TVE channels with smart ad detection - 2024 update

For certain TVE channels, it detects when the site injects the ad streams versus the actual content. That way the detection of commercials happens in real-time, and does not require the running of the external Comskip program.

(You can see if this "smart" detection is used on recordings in logs: smart detection is noted by [ADS], and the regular Comskip detection will be a [DVR] entry.)

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Very nice, thank you for the details. Sounds like a great improvement when available. It would be nice to see somewhere on the channel list if it supports Smart Ad Detection.

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I believe it works for Discovery Networks (I'm not sure if all WBD, but previous Discovery channels like Food, HGTV, TLC, etc. have it), A+E Networks (A&E, History, etc.), and I believe Hallmark.

I don't recall if previous Warner Media channels have it, but I think Paramount (previously ViacomCBS) channels have it, too.

To check, you could always just do a brief record of a program and see what the logs show.

Great minds think alike. :grin:
I had the same thought. :wink:

Comedy Central seems to get no ad detection/skipping right now, at least for The Daily Show. And I'm pretty sure it used to.

IIRC there is no list of channels it works on.
If the stream (TVE, M3U) meets the criteria it will use it.

The stream would have to be recorded long enough to include some ad breaks.
There is a block-list (somewhere internally, unpublished) that keeps it from being used on known problem channels.

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On some TVE Channels the regular comskip does a better job for ex WETV. TNT etc ...They do not have those BRB banners.

What do you mean here?

If you are referencing the full-screen placards inserted where local ads would be inserted, then I think you are incorrect. I have seen those used when "smart" detection was also used. (My personal use-case with channels using those placards is with Discovery Networks, but they all use "smart" detection and are quite accurate: Food, HGTV, TLC)

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That's odd. I've had no issues using comskip with channels for The Daily Show, albeit with my cablecard/HDHR prime.

You missed the topic title.

I want to make sure if it is enabled for all Channels and if it is ... is there a cli to disable it on certain channels.

Works great for CNN. Not 100% reliable but pretty close.

Is there a setting in Channels DVR where we can manually assign season passes or recordings to use comskip vs. smart ad detection? Or it it automatic and we can just manually run comskip on recordings a second time afterwards?

It is automatic, and cannot be disabled. The channels it runs on is set within the DVR by an internal list, and it is neither user-facing nor editable.

If you are dissatisfied with the commercial markers it provides, you can manually run Comskip on the recording afterwards, but beware that Comskip's detection may be worse, and there is no way to restore the previous "smart" detected commercials after you run Comskip.

So the disable Comskip from this channel will not work either ?

You can disable Comskip manually for the channel, but it is unnecessary. If the channel uses the smart detection, Comskip is not run after a recording finishes.

Channels with smart detection essentially have Comskip disabled for them, with the added benefit of a lightweight commercial detection that happens in real-time.

Just like with Channels that you have manually disabled Comskip for, manually choosing to detect commercials on a recording will still run Comskip, regardless of whether it was disabled or not.

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TVE WETV used the regular comskip not smart ad detection ... It must still be on the do not run list.

Recording for job 1708894926-ch6089 from TVE-Comcast_SSO ch6089 into "TV\S.W.A.T\S.W.A.T. S04E07 2021-01-13 Under Fire 2024-02-25-1302.mpg" for 58m53.2039596s

Running commercial detection on file 6160 (TV\S.W.A.T\S.W.A.T. S04E07 2021-01-13 Under Fire 2024-02-25-1302.mpg)

Commercial detection is perfect no errors marking commercials. This is why I would like to see an OPTION excluding certain Channels from Smart detection which is not always smart.

If regular Comskip was run, it was not on the "do not run list" as you call it. If WE was part of the smart detection, commercial detection would have happened, Comskip would not have been executed, and your logs would have reflected such. So by your own observation, WE is not subject to the smart detection.

What you are stating is that Comskip ran as expected, and you were happy with the result. So what is the issue?

(Since ad networks, streams, and CDNs seem to be shared across a family of networks, it looks like not only would WeTV not be party to smart detections, but all AMC Networks streams: AMC, BBCA, Sundance, IFC, as well as WeTV.)

Regular comskip ran automatically on the TVE Channel that I had asked @tmm1 to exclude from Smart detection... that is exactly how I like it ... exclude it from smart detection and run regular comskip.exe automatically. I would like the ability to exclude channels from smart detection and still run comskip app automatically.

################################################################
Generated using donator Comskip 0.82.011
Time at start of run:
Sun Feb 25 14:05:55 2024
################################################################
Mpeg: W:\DVR\TV\S.W.A.T\S.W.A.T. S04E07 2021-01-13 Under Fire 2024-02-25-1302.mpg
Exe C:\ProgramData\ChannelsDVR\latest\comskip.exe
Logo: W:\DVR\Logs\comskip\6160\video.logo.txt
Ini: comskip.ini

PS I have my own INI.