BTV Smart Skip sharing service?

[Sato]

Wouldn't it be cool (or even possible) to have Smart Skip data (XML) sharing in BTV?

Example: My BTV setup records "Monk" and after the recording is finished, BTV checks the SnapStream server for an existing Skip file, and if one exists, downloads it. If one doesn't exist, my BTV generates the Skip file and uploads to the SnapStream server to be shared with others who have, or might soon, record the same episode.

Of course some snags to account for would be the difference in padding each user has on their recordings. Another issue would be for first-run airings of shows, where you might have a flood of uploads for the same season premiere episode of "Smith". Maybe the breaks in programming wouldn't match up precisely for all users (heck mine aren't always perfect either), though I gotta believe 99% of programming airs with the same commercial breaks.

Advantages would be for those in later time-zones and for re-run content. Also think of all the CPU cycles you can save your computer from in scanning all the video on your hard disk(s)!

Jason

[walts81]

First of all, I'm not convinced that programming airs with consistent breaks. But even if it did, people have different padding settings for their recordings which would throw things off. So I'm not sure how much good a universal smartskip file would do.

- Josh

[dallas2727]

Ya, while it's a great idea, it would only be consistent based on local provider. Their may be different commercial timings in LA than in NY for instance.

nonetheless, great idea.

[Sato]

I dunno, I'm thinking commercial breaks are consistent across the nation. Everytime I watch a DVD of a TV show it's pretty clear where the commercial breaks go in. Syndicated shows provide a different problem though... Any TV producers out there on this?

As for the padding -- this could easily be compensated for because BTV already knows how much padding goes onto each recording and thus could amend this number to the Skip file.

J

[nanook105]

Besides the issues that have been mentioned, you also have to deal with differences in computer clocks, which drive the recording times and probably make this impossible

[queonda]

Another problem would be in padding as mentioned but paddings are not exact. If you and me had the same padding, our files may not be the same. My computer may take longer to start a recording than your computer due to the speed and hardware.

great idea, though.

[dallas2727]

Padding and timeclocks really wouldn't be an issue. You can synch up multiple files by looking for simalarites in the audio stream (since you are already profiling to do the smartskip in the first place). Should be pretty simple to do in the scheme of things.

Only assumption would be that the timeclock isn't more than 5-10 minutes off true. Software could do the rest. BeyondTV could even add a bit of code to ensure system time is accurate when doing the guide update.

[Sato]

Anyone interested in an experiment with a Skip file swap? PM me. I'm EST in NYC. Interested in a swap with someone in a diff. timezone/region.

[Fonceur]

Actually there was a similar thread 6-12 months ago, with people doing tests and all... Pretty sure it was abandonned as using smartchapter is still faster than trying to adapt someone else results...