How Do You Get Rid Of Commercials On Recorded TV?
If your TiVo or cable box recorded a show but left the commercials in place, you don’t need to re-watch the whole thing. You can trim the ads out on the device itself—no PC or extra software required.
Quick Fix
On a TiVo Series 8+, Series X+, or Edge, open the recording, press Pause, scrub to the start of the ad, press Clear to mark the beginning, scrub to the end, press Clear again, then choose Delete Marked. Done. (Skip the rest of this guide.)
What’s really going on with those commercials?
Most DVRs and cable boxes mark ads automatically when you pause live TV and then skip forward during the same break. When you play back the recording, those same marks usually carry over, letting you jump past commercials with a single button. If they don’t, the device either lost the marks or the network inserted a new ad that wasn’t present when you paused.
Here’s exactly how to remove them step by step
The exact steps vary by hardware. Pick your device.
TiVo (Series 8+, Series X+, Edge, Roamio)
- Open the recording and press Pause to stop playback.
- Use the ▶◀ slider or arrow buttons to scrub to the first frame of the ad.
- Press Clear once to set a blue “start” marker.
- Scrub to the last frame of the ad.
- Press Clear again to set a red “end” marker.
- Press Clear a third time to open the “Delete Marked” menu.
- Choose Delete Marked to remove the segment.
- Press Play to resume the show.
Cox Contour (any DVR model, 2024–2026)
- Highlight the recording, press OK to open it, then press OK again to start playback.
- When an ad rolls, press Pause.
- Use the Ch- and Ch+ buttons to scrub to the ad start and press Select.
- Scrub to the ad end and press Select again.
- Press Menu, choose Edit Recording → Delete Segment, then confirm.
Xfinity X1 / XG1 / Xi5 (2024–2026 firmware)
- Open the recording.
- Press OK to pause, then use the ▶◀ slider to jump to the ad.
- Press and hold OK for two seconds to mark the beginning.
- Drag the slider to the ad end, then press and hold OK again.
- Press OK once more to open the edit menu and choose Delete Segment.
Still seeing commercials after trying these steps?
1. Re-mark the commercials
Fast-forward to the next ad break, pause, and re-mark both boundaries. Some networks re-insert ads after the original broadcast, so the marks from the first pass no longer line up.
2. Try the ad-skip flag
While watching the recording, press Skip (usually the right-arrow button) once per ad break. The DVR will jump ahead automatically if it recognizes the same break. This only works for breaks it already flagged during the original airing.
3. Save a clean version
On TiVo, after marking all ads, choose Save as New Episode. This creates a second copy of the show without the trimmed sections. You’ll use extra space on the hard drive, but you keep the original untouched.
Want to stop this problem before it happens?
| Device | Option | How to Enable |
|---|---|---|
| TiVo Series 8+/Edge/X+ | Auto-Skip Ads | Settings → Remote, Controls & Devices → Skip Ads → ON |
| Xfinity X1/XG1/Xi5 | Auto-Skip | Settings → Customer Support → Device Settings → Auto-Skip Mode → ON |
| Cox Contour | AdSkip | Settings → DVR → AdSkip → ON |
| DirecTV Genie Mini | Auto-Skip | Menu → Settings → Display & Sound → Auto-Skip → ON |
These settings tell the box to mark ad breaks automatically the moment you pause live TV, so the next time you watch the recording the skips are already there. Just remember to pause at least once during each commercial break while the show is airing live; otherwise the device never learns where the ads begin and end.
