Commercial detection.
Every ad break on record.
Commercial detection is the technology that automatically identifies which segments of a broadcast signal are ads, used for ad monitoring, regional overlays and competitor tracking. Point Media Tech's Commercial Detection uses video fingerprint plus audio fingerprint matching, 99.2% accuracy, sub-second triggers for overlay signals or SCTE-35 cues. 64 channels per host, substantially reducing the manual monitoring load.
99.2%Detection accuracy
<1 sTrigger response
64 CHChannels per host
AIFingerprint engine
One frame is not a match.
Six in a row authorises the cut-in.
Point Media Tech's Commercial Detection console puts the incoming feed beside the reference asset it matched, with the frame-by-frame confidence score underneath. The trigger rule lives in that score, not in someone's judgement.
From one operator per TV in a wall of monitors
to AI fingerprint matching is a step change in ad monitoring.
Commercial Detection moves ad monitoring from people watching screens to AI that identifies and triggers by fingerprint matching. Legacy ad monitoring: one operator watches one TV and presses a cue button. 64 channels means 24 operators on three rotating shifts. Each missed break is tens of thousands in lost overlay revenue; missed regional rights overlays (local ads or replacement pictures placed over the channel's own ads) violate contracts; competitor tracking happens with paper notes. Commercial Detection moves the entire pipeline onto AI: video feature points plus audio fingerprints match against an ad database in real time, triggers overlay or SCTE-35 cues in under one second, runs 64 channels per host at 99.2% accuracy, and produces competitor-tracking reports automatically.
Operators watching, manual cues, missed overlays
One operator covers only four to eight feeds; fatigue plus 2-5 second reaction time; nights and weekends at premium pay; 64 channels means 24 operators on three shifts; missing breaks costs tens of thousands a day; competitor tracking by hand.
AI fingerprint match, ms-level trigger, automated reporting
Video features + audio fingerprints matched in real time; 99.2% accuracy; under one-second trigger to overlay / SCTE-35 cue; 64 channels per host; 24/7 unattended; competitor airing reports auto-generated.
Today · One person, one screen, in the monitoring room
- 64 channels means 24 operators on three rotating shifts
- A missed break costs tens of thousands in overlay revenue
- A missed territorial blackout breaches the contract
- Competitor tracking is copied out by hand
After · AI fingerprint matching
- Visual feature points and audio fingerprints matched live
- Switch or SCTE-35 cue fired in under a second
- 64 channels on one machine at 99.2% accuracy
- Competitor airing reports generated automatically
Three layers, one continuous
ad monitoring pipeline.
Point Media Tech's Commercial Detection works in three layers: fingerprint matching, real-time triggering and reporting. Each layer is sized independently, licensed by monitored channel, and extensible as you grow.
AI fingerprint matching · Fingerprint Matching
Video feature points (SIFT / deep-learning embeddings) combined with acoustic fingerprints; the ad database refreshes daily; new ads are ingested within five minutes; variant cuts (re-edits, redubs) are clustered automatically.
- Video + audio dual fingerprints
- Daily ad-database refresh
- New ads ingested in 5 minutes
- Variant cut auto-clustering
Real-time trigger engine · Real-time Trigger
Trigger latency under one second; outputs overlay GPI / Tally; emits SCTE-35 cues to SSAI; webhooks notify scheduling systems; 64 channels per host; multi-bitrate signals processed in lock-step; manual override supported.
- < 1 second trigger latency
- Overlay GPI / Tally output
- SCTE-35 cue generation
- 64 channels per host
Reporting & integration · Monitoring & Reporting
Real-time airing dashboards; competitor tracking reports (who aired what, when); overlay execution logs; REST API and webhooks integrate with Ad Insertion, scheduling, and finance systems; monthly revenue summaries.
- Real-time airing dashboard
- Competitor tracking reports
- Overlay execution logs
- REST API + webhooks
Ad detection bridges monitoring to revenue —
signal in; overlay and reports out.
Point Media Tech's Commercial Detection turns ad segments inside the signal into triggerable, traceable events, in five stages: signal in, fingerprint extraction, database match, trigger and report.
- Signal InSDI / HDMI / IP / files · 64 streams
- FingerprintVideo features + audio fingerprints
- MatchDatabase lookup · 99.2% accurate
- TriggerOverlay / SCTE-35 / webhook
- ReportAiring log · competitor track · revenue
Engineering specifications.
Point Media Tech's Commercial Detection takes SDI / HDMI / IP live signals and MXF / MP4 / TS offline files; a full spec sheet and live engineering walkthrough are available on request.
| Input signals | SDI / HDMI / IP (SRT / RTMP / HLS / DASH) · offline files (MXF / MP4 / TS) · 1080p / 4K |
|---|---|
| Detection performance | Accuracy 99.2% (standard scenes) · trigger latency < 1 second · video features + audio fingerprints |
| Concurrency | 64 channels per host · linear scale-out · GPU acceleration · multi-card distribution |
| Ad database | Daily auto-refresh · new ads ingested in 5 minutes · variant cut clustering · custom private libraries |
| Output integration | Overlay GPI / Tally · SCTE-35 cues · REST API · webhooks · bidirectional Ad Insertion / scheduling |
| Reporting | Real-time airing dashboard · competitor tracking · overlay execution logs · monthly revenue · CSV / API export |
| Licensing | Licensed by monitored channel; on-demand scaling; software license + annual maintenance |
Three steps, from evaluation to production.
Request a trial
Submit the contact form. A sales engineer will respond within one business day to schedule a consultation.
Integration assessment
Our solutions engineer reviews channel count, signal interfaces, and overlay / scheduling integration, and plans GPU configuration plus ad-database ingestion.
Deploy and go live
After ad-database build-out and GPI / Tally connection, we run acceptance tests against live overlay accuracy and phase the rollout to keep existing monitoring running.
Frequently asked questions.
What is commercial detection, and what do broadcasters use it for?
Commercial detection automatically identifies ad segments in a broadcast signal; broadcasters and cable operators use it for ad monitoring, regional overlays and competitor tracking. Point Media Tech's Commercial Detection matches video feature points and audio fingerprints against an ad database, and a hit fires an overlay or an SCTE-35 cue. Airing logs and competitor reports are generated at the same time.
Which signals and file formats does Commercial Detection support?
Point Media Tech's Commercial Detection works in two modes: live signals (SDI, HDMI, IP) and offline files (MXF, MP4, TS). IP input covers SRT, RTMP, HLS and DASH, at 1080p and 4K. A single node can monitor up to 64 channels concurrently.
How does Commercial Detection change ad-monitoring operations compared with manual monitoring?
Point Media Tech's Commercial Detection matches signals around the clock with AI, so monitoring no longer depends on operator fatigue or shift rotas. A match fires the overlay signal automatically, at 99.2% accuracy in standard scenes and under one second to trigger. Overlay execution logs and competitor reports are generated automatically instead of being copied out by hand.
Can Commercial Detection integrate with our existing ad playout and scheduling systems?
Yes: Point Media Tech's Commercial Detection provides REST API and webhooks, and outputs overlay GPI / Tally and SCTE-35 cues. It integrates with ad playout systems, SCTE-35 Ad Insertion, scheduling and finance reporting systems.
How is Commercial Detection licensed?
Point Media Tech's Commercial Detection is licensed by the number of monitored channels and scales on demand. Licensing is a software license plus annual maintenance; contact sales for a quote.
What system requirements does Commercial Detection need?
Point Media Tech's Commercial Detection needs GPU compute for AI inference and runs on Linux. Configuration depends on monitored channel count and resolution, can be spread across multiple GPUs, and is sized by a solutions engineer.
Ready to stop
watching ad breaks by hand?
Book a demo and see what AI does — replacing 24 operators with a single host.