andy vt's blog : Comskip

Switching to Comskip for HD-PVR (h.264)

babgvant — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 14:05:00 GMT

Erik posted a version of Comskip (0.80.007) over the weekend to the donators site that not only sorted the crashing issues I was having, but is more accurate than the version of ShowAnalyzer V1 (SAV1) I have been using.

SAV1 is still faster, but accuracy counts for more. Erik has also said that a 5x faster version in the works, I can't wait.

If you haven't given Comskip a try recently head on over and check it out.

Double Speed Comskip

babgvant — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 12:14:00 GMT

If you've supported Comskip in the past, it looks like there's a double speed version available. Not sure what the logistics are, but it looks like Erik's created an Early Access type incentive.

Comskip Update

babgvant — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 01:34:00 GMT

If you're a comskip user, you will want to pull down the latest rev (there have been several since the version that comes with DTB). Looks like Erik made a ton of improvement. Don't forget to say thanks.

Revision History

Changes in 0.79.125
- It is strongly adviced to set max_repair_size=0 for HDHomerun recordings.
- Bug solved: Comskip crashes under certain rare conditions
- Some HDHomerun recordings contain a track without sound, after 50
frames without sound another track is automatically selected
Changes in 0.79.124
- Setting skip_b_frames=2 will have Comskip skip frames on HD but not on
SD, only available for donators
Changes in 0.79.123
- Adding output_aspect=1 to you ini file will instruct comskip to
generate a .aspects file. This file lists the input resolution and
aspect ratio changes. This information can be used for more efficient
transcoding or automatic aspect ratio switching during playback.
Changes in 0.79.122
- Comskip can now skip frames to speed up processing, should work on HD
streams. Set skip_b_frames=1 in your comskip.ini, only available for
donators
Changes in 0.79.121
- New detection method added: RESOLUTION_CHANGE (detect_method 8),
replaces the unused FUZZY_LOGIC (which is always on). Resolution_change
will insert a hard cutpoint when the resolution of a digital recording
changes.
- Improved accuracy during reviewing of cutpoints. Comskip could be up
to 15 frames off during preview.
Changes in 0.79.120
- Bug solved: Comskip crashes when the recording changes from 1080i to
480i or 720p.
Changes in 0.79.119
- Bug solved: Preview failed on certain TS files.
- During preview the 's' and 'f' keys will jump to Start and Finish of
the recording
Changes in 0.79.118
- Bug solved: Previewing TS files failed once viewing near the end of
the recording
- Added ini parameter: edge_step=1 Set to 2 when you need extra speed on
scanning for logo's on HD files. Will make logo detection slightly worse
Changes in 0.79.117
- Bug solved: On certain MPEG PS recordings no audio was detected
leading to much worse detection quality
Changes in 0.79.116
- Fixed a bug that could cause the preview to freeze when reviewing .txt
or .csv files
- Improved the demux to better find the audio stream on HD TS
recordings, not having audio will make detection quality much worse.
Changes in 0.79.115
- Changed the Zoomplayer Chapter list using AddChapterBySecond to output
integers instead of floats
- Default comskip.ini file has now output_edl=1 to ensure correct
skipping in SageTV and GBPVR
Changes in 0.79.114
- Increase input buffer to reduce strain on disks when running multiple
comskip in parallel
- Solved the long outstandig "Why does Comskip find a very short
commercial at the end of the recording" bug

Comskip - Live Detection - ini settings change

babgvant — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 19:13:00 GMT

If you're using comskip for live detection there's been a change in the suggested value for the live_tv_retries setting.

The value should be set to 300 (instead of 120), and if you're using comskip on SD ATSC content you may want use 600. If everything is working correctly you can get try stepping it down.

Comskip - Live Detection

babgvant — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 13:56:00 GMT

Comskip users rejoice. Comskip now supports live detection. If you're using 1.2.0.9 everything will work, you just need to configure dtb for live detection (the first step); you may want to download the latest rev of comskip there was a relevant bug fix. None of this would be possible without Erik's (comskip author) effort, so if you use comskip and find this feature valuable think about thanking him for the $20 he saved you.

Other versions can do it to but it's a little more work.

download the latest rev (0.79.111)
extract it to the DTB applications directory (usually %programfiles%\dvrmstoolbox\applications)
open comskip.ini in your favorite text editor and change/add the following lines

verbose=0 (optional)
delete_logo_file=1 (optional)
live_tv=1
live_tv_retries=~~120~~ 300 (600 may be required for low quality SD ATSC)
output_dvrmstb=1
dvrmsstandoff=120000

create a new profile in the DTB settings tool for comskip
add the ComskipAdvanced and FWThrottle actions
Configure it to scan the input file, and enter the full path to the commercial xml files
Order FWThrottle above ComskipAdvanced, name the profile and save it
Go to the Processing Tab in the settings tool and select the new profile. Click "Save" to exit the tool
Open the PC tool and change the "Every File" PC to use the new profile

If you need to incorporate this into profile that do more advanced things, just add the ComskipAdvanced action before the FindCommercials (leave FindCommercials it will read the xml file created by comskip and not run comskip again) action, and check "ContinueOnFail".