might try it again. I'm all for the idea, but just warning that there is the possibility for low WAF.

I convert my wtv files to ts files with remuxtool. Then I use a ts editor to clip out the commercials before I actually watch the show. I do it manually, which means I typically correctly get everything important and none of the commercials. It usually takes me less than 3 minutes per hour long show, approx. 5 or 6 segments of the show. They certainly cram in a lot of commercials in OTA shows. The one I just finished watching was slightly under 40 minutes after removing the commercials, which means that 20 minutes (1/3rd) was commercials.

The average 1-hour network broadcast show is typically about 42 minutes long, leaving 18 minutes for commercials. Skipping past the commercials takes less time than converting, editing, and remuxing. It's just not worth it to me unless I plan on archiving the show.

FWIW when I want to keep something from my stand alone HDD DVD recorder I just put chapter marks at the end of the commercial blocks. Then you can just hit 'Next Chapter' on the remote and miss the commercials. It's sometimes also kind of neat to see the news bumpers from the night the show was recorded.