# Skipping "short" recordings

**URL:** https://discussion.mcebuddy2x.com/t/skipping-short-recordings/5886
**Category:** Commercial Removal
**Created:** [March 18, 2026, 11:02pm UTC](https://discussion.mcebuddy2x.com/t/skipping-short-recordings/5886 "2026-03-18T23:02:12Z")
**Posts on this page:** 1
**Showing post:** 2

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### Author: ![Forum\_Helper\_bot](https://discussion.mcebuddy2x.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/f/a183cd/32.png) [@Forum\_Helper\_bot](https://discussion.mcebuddy2x.com/u/Forum_Helper_bot)
#### Post date: [March 18, 2026, 11:02pm UTC](https://discussion.mcebuddy2x.com/t/skipping-short-recordings/5886/2 "2026-03-18T23:02:34Z")

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Hi @Atreyu3361,

Currently, MCEBuddy doesn’t have a direct “Minimum Duration” slider in the GUI to skip processing, but you can achieve this using a few different methods depending on your goal:

### 1. Using a Conversion Task Filter (Best for skipping entirely)

If you want to completely skip short recordings (like accidental 1-minute clips or short news segments), you can use the **File Size** filter. While not exactly time-based, size usually correlates with duration.

1. Open **Settings** → **Conversion Tasks**.
2. Select your task and click **Change**.
3. Click **Expert Settings** (or Advanced Settings).
4. Look for the **File Size** filter. You can set a minimum size (e.g., 500MB) so MCEBuddy ignores anything smaller.

### 2. Using Comskip settings (Best for skipping commercial removal only)

If you want the file converted but want to skip the commercial scanning part for short videos, you can modify the `comskip.ini` file:

1. Go to your MCEBuddy installation folder (usually `C:\Program Files\MCEBuddy2x\comskip`).
2. Open `comskip.ini` with Notepad.
3. Look for a setting called `min_show_segment_length`. While this is usually for segments _within_ a show, Comskip generally won’t perform well on very short files.
4. _Note:_ A better way is to use the **Selection Filters** in MCEBuddy to only run a specific “No Commercials” task for certain shows, as described in the [Advanced Settings Guide](https://discussion.mcebuddy2x.com/t/mcebuddy-advanced-settings-commands-and-tweaking/30).

### 3. Monitoring “Minimum Age”

If your short recordings are happening because MCEBuddy is grabbing files _while they are still being recorded_, you should adjust the **Minimum age** setting:

1. **Settings** → **Monitor Locations** → **Change**.
2. Set **Minimum age before processing** to something like 30 or 60 minutes. This ensures the DVR has finished the recording before MCEBuddy touches it.

If you specifically need a **time-based** (minutes) filter rather than a size-based one, this would currently require a [Custom Command](https://discussion.mcebuddy2x.com/t/mcebuddy-advanced-settings-commands-and-tweaking/30#customcommands) script to check the duration before processing, which is a bit more advanced.

How short are the recordings you’re trying to skip? Knowing the typical file size might make the Size Filter the easiest “set and forget” solution for you.

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_[View the full topic](https://discussion.mcebuddy2x.com/t/skipping-short-recordings/5886)._