[mythtv] PATCH: Commercial detection/skip using blank frames

[James McTavish]

On Fri, 2003-02-21 at 10:55, Chris Pinkham wrote:

> Can someone give this a shot and see how well it works for them?  I've
> tested it on the 3-4 main shows I record each week and it seems to work OK.
> 
> Chris
> 

I'll be applying it to my box this coming weekend.  One feature that I'm
also looking for is on the recording end of things.  

Somebody has already mentioned how RCA vcrs have commercial skipping. 
Their commercial skipping is flawless and their method could probably be
used in MythTV recording.  They work by first recording the entire show
including commercials.  Then it automatically rewinds the tape (after it
has finished recording) and begins doing a seek to all black screens
using a method similar to yours, and marks the spots on the tape with
some sort of non-visible marker.  When playing it sees these markers and
begins fast-forwarding when it sees one and resumes playing when it
reaches the next.

MythTV could take this a step further by identifying the commercials and
then editing them out in a background process.

Also I wouldn't mind a feature where I could have it flip the PIP when a
commercial starts, and flip it back when the show resumes.

Just some ideas I've been bouncing around.

-James