The TeleVentions lot comprises over fifty patents and patent applications relating to methods and systems for automatic skipping or quick scanning of television commercial "groups" when using a DVR or any other video recorder with either a removable or non-removable recording medium. All other proposed systems for avoiding commercials in a television program typically operate on the principle of assuming a fixed duration of commercials or identifying commercials by the level of frenetic activity at various periods of a broadcast. These methods simply don't work, and all carry a risk of high error rates in differentiating ads from program material and irretrievably losing program material. During the more than half century of commercial television, no other technology ” in spite of countless attempts ” has been successful. TeleVentions' Commercial Advance® works. Implementing Commercial Advance® in today's video recorders adds little or nothing to build cost.

TeleVentions˜ IP strategy has been to build the proverbial "picket fence" of patent protection around its core technologies. TeleVentions' '091, '093, '866, '210, '688, and '658 patents disclose and claim methods and devices that provide playback of a recorded television broadcast without commercials or other non-program material. The patented techniques prevent the loss of program material with a typical accuracy of 98 to 100 percent. The '689, '443, '977, '405, '316, '330 and '265 patents provide similarly high accuracy methods for identifying television programming breaks in real time. Alternate programming, built-in game playing¦or simply silence¦can be enjoyed during the break. Should the viewer leave the room during the break, the TV or recorder will notify the viewer with an audible alert that the program has resumed, or the recorder will simply "pause" the recording until prompted to resume at the push of a button on the remote. TeleVentions˜ lot separately includes assets that prevent the loss of desired program material. As an example, it is often the case that broadcasts of sports and awards events run over their allotted time. TeleVentions' patented technology prevents the recorder from cutting off the ˜overtime' portions of these programs.