[mythtv-users] Replacing Commercials with Private Commercials

[Brian Wood]

On Monday 19 April 2010 09:01:46 am Ben Kamen wrote:
> On 4/19/2010 9:52 AM, Jorge Fernandez wrote:
> > I've seen it done in banks more specifically Bank of America. Maybe its a
> > service that they purchased but I could not find anything online. I
> > understand were you're coming from thought.
> 
> Most definitely a purchased service. If a bank was caught editing a
>  broadcast transmission by re-inserting their own commercials in a public
>  environment, I imagine they could get in huge trouble.
> 

First, remember that CNN is not a "broadcast", it's a private closed circuit 
feed. Usually the cable companies or satellite providers are empowered to 
negotiate commercial deals, like providing a feed for a bar or other public 
place.

The local availabilities technically "belong" to the cable company or sat 
company, so they could probably re-sell those slots, but Myth would have no 
way to know what was a network commercial and what was a local avail.

There are commercial devices available to do precisely what you are looking 
for, but they are expensive, and usually require access to the raw feed from 
the network, as well as a decoder device of some sort to "roll" the local spot 
and insert it. Usually the "roll" cue is a bit early to allow for a tape 
machine to come up to speed.

Back in the 70s some Canadian cable companies were inserting their own 
commercials into American broadcast feeds, on the theory that US laws did not 
apply in Canada. It led to a huge row, not sure how it was eventually settled.