DVRs, How to automatically skip commercials in Windows 7 Media Center
By Ben Drawbaugh 
posted Oct 22nd 2009 8:22PM
posted Oct 22nd 2009 8:22PM
First we need to download a few small installers that make this work, everything is free except ShowAnalzyer which costs $30. This sounds like a lot, but it is a small price to pay, and besides it is the only automatic show detection software available that supports the new WTV container used in Windows 7. If you are still unsure, try it anyways as there is a fully functional 30 day trial.
Installation options
First we're going to install DVRMSToolBox (DTB for short from here on out) by unzipping the download and doubling click on Setup.exe (not the MSI).
Leave modify permissions checked and click next.
Uncheck Download/Install ShowAnalyzer (that option installs the older version, we want the latest) but leave Run the DTB file watcher as a service checked, otherwise it won't work automatically. Click next a few more times and you should be done.
Next up is the DTBAddin, which is very straight forward, just unzip it and run the MSI for your platform (x86 or x64), next, next next is fine, but a restart is required.
Now lets install ShowAnalzyer, which is also a next, next, next install because all the configurations are done afterwards.
When the installer is done, launch it by going to Start>All Programs>ShowAnalyser Suite>ShowAnalyzer User Interface and then go to Help>Add Registration Key to register it (again you have 30 days to do this).
Now go to Tools>Settings and on the scheduler tab make sure Enable Directory Watcher folder check box is cleared (we use DTBs File Watcher instead). We'll go over more of this later, but for now go ahead and close out of it.
Configuration
First we are going to customize DTB, so lets go to Start>All Programs>DVRMSToolbox and launch DVRMStoMPEGSettings (If you have UAC enabled, it is normal to see the UAC prompt) -- from here we are going to share all of our favorite settings, feel free to configure it however you like though.
We're going to start with the File Watcher tab.
- The Watched Directories needs to contain your Recorded TV directory, which should be filled by default. You can add more directories, one per line, if you store recordings in more than one folder.
- Wait Time should be set to 0 if you want recordings to be scanned for commercials while they are still recording, 5 if you'd prefer to wait until the recording is completed. On one hand it is nice to be able to automatically skip commercials while a show is still recording, but on the other it occupies a worker for a much longer time (more on that next).
- Set the workers to 2, which is how many shows will be scanned at the same time. We found that our dedicated Recorded TV Hard Drive really can't handle more than two workers and let us watch TV at the same time. If you are very sensitive to a lagy UI, you should set this to 1. If you have tons of disks, load up Resource Monitor in Windows and monitor the Average Disk Queue length to see what your box can handle.
- Towards the bottom, make sure the Log Create and Log Write check boxes are checked, otherwise it can be difficult to troubleshoot when things go wrong. We also checked the automatic cleanup so temp files get deleted, as well as the Include Watched folder (although we don't know what it does). If your Recorded TV directory isn't flat like it is by default in Media Center, then check the Recursive watch check box.
Now on to the Commercial Skip tab.
Before we get into this, lets go over how we want this to work because there are lots of options. When a recorded program is played back, we want the commercials to be skipped automatically without even pressing a button. In the event that the show has not been scanned yet, we just want to watch the show and skip commercials manually. Now in the event that part of a show was incorrectly marked as a commercial -- it does happen on occasion -- what we want to do is simply disable the auto skip altogether and skip 'em manually. If you don't want it to work like that, then by all means don't follow these settings, if you aren't sure how to change the behavior, post in the comments and we'll try to help.
- Start at the bottom by checking the Auto Skip check box and the Suppress Not Found check box (otherwise anytime you try to watch a recording that has not be scanned, you'll get a nag warning).
- The main key to achieving our desired results here is setting the preferred keys. Although there really isn't an ideal setting, we find that the Right Key for Auto Skip On and the Left key for Auto Skip Off works the best. This way the only negative side affect is that you can't browse right and left in the Guide while watching recorded TV (you know like a TiVo!).
- Set everything else here to a D and a number like D3. This basically disable these functions since these keys on the remote aren't used when watching recordings. If you aren't sure what each function does, just mouse over the drop down and read the tool tip.
With DTB configured and our commercial skip preferences in order, we're going to do a little more optimization. There are simply some shows we never want scanned. For example, some channels like HBO and PBS don't even have commercials, so why scan them? While other channels might be DRM'd so ShowAnalyzer cant scan them at all. On top of these examples, there are specific shows, like kid's programming that also don't have commercials, so again, don't waste a worker on it when it could be doing something useful.
Now since DTB expects a commercial's XML file to be created (remember the suppress not found from above?) the best way to do this is to create a blank commercial's file, but to do this selectively we need to use what is called Process Conditioners.
The first step is to So go to Start>All Programs>DVRMSToolbox and launch ProcessingConditionEditor.
Here is what ours looks like -- except Any files is actually at the bottom.
Unfortunately the current version of DTB doesn't support OR conditions so until the feature is added we need to create one Condition for each exclusion. Lets start with one everyone can use Don't Scan PBS -- if you aren't watching PBS you are missing out, some great HD on there.
Start off by hitting New Condition on the top right.
Enter in a Description like Don't Scan PBS (leave the name blank, it'll auto fill).
From the Drop Down choose Create an Empty Commercials File
On the right hit Add choose WM/MediaNetworkAffiliation then Contains then in the box type PBS and hit ok.
Now before you exit out of your new condition, lets test it by hitting the Test Conditions button. This will bring up a file picker where you can choose from your recordings to see if they match. Be sure to try both a show that is supposed to match, as well as one that isn't.
This won't want match because it was recorded on ABC
This one is a match.
Finally make sure that the profile Every File is still last, otherwise your conditions will never be tried.
There are lots of metadata variables to choose form here, but be careful. For starters some variables are of different types and can't be compared (numbers vs letters) while others aren't set until after the show is finished recording. So if you deviate away from the example, don't be surprised if a little trial and error is necessary to get them working right. We also find this Metadata editor useful for seeing what is available as well as copying the expected value.
Now as new files are added to the Recorded TV directories they will be picked up and a match will try to be made based on the process conditioners. If not match is found, then the Any Files condition will be a match and the Scan for Commercials profile will be used. In the event you have recordings that are already in the directory, then your best bet is to scan them manually. You can just open up the same ShowAnalyzer User Interface from before and choose file and select the file or folder you want to scan. It'll queue them all up and run them two by two. There are also some customizations that can be done in here to increase the accuracy of the scanning, but honestly we've never tried it ourselves.
When things don't work
Really that is all there is too it, in fact you can pretty much just get away with installing everything and nothing much else. But we found it could be more trouble then it is worth without these customizations. But when things do go wrong you need to know where to look. The main place is in the Windows Event Viewer since we enabled the logs most of this should get logged. But one thing that can also go wrong when you create Process Conditioners is that you mess them up and nothing gets scanned. The best place to start for these troubles is this folder.
C:\Users\Public\DvrmsToolbox\FWLogs
It contains the the File Watcher logs, and will have one log for each show. A log will look like this when it works.
Notice how Don't Scan PBS was a match and then it ran the CreateBlankCommercialsFile profile.
Thanks for the great and timley writeup. One question. You state the following, "First we're going to install DVRMSToolBox (DTB for short from here on out) by unzipping the download and doubling click on Setup.exe (not the MSI)." When I download the linked file I only receive the MSI files and do not have a setup executable. What's the reason for not running the msi and/or where could I find the setup file. Thanks again for the great post.
There should be two downloads from DVRMSToolBox's site, one for DVRMSToolBox itself and one for the Addin. The addin is just the msi, the other is both and you have to use the exe.
DOH. Thanks, I just caught that. Now I'm having trouble with Show Analyzer processing real slowly. I'll chase it in their forum. Great, quality writeup. Thanks again.
Oh how I miss ReplayTV and its automatic commercial skipping.
Read my mind Ben, I checked the ShowAnalyzer site to see if the new version was available, google'd that and EngadgetHD and voilla you brand new post. Keep up the good work, love the podcast.
-Sean
http://connectedcommuter.com/
Should be noted this won't work with copyright-protected recordings (basically anything off a CableCARD).
I mentioned how to work around files that have DRM by using process conditioners. But yeah, ultimately anything that is protected can't be automatically skipped.
A lot the the issues with the DRM'd content via cable card will be resolved once the new ATI DCT firmware is released.
Sean,
Yep, in fact I'm running the latest firmware and am able to automatically skip commercials on all of my channels now.
"Yep, in fact I'm running the latest firmware and am able to automatically skip commercials on all of my channels now."
Ben, can one obtain this new ATI firmware somewhere now? I just switched to CableCard and I'm desperately missing my skipping.
thebasa,
Sorry but the firmware isn't publicly available, AMD sent me an early release version of the installer so I could write about it.
Wow, MythTV is def easier in this dept. All you do is click the checkbox. :)
and of course you dont shell out $$$
~Mitchell
Exactly what I was thinking. People always complain about Myth/Linux being so hard to configure, and then I see things like this. This is "easy"?
Granted, Myth does it by default... but even the config screens in there aren't this cryptic.
I'll admit, though, the promise of Cablecards on MCE7 is alluring... of course, I'd have to buy new (faster) hardware to run it... which is why I probably won't bother. I can get a TivoHD for cheaper than an MCE7 setup, and with FAR less hassle.
Schwinn,
I don't know about anyone else, but once I paid for 3 years of service, my two Series3 TiVos cost me way more than my 3 room Media Center setup, and that included two CableCARD tuners at $200 each.
MythTV is only $20/yr for listings!
No hidden software to pay for!!!!!
Ben: True, but Tivo "just works". MCE still hiccups here and there, as does any HTPC in theory. Heck, WINDOWS hiccups enough for me to not trust it for 24x7 operation... whereas my Mythbox runs flawlessly for many months with no issues.
I wish Myth was Cable-card supported... damn cable industry. Your content is ALREADY being torrented, you morons... locking down the cablecard isn't going to fix that, as ALREADY seen. So stop pissing off customers like me.
Frankly, at this point, I'm considering dumping cable, going OTA digital, and then using Hulu for everything else... Comcast sucks. Cable industry sucks.
So, will commercials be skipped on Extenders after being scanned?
Yes, this works fine on extenders. In fact I only use extenders in my house and use this all the time.
Great article! Tried everything, works great when viewing analyzed shows on the computer itself... When viewing on an extender, nothing is skipped.
Is anyone else having this problem? Could it be related to the extender using a separate user account and/or possibly permissioning?
Would love to get this working, and would definitely spend the $30 for the license of ShowAnalyzer... but not if it doesn't work on extenders. I do 99% of my tv viewing on my Xbox 360.
oh but when will they do the ATI firmware update so it works on cablecard ? hmmm !
for me, DVRMS sorta messes with extender (my xbox360) which is the primary way I watch tv. So while this would be cool, the error messages that pop up on my xbox360 media center stop me from doing this. Does anyone else have this problem?
It depends on what error you are seeing, but yeah this should work just fine on the 360 as an Extender. In fact that is how my main HDTV is configured.
I've got a weekend project! This has been on my list for a while, so it will be good to get this done.
So, is Lifextender dead? That program is way easier to setup and use as it carves the commercials out of the files themselves. It just doesn't do WTV.
I'm more inclined to convert WTV to DVR-MS and keep using Lifextender.
Lifeextender is a one trick pony with almost NO configuration options.
I didn't like it in Vista because it actually cut the commercials out of the file which requires much, much more IO and thus even more of a load on the box.
Not to mention when it messed up you couldn't just turn it off and go back and watch the part it thought was a commercial because that part of the show was permanently deleted.
It also doesn't let you skip commercials on shows that are still recording.
And lastly, yes it used ComSkip instead of ShowAnalyzer which has yet to be updated to supported WTV, so it won't work on 7 unless you want to convert all your shows to dvr-ms first.
OK, so it's one trick. But man do I love that trick!
Reading your issues with the program, we just have different viewing habits. Different strokes... :^) I like DVRMSToolBox a lot, I just use it for other purposes.
The purpose of my post was more to say "it would be nice to have some kind of word from the Lifextender guys so we know whether or not to ever expect direct .WTV support." That's all. It's just another tool.
BTW, Lifextender can be configured to use both ComSkip or ShowAnalyzer. Also, original files are placed in the Recycle Bin should I really need them (only ever did a couple of times while first tuning ComSkip).
Well honestly I only watch like one or two shows while they are still recording, so that is really a secondary concern for me.
My main concern is that my family and I have absolutely no tolerance for mistakes in regards to identifying commercials. In fact if even one mistake is made, we prefer to manually skip commercials for the rest of the show.
But for me it was really the load on my system. LiveExtender killed the usability for me and there just weren't enough configuration options to make it a workable solution in my house.
I will say that I did use it first simply because it is just so simple to setup.
Cool. Can I ask just one more final and unrelated thing about your setup?
What quality level do you set your recordings to in 7MC? I don't yet have HD (c'mon Ceton!) -- Is there a noticeable different when you get out of SD resolutions?
I much preferred the simplicity of Lifextender myself, but yeah, looks to be dead.
LifeExtender relied on an API that doesn't work on WTV. There are workarounds, but unless you build a DirectShow based cutting filter (what DTB uses) it would require a lot of file manipulation (wtv->dvr-ms->cut dvr-ms). DTB doesn't support WTV->cut WTV yet, but it may in a future release.
That said, storage is so cheap; why take the chance that you miss any part of the show?
Yes, Lifextender is dead and doesn't look like it'll be updated to support Windows 7 and the WTV file format.
You guys should do a write up on TV Tuners. I haven't seen any decent review on the current state of tuner quality in a while.
There really isn't much to say. the Avermedia Duet at $60 for a dual ATSC/QAM tuner is impossible to beat. You go HDHomeRun if you don't mind spending 3x as much for the same thing just to get the network abilities. And finally the ATI DCT is the only CableCARD tuner and it is available as an internal or external USB.
Thanks Ben! I am installing a new CPU and Harddrive this weekend and then installing Win7 Home Premium. Now I won't have to watch those pesky commercials.
C
Nice write up Ben.
Ok, so what if I'm using WHS. Can I set up show analyzer, and DTB on the WHS, and the Add-in on the media center?(since I have PP3 and it auto-archives everything) Or should I still just run it all on the media center?
Honorelsu,
First quarter of 2010, Ceton Corp. is coming out with a 4-tuner card that works with encrypted programming as well as non-encrypted. A lot of us are waiting for it to come out as it will, with Xbox's as MCE's, work as a whole-house PVR. That said, it works only with cable and FIOS (not satellite), you do lose the PPV and the on-demand stuff and your house has to be wired with ethernet cable.
Jim
Will it work with h.264 WTV files (HD-PVR)?
It should, but I haven't tried it. I know that there are some over at the SA forums who have tried it.
What kind of processing times does it have ?
on SD as well as on HD recordings.
I know it would depend on the hardware a lot so a rough estimate would work. Say a 2.4 ghz dual core amd with a single 640gb harddrive. no raid or any of that.
This sounds pretty slick. I used to have replaytv which had it built in. Worked quite well 90% of the time and was easy to override.
I've never tried SD, but HD takes about 8-15 minutes per hour, but it depends on your Disk IO not your CPU or memory. If you had some crazy RAID 10 setup, then you could scan like 10 shows at once in a minute or two. I use a single 1TB Seagate drive that is dedicated for recordings.
Yes, I used to have a ReplayTV and configured it to mimic the way it worked. The big difference is my MC has 5 tuners, but I don't have the disk IO to scan more than 2 shows at once. If I only had one tuner like the 5040 I had then it could keep up.
Thanks for the great write-up btw. I knew it was possible, just had to found a good howto until this !
Last question, how does sleep mode affect this ?
My media center goes to sleep when not in use (and now with 7 seems to not be able to be woken up anymore by my xbox360, bug?)
It's set for 30 minutes time out.
Never tried sleep, but I do know that the author of the software uses it on his machines. You could ask over at the DTB forums.
Thanks for the great guides Ben . Between this one and converting MKV's to Dvr-ms, my media center has been running fantastic. Even the wife can't complain.
I am unable to get the commercial skipping to work. When I look at the log files I have the following listed:
Finished Commercial Detectection
No commercials found
Action did not complete successfully
Total Duration = 00:02:25.5376836
Did I miss a step? Also when I use the ShowAnalyzer nothing happens. The history does not get populated at all.
Have you tried to manually scan a show with ShowAnalyzer? Are you sure the show in question isn't DRM'd? Does it play in VLC?
when I scan a file it runs for about a minute and then dissapears and nothing shows in the history.
VLC... I do not have that installed. This is a brand new Win7 Ultimate install with Media Center. I had everything setup standard, with extender to my Xbox 360. I followed the instructions in this post, but won't work. :)
Sorry if I am confused, this is my first time using Media Center. Thanks in advance for your help.
What show is it trying to scan? What kind of tuner did you record it with?
Hauppauge 2250.
I tried scanning Jimmy Fallon, and a couple of Saturday Morning Cartoons.
Playback within Media Center works great, but the Channel skipping is just not working... Do the files need to be a certain file type? I am just using the standard settings for Media Center
No clue, I'd post over at the DragonGlobal forums as if it won't even scan from the ShowAnalyzer gui then it has to be the issue.