It does post-recording comskip. However, since the Comskip accuracy can vary wildly, it would be a horrible idea to destructively remove the commercials, However, if you trust Comskip enough, just set your app to automatically skip commercials, and it will play back skipping over the commercials as if they had been removed.
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Unfortunately I use Plex on a Roku TV to watch the shows, so the app is useless for comskip
So you're using a different media server with an unsupported client, but you still have fault with yet a third program?
Channels is not Plex. Nor do they have (or even plan to have) a Roku client. Perhaps your complaints would be better suited to Plex's forums.
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I suppose I just got spoiled with the Plex DVR function that completely strips out commercials after recording a program. They seem to simplify the comskip process without any required interaction from the person viewing the show.
So my workaround for content recorded with Channels is to use MCEbuddy to perform the comskip function to strip out all the commercials, then place the file into the appropriate directory for my family to watch with the Plex interface on a Roku TV.
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This is exactly what I was comparing. So PLEX DVR can do ti with tuners so why can't channels? just seems like it needs to be a feature request and added into the product
There is no technical limitation. However, commercial detection is not perfect (maybe 75% in my experience) and deleting auto-detected commercials could remove the actual content of your program, without any way to retrieve it.
Channels flags the commercials, and allows the client apps to automatically skip them as if they had been deleted. But, in the case of inaccurate detection, the user can still rewind the program to view the content that was erroneously skipped over.
If you truly want to remove the commercials (say, for archival purposes) then there are myriad threads on the forum explaining exactly how to do that with other tools. But that functionality is not directly part of Channels, nor should it be.
I guess I do disagree with the "nor should it be" when plex DVR gives three options for commercial detection/removal
- Disable
- Detect and mark for skip
- Detect and delete
I would say choice would be the optimal direction for users, not a flat out "nor should it be" approach. the three options plex DVR gives Allows for people to choose what they want without simply cutting out the possibility of the feature.
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This must be a recent addition, because when Plex originally offered commercial detection, it only removed the commercials; non-destructive flagging was not an option.
Is there a reason that Channels' auto-skipping of commercials (especially when paired with its ability to edit/verify flagged commercials) is insufficient; is manual post-processing before archival so onerous, or is there some other reason I don't understand?
Simply about choice for one, but I am also looking to experiment with the Channels DVR files to be piped into the Plex Library for later use. I run both media servers and there's an idea I have to use the channels DVR side but have plex view the folders as a Library (because the TVE has much more channels than the Plex DVR single Tuner). At that point then Plex may not even skip the commercials since it only sees the raw video file so it would need to be processed by channels to pre-remove them.
simply said, Channels DVR records, marks, deletes saves the file and plex pulls the TV directory in as a library. It's a viable use case since CHannels has more DVR/TVE options in it but I tend to like the Plex UI and functions more for playback.
I find the "Plex can do it, why can't Channels?" argument pretty humorous. I can't be the only one who, in response to the above assertion immediately responds with, "Why bother with Channels if Plex already has what you want?" Plenty of people have already pointed out that commercial detection in Channels (via Comskip) is not perfect. If that is not good enough then you either need to do something about it yourself or look elsewhere.
I chose to write my own script which leverages numerous other Open Source projects to automate commercial removal from Channels recordings but I still have to manually verify Comskip's commercial detection settings. And yes, in some cases I even have to manually edit the .edl file. That's just the reality of the tech. You either chose to work around it or you don't.
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Well good news for any Plex users. I was able to use xTeve on my Qnap NAS to essentially "bridge" the Channels Dish and Locast programming to my Plex DVR. I set up xTeve with
Playlist: http://127.0.0.1:8089/devices/ANY/channels.m3u
XMLTV: http://127.0.0.1:8089/devices/ANY/guide/xmltv?duration=3600
Then created a new DVR on Plex using the local IP and xTeve port http://127.0.0.1:34400/
So far its been working great and now i can record programming from my Dish account and/or Locast and Plex DVR is performing automatic comskip after recording and storing all of my commercial free shows as expected.
Fyi the comskip results with Plex has been very satisfactory, we ocassionally see about 1 second of the commercial before the show resumes. I did spend some time tweaking the Plex comskip.ini file to refine the behaviour. It was nice to have this level of control and still have all shows playable with no commercials.
So now, since our location prohibits any OTA reception, I have both Dish and Locast programs feeding into my Plex DVR setup
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I have to agree with you @colotti, the convenience with Plex I've had over the years makes having to manually comskip difficult.
Just an update in 2025 I cannot BELIEVE Channels DVR still doesn't give users what we want. Just add the detect and delete feature already!!! It is not for the software developers to judge whether we want our videos to have a chance of being incomplete! I want to watch local news, skip commercials and not be a slave to my damned remote or to running external programs
Isn't that built-in? Just enable automatic commercial skip in Channels app.
If you have 1gb ram on your server it will not skip ads but there is a command to fix it ask support
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Channels doesn’t require you to manually skip commercials, it is just an option.
Use the Auto Skip option and it will do it for you.
Channels is not 100% perfect at detecting commercials, and we’ll never take the destructive approach over a non-destructive one, especially on an imperfect system.
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