Comskip, Keys, and not showing cuts

[RBraverman]

I've spent the last hour or so looking at the running of comskip with STV. I've been using comskip for years (while usig BTV and others) so that part I'm comfortable with). The video files I have marked and AM marking, with the required edl cut files. I decided today to see how to make SageTV 9 make use of them.

I've installed Comskip, Commercial Detector, Commercial Detector UI all by tmiranda (THANK YOU), and Comskip Playback by JREkiwi (THANK YOU).

1. BUT, when playing a file with an associated edl file, the osd does not show cut marks.

2. Also not knowing what the "skip keys" are (unless left/right mean the arrow keys) I ... am ... lost.

It's obvious I've missed something - might someone tell me what?

[KryptoNyte]

Have you restarted SageTV (or just the computer) since the install? Make sure you click on the "Commercial Detector" plugin to configure, enabling comskip to run on live TV, etc. When a recording begins, with comskip set to run on live TV, do you see a comskip.exe running in your system's task manager? If your SageTV recordings are h.264, have you replaced the comskip version that was installed with the SageTV plugin with the donator's version?

Strangely, on my last Win7 SageTV V7 install, I eventually realized that Commercial Detector UI was not installed with commercial detector, so once that was resolved, I started seeing the correct timeline info and comskip functioning. It seems like you didn't have that problem.

[RBraverman]

Originally Posted by KryptoNyte

Have you restarted SageTV (or just the computer) since the install? Make sure you click on the "Commercial Detector" plugin to configure, enabling comskip to run on live TV, etc. When a recording begins, with comskip set to run on live TV, do you see a comskip.exe running in your system's task manager? If your SageTV recordings are h.264, have you replaced the comskip version that was installed with the SageTV plugin with the donator's version?

1. Yes, I did restart the service - not the computer.

2. Do I need it running on live TV for recordings? OR ... am I missing something ELSE?

3. I am NOT running it on live TV (didn't make that clear).

4. Am using donator version to cut/mark H.264 files.

Originally Posted by KryptoNyte

Strangely, on my last Win7 SageTV V7 install, I eventually realized that Commercial Detector UI was not installed with commercial detector, so once that was resolved, I started seeing the correct timeline info and comskip functioning. It seems like you didn't have that problem.

They seem to be 2 different plugins, installed separately, which I did. It DOES seem as the UI isn't "being seen" by STV.

Another item I just realized I did not mention, is that I'm running Gemstone, but with nothing major changed.

[KryptoNyte]

Is this a pc client that your running, an extender, or the server itself? Are your recordings on any mapped/network/shared directories?

I'm using Gemstone also. No you don't have to run comskip on live TV shows. You probably do, however, need to prompt it to run on any recordings that completed prior to the comskip install - I suppose there may even be a way to run it on an entire directory ... never tried that. Any subsequent, new recordings should run automatically, just after the recording finishes. I always run it on live TV, so not sure what that delay is.

When comskip is working properly on any given recording (you can click on any recording and force comskip to run), you'll see the green timeline during playback, with dark green areas of commercials. In the plugin configuration, you probably noticed that you can set it to autoskip commercials (you can also enable/disable this on the fly). When autoskipping, you can also set the buffer of the autoskip, so you want it to play, say 3 seconds of the commercial on either end of a cut, so you are sure not to miss part of a show.

[Fuzzy]

First of all, we need to determine if you are having a problem analyzing the files, or playing them back.

1. Are .EDL files being created next to the recordings?
2. Is there anything IN the .EDL files? (should be able to open them with notepad).
3. If the .EDL files are there, with skip marks in them, and nothing is showing up on the timeline when you play back that recording, than either the comskip playback plugin did not get installed properly, or for some reason it is unable to read the file.

[RBraverman]

Originally Posted by Fuzzy

First of all, we need to determine if you are having a problem analyzing the files, or playing them back.

1. Are .EDL files being created next to the recordings?
2. Is there anything IN the .EDL files? (should be able to open them with notepad).
3. If the .EDL files are there, with skip marks in them, and nothing is showing up on the timeline when you play back that recording, than either the comskip playback plugin did not get installed properly, or for some reason it is unable to read the file.

I looked at those files and they were filled - seems I looked at the wrong subdirectory. The "new" ones are empty - all of them, the txt's, edl's, xml's etc.

Gotta go lookin' - thanks Fuzzy.

[tmiranda]

Originally Posted by RBraverman

1. Yes, I did restart the service - not the computer.

2. Do I need it running on live TV for recordings? OR ... am I missing something ELSE?

3. I am NOT running it on live TV (didn't make that clear).

4. Am using donator version to cut/mark H.264 files.



They seem to be 2 different plugins, installed separately, which I did. It DOES seem as the UI isn't "being seen" by STV.

Another item I just realized I did not mention, is that I'm running Gemstone, but with nothing major changed.

You are making things harder than they need to be. Just install CommercialDetector UI and it will install everything else you need.

If you are using the donator version of comskip go to the CommercialDetector settings and change the comskip.exe location. (If you don't the plugin will use the default comskip.exe.)

[RBraverman]

Originally Posted by tmiranda

You are making things harder than they need to be.

THAT is always a given.

Originally Posted by tmiranda

Just install CommercialDetector UI and it will install everything else you need.

In my case all it did was install ... um ... something - I see no difference in the program. I added, as I stated, your Commercial Detector, and Comskip (replacing the exe with my donator version).

Originally Posted by tmiranda

If you are using the donator version of comskip go to the CommercialDetector settings and change the comskip.exe location. (If you don't the plugin will use the default comskip.exe.)

Which I did. The problem AT THE MOMENT is that for some reason (remember it's me) that my once gorgeous Comskip setup no longer seems to find anything and leaves me with 0 byte cut files, although it DOES leave me a logo file.

So until I get that sussed, it's kind of a moot point. I'll work on it today and see. I'm doing a BBC show, at the moment, with my comskip, using your ini.

[tmiranda]

Originally Posted by RBraverman

The problem AT THE MOMENT is that for some reason (remember it's me) that my once gorgeous Comskip setup no longer seems to find anything and leaves me with 0 byte cut files, although it DOES leave me a logo file.

So until I get that sussed, it's kind of a moot point. I'll work on it today and see. I'm doing a BBC show, at the moment, with my comskip, using your ini.

That sounds like a problem with the comskip.ini file. What .ini are you using? Attach a logfile and I'll take a look at it to see why comskip is not doing what you expect.

[RBraverman]

Originally Posted by tmiranda

That sounds like a problem with the comskip.ini file. What .ini are you using? Attach a logfile and I'll take a look at it to see why comskip is not doing what you expect.

I've been running this on a set of BBC Click programs, I decided to run them on another BBC program Antiques Roadtrip. I stuck a pause at the end of the cmd file I hacked to see what Comskip claimed it found.

Well wouldn't you know, it found commercials in these files and when played back in STV, all was revealed - other than about 20 seconds of the last commercial left and about the same still there before it marked the 4-5 minutes.

So, smart guy that I am , I went back to Click and ran the same ini and gee, no commercials found - well shut my mouth ... please, my wife will thank you.

So now I'm working this, BUT it does seem to be in order, yet I do have 1 or 2 questions:

1. When the video is deleted from the menu, are the associated Comskip files deleted as well, or do you "Delete Comskip Files" first then the video?

2. If I go to manual skipping, what keys skip? Arrow?

3. Somewhere in the config, there is a queue of files to be processed, can I stop that? I'll do the past recordings manually - which reminds me, there is a plugin for running a program with the video as the argument, but I can not find where to set the program, know anything of that?

I want to give a LARGE THANK YOU tmiranda for all your great plugins AND help!

[KryptoNyte]

Go through each and every option in the comskip plugin's config (in the SageTV plugins UI). Expand the "advanced" section at the bottom of the options to see more.

I believe that will answer most of your questions.

[JREkiwi]

Originally Posted by RBraverman

which reminds me, there is a plugin for running a program with the video as the argument, but I can not find where to set the program, know anything of that?

One of them is call "External Apps"

John

[tmiranda]

You do not have to manually remove the comskip files before deleting a recording. As KryptoNyte suggested, take a look at the advanced options.

[RBraverman]

Originally Posted by tmiranda

You do not have to manually remove the comskip files before deleting a recording. As KryptoNyte suggested, take a look at the advanced options.

To you and KryptoNyte - I DID look, that's what got me in trouble with the queue in the first place! BUT, as usual, I didn't see the items to get me OUT of the mess.

Next time just tell me to "look again" - I'll get it.

REALLY sorry about the waste of time, except one question that didn't need to be here, this thread didn't need to exist.

The External App Plugin I search for - now just got to get the Comskip ini done.

[RBraverman]

Originally Posted by JREkiwi

One of them is call "External Apps"

John

Yeah, but - now I have NOT looked - where do I set up which app to run - might you know

[Zogg]

Are there manual skipping keystrokes for next/previous commercial break?

For example, I start a recording and know I want to skip to the halfway point, so you can press a key to skip to the next commercial break point a couple of times and quickly get further into the recording.

This is built into BeyondTV but since it's a plugin in SageTV I'm having trouble locating the same type of command.

[JREkiwi]

Originally Posted by Zogg

Are there manual skipping keystrokes for next/previous commercial break?

Left and Right arrow keys do manual skips

John

[Zogg]

Originally Posted by JREkiwi

Left and Right arrow keys do manual skips

John

Thanks. I'm sure this seems painfully simple, but as I'm trying things and looking at the keyboard command lists with all the combination keystrokes for SageTV it never occurred to me to try just the arrow keys.

[Fuzzy]

Originally Posted by Zogg

Thanks. I'm sure this seems painfully simple, but as I'm trying things and looking at the keyboard command lists with all the combination keystrokes for SageTV it never occurred to me to try just the arrow keys.

Keep in mind, the commands list is built into SageTV. Commercial Skipping is not, so there won't be a 'CommercialSkipForward' command.