ComSkip + PostHaste = Failed Post Processor?

[Crazydog]

I've just started using ComSkip with PostHaste (to keep the window hidden). It's running on a show right now, working fine. I actually think it just finished.

Now, as soon as PostHaste starts, the status of the PostProcessor task in BTV becomes:

FAILURE - SnapStream Command Line Post Processor Sample

even though it successfully found and marked the commercials.

Because BTV thinks it failed, no tasks after that will occur. I know I could set the postprocessor to be last, but I'd like to have the commercials found before ShowSqueeze takes place.

Does anyone know why this could be occuring/how to tell BTV that the post processor can't fail or something?

CustomPostProcessing.XML

<CustomTasks>
<Task>
<GUID>531E0175-87F4-4d6f-B464-E603BC641DAE</GUID>
<Priority>Immediate</Priority>
<PropertyCollection>
<Property>
<Name>Command</Name>
<Value>G:\comskip\posthaste.exe</Value>
</Property>
</PropertyCollection>
</Task>
</CustomTasks>

PostHaste points to batch.bat:

@ECHO OFF
::
::
:: Comskip script to commercial detection on Videos, using Comskip
:: (Last Edited by cmcquistion 03-22-07)
::
::
SET COMSKIPFOLDER=G:\comskip
::
::
IF EXIST "%~pdn1*log*" DEL "%~pdn1*log*"
IF EXIST "%~pdn1*txt" DEL "%~pdn1*txt"
IF EXIST "%~pdn1*index.dat" DEL "%~pdn1*index.dat"
IF EXIST "%~pdnx1.chapters.xml" DEL "%~pdnx1.chapters.xml"
IF EXIST "%~pdn1.chp" DEL "%~pdn1.chp"
IF EXIST "%~pdn1.vprj" DEL "%~pdn1.vprj"
ECHO .
ECHO Running Commercial Detection, using Comskip
ECHO .
"%COMSKIPFOLDER%\comskip.exe" "%~pdnx1"
::
:: clean up log and txt files
IF EXIST "%~pdn1*log*" DEL "%~pdn1*log*"
IF EXIST "%~pdn1*txt" DEL "%~pdn1*txt"
IF EXIST "%~pdn1*index.dat" DEL "%~pdn1*index.dat"
::
::

And my comskip config:

detect_method=43 ;1=black frame, 2=logo, 4=scene change, 8=fuzzy logic, 16=closed captions, 32=aspect ration, 64=silence, 128=cutscenes, 255=all
validate_silence=1 ; Default, set to 0 to force using this clues if selected above.
validate_uniform=1 ; Default, set to 0 to force using this clues (like pure white frames) if blackframe is selected above.
validate_scenechange=1 ; Default, set to 0 to force using this clues if selected above.
verbose=10 ;show a lot of extra info, level 5 is also OK, set to 0 to disable
max_brightness=60 ;frame not black if any pixels checked are greater than this (scale 0 to 255)
test_brightness=40 ;frame not pure black if any pixels checked are greater than this, will check average brightness (scale 0 to 255)
max_avg_brightness=25 ;maximum average brightness for a dim frame to be considered black (scale 0 to 255) 0 means autosetting
max_commercialbreak=600 ;maximum length in seconds to consider a segment a commercial break
min_commercialbreak=25 ;minimum length in seconds to consider a segment a commercial break
max_commercial_size=125 ;maximum time in seconds for a single commercial or multiple commercials if no breaks in between
min_commercial_size=4 ;mimimum time in seconds for a single commercial
min_show_segment_length=125 ; any segment longer than this will be scored towards show.
non_uniformity=500 ; Set to 0 to disable cutpoints based on uniform frames
max_volume=500 ; any frame with sound volume larger than this will not be regarded as black frame
min_silence=12 ; Any deep silence longer than this amount of frames is a possible cutpoint
ticker_tape=0 ; Amount of pixels from bottom to ignore in all processing
logo_at_bottom=0 ; Set to 1 to search only for logo at the lower half of the video, do not combine with subtitle setting
punish=0 ; Compare to average for sum of 1=brightness, 2=uniform 4=volume, 8=silence, 16=schange, set to 0 to disable
punish_threshold=1.3 ; Multiply when amount is above average * punish_threshold
punish_modifier=2 ; When above average * threshold multiply score by this value
intelligent_brightness=0 ; Set to 1 to use a USA specific algorithm to tune some of the settings, not adviced outside the USA
logo_percentile=0.92 ; if more then this amount of logo is found then logo detection will be disabled
logo_threshold=0.75
punish_no_logo=1 ; Default, set to 0 to avoid show segments without logo to be scored towards commercial
aggressive_logo_rejection=0
connect_blocks_with_logo=1 ; set to 1 if you want successive blocks with logo on the transition to be regarded as connected, set to 0 to disable
logo_filter=0 ; set the size of the filter to apply to bad logo detection, 4 seems to be a good value.
cut_on_ar_change=1 ; set to 1 if you want to cut also on aspect ratio changes when logo is present, set to 2 to force cuts on aspect ratio changes. set to 0 to disable
delete_show_after_last_commercial=0 ; set to 1 if you want to delete the last block if its a show and after a commercial
delete_show_before_or_after_current=0 ; set to 1 if you want to delete the previous and the next show in the recording, this can lead to the deletion of trailers of next show
delete_block_after_commercial=0 ;set to max size of block in seconds to be discarded, set to 0 to disable
remove_before=0 ; amount of seconds of show to be removed before ALL commercials
remove_after=0 ; amount of seconds of show to be removed after ALL commercials
shrink_logo=5 ; Reduce the duration of the logo with this amount of seconds
after_logo=0 ; set to number of seconds after logo disappears comskip should start to search for silence to insert an additional cutpoint
padding=0
ms_audio_delay=5
volume_slip=20
skip_b_frames=1 ; Set to 1 to force Comskip to skip frames for higher processing speed.
max_repair_size=200 ; Will repair maximum 200 missing MPEG frames in the timeline, set to 0 to disable repairing for players that don't use PTS.
disable_heuristics=4 bit pattern for disabling heuristics, adding 1 disables heristics 1, adding 2 disables heristics 2, adding 4 disables heristics 3, 255 disables all heuristics
delete_logo_file=0 ; set to 1 if you want comskip to tidy up after finishing
output_framearray=0 ; create a big excel file for detailed analysis, set to 0 to disable
output_data=0 ; create a dump of the user data channel, used for CC and XDS (such as V-Chip info). Can be use together with output_framearray to remote debug CC decoding
output_videoredo=0
output_womble=0
output_mls=0 ; set to 1 if you want MPeg Video Wizard bookmark file output
output_cuttermaran=0
output_mpeg2schnitt=0
output_mpgtx=0
output_dvrcut=0
output_zoomplayer_chapter=0
output_zoomplayer_cutlist=0
output_edl=1
output_edlx=0
output_vcf=0
output_bsplayer=0
output_btv=1 ; set to 1 if you want Beyond TV chapter cutlist output
output_projectx=0 ; set to 1 if you want ProjectX cutlist output (Xcl)
output_avisynth=0
output_vdr=0 ; set to 1 if you want XBMC to skipping commercials
output_demux=0 ; set to 1 if you want comskip to demux the mpeg file while scanning
sage_framenumber_bug=0
sage_minute_bug=0
live_tv=0 ; set to 1 if you use parallelprocessing and need the output while recording
live_tv_retries=4 ; change to 16 when using live_tv in BTV, used for mpeg PS and TS
dvrms_live_tv_retries=300 ; only used for dvr_ms
standoff=0 ; change to 8000000 when using live_tv in BTV
cuttermaran_options="cut=\"true\" unattended=\"true\" muxResult=\"false\" snapToCutPoints=\"true\" closeApp=\"true\""
mpeg2schnitt_options="mpeg2schnitt.exe /S /E /R25 /Z %2 %1"
avisynth_options="LoadPlugin(\"MPEG2Dec3.dll\") \nMPEG2Source(\"%s\")\n"
dvrcut_options="dvrcut \"%s.dvr-ms\" \"%s_clean.dvr-ms\" "
windowtitle="Comskip - %s"

I'd REALLY like to use comskip, but I can't if BTV is going to think it's failing.

[ThickHead]

Crazydog,
I have comskip/posthaste working fine, try setting <Priority> to Deferred in CustomPostProcessing.xml

<CustomTasks>
<Task>
<GUID>531E0175-87F4-4d6f-B464-E603BC641DAE</GUID>
<Priority>Deferred</Priority>
<PropertyCollection>
<Property>
<Name>Command</Name>
<Value>C:\Program Files\PostHaste\Posthaste.exe</Value>
</Property>
</PropertyCollection>
</Task>
</CustomTasks>

In Posthaste I set "Hide" and "Wait" both to Yes for comskip.exe, and on the Showqueeze settings page in BTV's web admin I have "Custom Post Processing Order" set to "Before Showsqueeze". Hope this helps.

[Crazydog]

Alright, I'll try that.

Also: I just noticed I posted this in the wrong forum. D'oh.

No luck. It's still being reported as failing.

[ThickHead]

My comskip.bat is the same as your batch.bat. so that shouldn't be the problem, but try comparing your comskip.ini to mine:

detect_method=43            ;1=black frame, 2=logo, 4=scene change, 8=fuzzy logic, 16=closed captions, 32=aspect ration, 64=silence, 128=cutscenes, 255=all
validate_silence=1            ; Default, set to 0 to force using this clues if selected above.
validate_uniform=1            ; Default, set to 0 to force using this clues (like pure white frames) if blackframe is selected above.
validate_scenechange=1        ; Default, set to 0 to force using this clues if selected above.
verbose=10                ;show a lot of extra info, level 5 is also OK, set to 0 to disable
max_brightness=60                  ;frame not black if any pixels checked are greater than this (scale 0 to 255)
test_brightness=40              ;frame not pure black if any pixels checked are greater than this, will check average brightness (scale 0 to 255)
max_avg_brightness=25            ;maximum average brightness for a dim frame to be considered black (scale 0 to 255) 0 means autosetting
max_commercialbreak=600         ;maximum length in seconds to consider a segment a commercial break
min_commercialbreak=25            ;minimum length in seconds to consider a segment a commercial break
max_commercial_size=125            ;maximum time in seconds for a single commercial or multiple commercials if no breaks in between
min_commercial_size=4           ;mimimum time in seconds for a single commercial
min_show_segment_length=125     ; any segment longer than this will be scored towards show.
non_uniformity=500            ; Set to 0 to disable cutpoints based on uniform frames
max_volume=500                ; any frame with sound volume larger than this will not be regarded as black frame
min_silence=12                ; Any deep silence longer than this amount  of frames is a possible cutpoint
ticker_tape=0                ; Amount of pixels from bottom to ignore in all processing 
logo_at_bottom=0            ; Set to 1 to search only for logo at the lower half of the video, do not combine with subtitle setting
punish=0                    ; Compare to average for sum of 1=brightness, 2=uniform 4=volume, 8=silence, 16=schange, set to 0 to disable
punish_threshold=1.3        ; Multiply when amount is above average * punish_threshold
punish_modifier=2            ; When above average * threshold multiply score by this value
intelligent_brightness=0         ; Set to 1 to use a USA specific algorithm to tune some of the settings, not adviced outside the USA
logo_percentile=0.92            ; if more then this amount of logo is found then logo detection will be disabled
logo_threshold=0.75
punish_no_logo=1            ; Default, set to 0 to avoid show segments without logo to be scored towards commercial
aggressive_logo_rejection=0
connect_blocks_with_logo=1        ; set to 1 if you want successive blocks with logo on the transition to be regarded as connected, set to 0 to disable
logo_filter=0               ; set the size of the filter to apply to bad logo detection, 4 seems to be a good value.
cut_on_ar_change=1            ; set to 1 if you want to cut also on aspect ratio changes when logo is present, set to 2 to force cuts on aspect ratio changes. set to 0 to disable
delete_show_after_last_commercial=0    ; set to 1 if you want to delete the last block if its a show and after a commercial
delete_show_before_or_after_current=0    ; set to 1 if you want to delete the previous and the next show in the recording, this can lead to the deletion of trailers of next show
delete_block_after_commercial=0    ;set to max size of block in seconds to be discarded, set to 0 to disable 
remove_before=0                ; amount of seconds of show to be removed before ALL commercials
remove_after=0                ; amount of seconds of show to be removed after ALL commercials
shrink_logo=5                ; Reduce the duration of the logo with this amount of seconds
after_logo=0        ; set to number of seconds after logo disappears comskip should start to search for silence to insert an additional cutpoint
padding=0
ms_audio_delay=5
volume_slip=20
skip_b_frames=0                ; Set to 1 to force Comskip to skip frames for higher processing speed.
max_repair_size=200            ; Will repair maximum 200 missing MPEG frames in the timeline, set to 0 to disable repairing for players that don't use PTS. 
disable_heuristics=4        bit pattern for disabling heuristics, adding 1 disables heristics 1, adding 2 disables heristics 2, adding 4 disables heristics 3, 255  disables all heuristics 
delete_logo_file=0            ; set to 1 if you want comskip to tidy up after finishing
output_framearray=0            ; create a big excel file for detailed analysis, set to 0 to disable
output_data=0                ; create a dump of the user data channel, used for CC and XDS (such as V-Chip info). Can be use together with output_framearray to remote debug CC decoding
output_videoredo=1
output_womble=0
output_mls=0            ; set to 1 if you want MPeg Video Wizard bookmark file output
output_cuttermaran=0
output_mpeg2schnitt=0
output_mpgtx=0
output_dvrcut=0
output_zoomplayer_chapter=0
output_zoomplayer_cutlist=0
output_edl=0
output_edlx=0
output_vcf=0
output_bsplayer=0
output_btv=1                ; set to 1 if you want Beyond TV chapter cutlist output
output_projectx=0            ; set to 1 if you want ProjectX cutlist output (Xcl)
output_avisynth=0
output_vdr=0                ; set to 1 if you want XBMC to skipping commercials
output_demux=0                ; set to 1 if you want comskip to demux the mpeg file while scanning
sage_framenumber_bug=0
sage_minute_bug=0
live_tv=0                    ; set to 1 if you use parallelprocessing and need the output while recording
live_tv_retries=4            ; change to 16 when using live_tv in BTV, used for mpeg PS and TS
dvrms_live_tv_retries=300            ; only used for dvr_ms
standoff=0                    ; change to 8000000 when using live_tv in BTV
cuttermaran_options="cut=\"true\" unattended=\"true\" muxResult=\"false\" snapToCutPoints=\"true\" closeApp=\"true\""
mpeg2schnitt_options="mpeg2schnitt.exe /S /E /R25  /Z %2 %1"
avisynth_options="LoadPlugin(\"MPEG2Dec3.dll\") \nMPEG2Source(\"%s\")\n"
dvrcut_options="dvrcut \"%s.dvr-ms\" \"%s_clean.dvr-ms\" "
windowtitle="Comskip - %s"

I noticed you have "skip_b_frames=1" maybe try setting that to 0. I manually tweak my movie cuts in VideoRedo so I set mine to output for that and BTV smartchapters, all the others are 0.

[Crazydog]

Nope. Still giving me a failure.
Could it be a Windows 7 or 64-bit thing? I have no other real troubles with BTV + Win7 64-bit.

And this is still in the wrong forum. Are there no moderators here? :P