The method and apparatus operates in a video recorder and playback unit to
identify selected broadcast segments, such as commercial advertisements,
of a television signal in real-time for the purpose of either suspending
recording or advancing playback of the television signal during each
unwanted segment. A signature pattern associated with each segment of the
television signal is detected and compared to stored signature patterns
representative of selected segments such as commercial advertisement
segments. If the signature pattern matches one of the stored signature
patterns, the segment is thereby immediately identified as being one of
the selected segments and is processed in real-time to control operation
of the video recorder/player. If the signature pattern of the segment
does not match any of the stored signature patterns, the segment is
analyzed to determine whether the segment is nevertheless a selected
segment and, if so, its signature pattern is stored along with the stored
signature patterns.