NOTE: Don’t forget to attach your conversion log or MCEBuddy.log file as appropriate
I’m at wits end with MCEBuddy & Comskip. I donated to both but they just don’t work. I use it with PlexDVR. I just want it to remove commercials. I get it, its not perfect all the time but it seems like the apps doesn’t even try. Its just a straight recording commercials and all. At first it would rename one of my files in a way the Plex cannot see it. I fixed this with custom renaming. I have it set to .TS Unprocessed, because I want to watch it ASAP after recording, BUT WITHOUT COMMERCIALS
Can someone PLEASE look at my Log and see if I am missing something, I really, REALLY want this to work. Thank you very much. Eyewitness News Sunday Morning - Eyewitness News Sunday Morning.ts-TV SHOWS-2022-08-07T09-39-07.log (327.7 KB)
It looks like you’re using some custom version of Comskip
Checking for donator version of Comskip
2022-08-07T09:40:10 MCEBuddy.AppWrapper.Comskip → Launching process C:\Comskip\comskip.exe
2022-08-07T09:40:10 MCEBuddy.AppWrapper.Comskip → Process arguments -h
2022-08-07T09:40:10 MCEBuddy.AppWrapper.Comskip → UI Session Admin Process : True
2022-08-07T09:40:10 MCEBuddy.AppWrapper.Comskip → Starting process as a UISession process with Admin privileges. This requires atleast 1 user to be logged into the system (remote desktop or locally)
2022-08-07T09:40:10 MCEBuddy.AppWrapper.Comskip → Setting process priority to Normal
2022-08-07T09:40:11 MCEBuddy.AppWrapper.Comskip → The commandline used was:
2022-08-07T09:40:11 MCEBuddy.AppWrapper.Comskip → C:\Comskip\comskip.exe -h
2022-08-07T09:40:11 MCEBuddy.AppWrapper.Comskip → Usage:
2022-08-07T09:40:11 MCEBuddy.AppWrapper.Comskip → comskip [-h|–help] [-w|–debugwindow] [-n|–playnice] [–zpcut] [–zpchapter] [–videoredo] [–csvout] [–plist] [-m|–demux] [-p|–pid=] [-t|–ts] [-d|–detectmethod=] [-v|–verbose=] [-u|–dump=] [-s|–play] [-q|–quiet] [–ini=] [–logo=] [–cut=] []
2022-08-07T09:40:11 MCEBuddy.AppWrapper.Comskip → -h, --help Display syntax
2022-08-07T09:40:11 MCEBuddy.AppWrapper.Comskip → -w, --debugwindow Show debug window
2022-08-07T09:40:11 MCEBuddy.AppWrapper.Comskip → -n, --playnice Slows detection down
2022-08-07T09:40:11 MCEBuddy.AppWrapper.Comskip → --zpcut Outputs a ZoomPlayer cutlist
2022-08-07T09:40:11 MCEBuddy.AppWrapper.Comskip → --zpchapter Outputs a ZoomPlayer chapter file
2022-08-07T09:40:11 MCEBuddy.AppWrapper.Comskip → --videoredo Outputs a VideoRedo cutlist
2022-08-07T09:40:11 MCEBuddy.AppWrapper.Comskip → --csvout Outputs a csv of the frame array
2022-08-07T09:40:11 MCEBuddy.AppWrapper.Comskip → --plist Outputs a mac-style plist for addition to an EyeTV archive as the ‘markers’ property
2022-08-07T09:40:11 MCEBuddy.AppWrapper.Comskip → -m, --demux Demux the input into elementary streams
2022-08-07T09:40:11 MCEBuddy.AppWrapper.Comskip → -p, --pid= The PID of the video in the TS
2022-08-07T09:40:11 MCEBuddy.AppWrapper.Comskip → -t, --ts The input file is a Transport Stream
2022-08-07T09:40:11 MCEBuddy.AppWrapper.Comskip → -d, --detectmethod= An integer sum of the detection methods to use
2022-08-07T09:40:11 MCEBuddy.AppWrapper.Comskip → -v, --verbose= Verbose level
2022-08-07T09:40:11 MCEBuddy.AppWrapper.Comskip → -u, --dump= Dump the cutscene at this frame number
2022-08-07T09:40:11 MCEBuddy.AppWrapper.Comskip → -s, --play Play the video
2022-08-07T09:40:11 MCEBuddy.AppWrapper.Comskip → -q, --quiet Not output logging to the console window
2022-08-07T09:40:11 MCEBuddy.AppWrapper.Comskip → --ini= Ini file to use
2022-08-07T09:40:11 MCEBuddy.AppWrapper.Comskip → --logo= Logo file to use
2022-08-07T09:40:11 MCEBuddy.AppWrapper.Comskip → --cut= CutScene file to use
2022-08-07T09:40:11 MCEBuddy.AppWrapper.Comskip → Input file
2022-08-07T09:40:11 MCEBuddy.AppWrapper.Comskip → Output directory
2022-08-07T09:40:11 MCEBuddy.AppWrapper.Comskip → Detection Methods
2022-08-07T09:40:11 MCEBuddy.AppWrapper.Comskip → 1 - Black Frame
2022-08-07T09:40:11 MCEBuddy.AppWrapper.Comskip → 2 - Logo
2022-08-07T09:40:11 MCEBuddy.AppWrapper.Comskip → 4 - Scene Change
2022-08-07T09:40:11 MCEBuddy.AppWrapper.Comskip → 8 - Resolution Change
2022-08-07T09:40:11 MCEBuddy.AppWrapper.Comskip → 16 - Closed Captions
2022-08-07T09:40:11 MCEBuddy.AppWrapper.Comskip → 32 - Aspect Ratio
2022-08-07T09:40:11 MCEBuddy.AppWrapper.Comskip → 64 - Silence
2022-08-07T09:40:11 MCEBuddy.AppWrapper.Comskip → 128 - CutScenes
2022-08-07T09:40:11 MCEBuddy.AppWrapper.Comskip → 255 - USE ALL AVAILABLE
2022-08-07T09:40:11 MCEBuddy.AppWrapper.Comskip → Comskip 0.80.038, made using:
2022-08-07T09:40:11 MCEBuddy.AppWrapper.Comskip → mpeg2dec-0.4.0 - by Michel Lespinasse walken@zoy.org and Aaron Holtzman
→ Process exited with code 2
INFORMATION> → Comskip version : FREE
WARNING> 2022-08-07T09:40:13 MCEBuddy.RemuxMediaCenter.RemuxMCERecording → AllowH264CopyRemuxing is SLOW with the bundled Comskip. Use ShowAnalyzer or Comskip Donator version (http://www.comskip.org) to speed up commercial detection. Codec detected → h264
I’m “suppose” to be using the donated version of Comskip. I linked MCEBuddy to it in the settings. I don’t understand, it doesn’t seem that difficult to kink the two together in the directions. I want to use the donated version of Comskip because I read that it is faster. I will unlink them and see what happens.
I really appreciate you taking the time to look over my logs. Thank you very much
FINALLY! I just want to delete those pesky commercials and support devs. I dont know what is happening with MCEBuddy 2.5.7 and my system but it just will not work. So I delete MCEBuddy 2.5.7 again (3rd time) this time I decided to download the file again, just to get a fresh copy but this time I downloaded the Beta version (MCEBuddy 2.5.8) Hey, what the Hell. I installed it without my paid version of Comskip. IT WORKS. I want to use my paid version of Comskip with MCEBuddy but I dont want to push it. Thank you to those who helped
SPOKE TOO SOON. Just tested out another recorded program and not one commercial was removed. It was a straight recording, all commercials. I read the log and it looks like it did cut commercials but Im not so sure. But the final product was no commercials were removed. I have also noticed that the more I record the less commercials are removed, like the tv stations are smart and changing their algorithms or something like that. OR this whole software is a scam
Here is the log to the show I tested with. If someone can take a look at it and see what happened I would really appreciate it. The Young and the Restless (1973) - S49E218 - The Young and the Restless.ts-TV SHOWS-2022-08-09T13-31-34.log (611.4 KB)
Thank you.
Infact your converted file is half the length of your original file
Original 59 minutes
‘D:\TV SHOWS DVR\The Young and the Restless\Season 49\The Young and the Restless (1973) - S49E218 - The Young and the Restless.ts’:
2022-08-09T13:31:36 MCEBuddy.AppWrapper.Base → Duration: 00:59:58.77, start: 1.400000, bitrate: 22378 kb/s
Converted 35 minutes
‘C:\Program Files\MCEBuddy2x\working0\The Young and the Restless (1973) - S49E218 - The Young and the Restless.ts’:
2022-08-09T13:41:11 MCEBuddy.AppWrapper.Base → Duration: 00:35:39.46, start: 1.400000, bitrate: 21829 kb/s
So it’s working. If you want to fine tune your commercial detection see this topic
Goose, thank you for looking at my logs. Especially many thanks for the clips of the logs to show me what you are looking at. This gives me an idea of what/where to look in the logs on my own to try and solve these issues on my own. I will use your findings with my log to figure out what is happening Thank you again.
I never got around to figuring out trying to tweak comskip but here is a suggestion, something I do now and then-
you can call comskip yourself and it’ll generate the edl file. you can then open up the video in MCE Buddy’s Custom cuts (assuming video and edl are in same directory) and it’ll show you the cut points, so you can click through them and get an idea how accurate they are.
Because my recordings are from all sorts of different channels I was never able to be happy with tweaking comskip.ini, so now I mostly just use Custom cuts and create the EDL file manually.
For CBS soaps, any CBS programing really, I find it best to have no pre-padding (like a minute or two) before the show starts. I had to play around with the pre-padding to get it just right for comskip to work. I would turn off pre-padding in PlexDVR for CBS, like Young and the Restless and Bold and the Beautiful. Same for Big Brother, CBS Sunday Morning, etc. Like I said, really anything on CBS. CBS comes on with that big CBS icon and bar of music at the start of each new show with heavy black space. Trust me, I had to play around to keep my wife happy with her programs. Several years, no problem with CBS pre-padding turned off in the DVR recording.
