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<blockquote data-quote="peter_H" data-source="post: 638906" data-attributes="member: 75891">Possible? Maybe - with enough participation.&nbsp; &nbsp; Here's the big idea:&nbsp; &nbsp; Have HTPCs:&nbsp; &nbsp; 1) record, during live viewing, or recorded playback:&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; * whenever users press certain remote buttons, like MUTE/UNMUTE, FFWD, PAUSE, etc, that might indicate that a commercial break has just happened&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; * what channel they were watching&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; * the exact time they pressed the button (relative to the programme screening time)&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; * a unique identifier for the programme, such as the Country+Channel+Title+Description.&nbsp; &nbsp; 2) upload that info to a central internet server, where it is aggregated with all other users data, to produce a master schedule, including the most likely places commercials started and ended. Various factors could weight the results, e.g. MUTE buttons being more likely to indicate the start of a commercial; or somehow &quot;learning&quot; which users are more accurate than others.&nbsp; &nbsp; 3) download that data and use it instead of, or alongside, Comskip-type file-scanning software.&nbsp; &nbsp; 4) sync'd to the same clock.&nbsp; &nbsp; The more people take part, the more accurate the data becomes.&nbsp; &nbsp; And once the server is established, there's probably no reason why it couldn't be used for downloading/uploading schedules too.&nbsp; &nbsp; I imagine it would be per-country based.&nbsp; &nbsp; Unfortunately, I'm in no position to help implement any of this. But I thought I'd throw the idea out there, in case anyone wants to pick it up.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="peter_H, post: 638906, member: 75891"] Possible? Maybe - with enough participation. Here's the big idea: Have HTPCs: 1) record, during live viewing, or recorded playback: * whenever users press certain remote buttons, like MUTE/UNMUTE, FFWD, PAUSE, etc, that might indicate that a commercial break has just happened * what channel they were watching * the exact time they pressed the button (relative to the programme screening time) * a unique identifier for the programme, such as the Country+Channel+Title+Description. 2) upload that info to a central internet server, where it is aggregated with all other users data, to produce a master schedule, including the most likely places commercials started and ended. Various factors could weight the results, e.g. MUTE buttons being more likely to indicate the start of a commercial; or somehow "learning" which users are more accurate than others. 3) download that data and use it instead of, or alongside, Comskip-type file-scanning software. 4) sync'd to the same clock. The more people take part, the more accurate the data becomes. And once the server is established, there's probably no reason why it couldn't be used for downloading/uploading schedules too. I imagine it would be per-country based. Unfortunately, I'm in no position to help implement any of this. But I thought I'd throw the idea out there, in case anyone wants to pick it up. [/QUOTE]

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