Chapters & commercials

iamnotastickman

Hi! I know this is an extremely dumb question, I’m a beginner, so I’m sorry for wasting your time like this.
Let’s say I have a show structured in 3 “acts”. If the show was broadcast on regular TV, there would be commercial breaks in between the separate parts. Can you replicate this with ErsatzTV? I’ve heard that you can split the video file up into “chapters” and place commercials in between, but I’m not sure this is true. If it’s true, how do I split the video up into chapters, and how do I make it so commercials play in between? Thanks so much!

iamnotastickman

Oh, and is it possible to add bumpers that have to and can only go in the start and end of commercial breaks?

jason

Can you replicate this with ErsatzTV? I’ve heard that you can split the video file up into “chapters” and place commercials in between, but I’m not sure this is true.

Yes

how do I split the video up into chapters

Chapters are metadata - you don't split the file, you just add the chapter metadata using something like MKVToolNix.

how do I make it so commercials play in between

Use mid-roll filler https://ersatztv.org/docs/lists/filler/

is it possible to add bumpers that have to and can only go in the start and end of commercial breaks

This is more complicated, but filler presets can use playlists which can have specific bumpers at the start/end. Also possible with sequential schedules where all filler uses sequences, see https://ersatztv.org/docs/scheduling/sequential/

iamnotastickman

jason Thank you!