How do you organize your movies?

[Saracen]

Do either of the applications mentioned (DVD Profiler and Collectorz) above have any problems with detecting the barcodes of different region DVDs (R1, R2, R4)?

Don't know. I use it mainly for books and CDs. The DVDs I do have are R2.

Also, any suggestions on what cheap barcode scanner to get and use (compatible with Windows 7) and where from?

Depends what you mean by "cheap". The ones I use aren't cheap, aren't a current model anymore anyway, and came from a friend running business in this area. He doesn't supply retail.

You could do worse than something like a Symbol LS2208. As for Win& compatibility, well, that's partly why I like the keyboard interface ones, as opposed to USB.

You unplug a PS2 keyboard, plug the scanner Y-cable into the mobo socket and the keyboard back into the other end of the Y-cable. The scanner then emulates keystrokes. You can the code, it gets converted as if the data had been typed and fed into the KB port. The OS, whatever it is, doesn't need to be compatible. You don't need ANY drivers, software, etc.

For instance, if the cursor is in the Firefox edit window I'm using now, and I can a barcode, I get the numeric value just appears in here, or in Word, Excel, whatever it is I'm using. Or in Collectorz. No application support is needed, nor any drivers or OS support.

As an example .....

028941145826

.... is a CD barcode, read from the CD case. No prizes for working out which one.


However, it does obviously require a PS2 port on the mobo.

[Output]

Don't know. I use it mainly for books and CDs. The DVDs I do have are R2.

No problem, thanks anyway

Depends what you mean by "cheap". The ones I use aren't cheap, aren't a current model anymore anyway, and came from a friend running business in this area. He doesn't supply retail.

By cheap, I was hoping less than £20, since while I'd like to be able to catalogue it quickly and easily like this, it's not really essential to me that I have one.

You could do worse than something like a Symbol LS2208. As for Win& compatibility, well, that's partly why I like the keyboard interface ones, as opposed to USB.

You unplug a PS2 keyboard, plug the scanner Y-cable into the mobo socket and the keyboard back into the other end of the Y-cable. The scanner then emulates keystrokes. You can the code, it gets converted as if the data had been typed and fed into the KB port. The OS, whatever it is, doesn't need to be compatible. You don't need ANY drivers, software, etc.

For instance, if the cursor is in the Firefox edit window I'm using now, and I can a barcode, I get the numeric value just appears in here, or in Word, Excel, whatever it is I'm using. Or in Collectorz. No application support is needed, nor any drivers or OS support.

As an example .....

028941145826

.... is a CD barcode, read from the CD case. No prizes for working out which one.


However, it does obviously require a PS2 port on the mobo.

Though you do of course have a good point with using one that uses a PS/2 port, so it'll be something I'll look into anyway (and perhaps I'll convince myself to raise my budget and get one ).

Thank You for the advice

[pauldarkside]

Used to use a rolodex system back when I had a few hundred VHS tapes. Horrible system, all that writing - a typo meant starting a new card!

Since I migrated to DVDs I've tried all sorts of things: Access with a homebrew frontend; wrote my own .net app (c#, sql, a stack of databinding, etc) but in the end I found I was just making an offline version of IMDb. I'd used their offline Amiga version years ago so maybe that had something to do with it.

For insurance purposes, I ought to have a more detailed list. Guess I'll have to check out those barcode enabled cataloguers. Trouble is, none of them appear to offer something I'd actually use beyond making that initial insurance list. My collections have a habit of spanning software generations. Having my list tied to a proprietary format only for the software to become unsupported and obsolete, thus making me start over, isn't appealing - I've been there too often.

I like having my list available online and offline, available without platform restrictions and subscription free. Give it a few more years, however, and my list and collection will be obsolete. I won't need to worry then as I've no doubt I'll be paying a subscription for on demand with the commentary and extras available for streaming too.

In the meantime, I'm using IMDb's My Movies as all I really need is a list of titles, any other information I want is right there behind the link. Still, the number of times I've bought a film only to return home to see it's twin sitting on the shelf

[Funkstar]

Having my list tied to a proprietary format only for the software to become unsupported and obsolete, thus making me start over, isn't appealing - I've been there too often.

DVDProfiler has been around for, oh, must be 10 years now.

I used it years ago, had no idea it was still going to be honest.

[HSK]

At the moment, they are all over my room. On the desk, in drawers, on the shelf. A total messy pup.

[pauldarkside]

DVDProfiler has been around for, oh, must be 10 years now.

I used it years ago, had no idea it was still going to be honest.

10 years ago I wouldn't have known if they were a company with staying power.

Each search over the years has resulted in me either building something which suited me or just making do with what I had. No single offering delivered something worth paying for, they lacked in features and customisation, with restrictive views and often substandard interfaces.

As I've said, it's an activity I see becoming irrelevant in the coming years so what's the point in buying a cataloguer? My movie purchases have had a marked slowdown recently and that's nothing to do with money. Picture and sounds quality on Blu-rays is very hit and miss - buy a lesser 720p version now or wait until there's a proper 1080p version later on - what happens when consumer HD goes Ultra?

I also don't see the point in replacing my DVD collection with Blu-ray when on-demand is picking up. I'll sorely miss commentaries and behind-the-scenes, etc but I don't think extras are that far away from being available along with the main feature. It's happening elsewhere with the gaming sector being the prime example. Even buying a collector's edition doesn't guarantee you'll get everything in the box; God of War III Ultimate Edition's extra features are via a download code.

Studios/developers/etc will get their money via subscriptions or one off payment and deliver the content online when you want it. It'll be here quicker than it took us to evolve from VHS, DVD and Blu-ray, except it's already started. No list required.

[beanbandit]

Do either of the applications mentioned (DVD Profiler and Collectorz) above have any problems with detecting the barcodes of different region DVDs (R1, R2, R4)?

I don't have a barcode reader, i just key the numbers in, but i've not had any issues with it detecting what region the DVD is. Have a look at my collection, plenty of R1 & R2's in there.

[Funkstar]

As I've said, it's an activity I see becoming irrelevant in the coming years so what's the point in buying a cataloguer? My movie purchases have had a marked slowdown recently and that's nothing to do with money. Picture and sounds quality on Blu-rays is very hit and miss - buy a lesser 720p version now or wait until there's a proper 1080p version later on - what happens when consumer HD goes Ultra?

I'm the same. Most of my DVD purchases this year has been TV series, mainly because I'm never able to catch whole series on the TV. I hvae started buying some titles on BluRay, but only those I feel are worth it and are on offer at a reasonable price.

I agree with you on subscription or streaming for films. I will resist to the bitter end as far as music is concerned, I love my CDs. But films and video I'm willing to accept in other formats

[Saracen]

.....

By cheap, I was hoping less than £20, .....

I did see a Symbol LS2106 (very good scanner) go through eBay a while ago at just under £30. Of course, it was "pre-owned" () and you take the usual eBat chances, but it might be worth a look. If it works at all, at that sort of price, I'd think it's a pretty good buy.

But new, and at under £20, well ..... I rather imagine if anything exists, it's probably garbage and I doubt it exists. The problem, I suspect, is that barcode scanners have very limited mass-market domestic appeal, so most are built for the rigours of commercial use, and the price reflects that.

[Saracen]

.....

For insurance purposes, I ought to have a more detailed list. Guess I'll have to check out those barcode enabled cataloguers. Trouble is, none of them appear to offer something I'd actually use beyond making that initial insurance list. My collections have a habit of spanning software generations. Having my list tied to a proprietary format only for the software to become unsupported and obsolete, thus making me start over, isn't appealing - I've been there too often.
....

You have a point about support, but IMHO, it's a limited one. I'm not a fan of upgrading something that's working. I bought the Collectorz database after trialling it fairly thoroughly. I'm sure there are bugs, but I haven't had any problems. There have been new versions, but my attitude is that the version I've got does everything I need it to do, so if the publishers think I'm forking out every year or so to "upgrade" to a new version when the current one works fine, they need their bumps felt.

Insurance is one aspect of the Collectorz databases. For me, it's more about books and CDs than films as I've got far more of them, but the same applies. The fields include both purchase price and current value, making it fairly easy to scan the current value column and update it to give a fairly accurate insurance valuation. If I get burgled, or have a fire etc, I don't expect any real arguments over that, as I can given them an exact list, item by item, with itemised valuations.

The Collectoz database also updates itself from IMDB, and a whole load of other sources. Or at least, the version I have does. I have a feeling newer versions use some proprietary system of their own, which (IIRC about that) would certainly stop me buying it now. I won't be tied in like that. But again, the version I've got does what I need and would appear to be going to do so for the foreseeable future.

Their databases do have other uses too. One is exporting the data to a Pocket PC. More than once, that's stopped me buying a copy of a book I've already got just because the publisher has changed the cover photo. The database has saved me more than it cost me by that alone. It also lets me track loans, though to be fair, I don't lend out books or CDs very often anyway. Too often, a loan has turned into a gift against my wishes.

Still, ultimately I suppose we all use the method that works for us. Keeping track of a few dozen films, or even a few hundred, is a different prospect from keeping track of a book collection in the thousands.