What DVD cataloging software is best? (1 Viewer)

[Joe*R]

I have about 300 DVD's that I would like to start cataloging. I have heard of DVD Profiler, CATVIDS, and movie collector. I want to know of these 3 which one would be best. Also, does anybody know if they sell this software in stores such as Best Buy or CompUSA?? I would prefer to have a hard copy rather than downloading it. Thanks for the info.

 

[Paul Padilla]

DVD Profiler works great for me.

Very easy to use, catagorize, search, add, upload, move from "wishlist" to "ordered" to "owned", etc. Updating the live website works very well. Easy to share your collection with other people if you choose to. Only issue I've ever had was not realizing there was a newer version out. I couldn't get my collection to update to the website until I installed the newer version. Never used the other 2 so can't comment.

As for "in stores", the entire program is only 3.9 megabytes and is free unless you decide to pay to kill the built in advertisements. I'm not aware of it being available anywhere but the website, and I don't see that you can order it on CD either. It's simple enough to re-download if you ever have a problem...or just burn it onto a CD yourself. (You do have a backup of the files on your computer, don't you? )

Titles can be added by inserting the DVD in your computer, (if it has a DVD-ROM that is), or you can add them by typing in the UPC code. Images for the cover art are downloaded and updated each time you connect to the website with the software. I'm sure you've seen plenty of links to DVD Profiler collections, but here's mine.

Hope this helps.

Good Luck

 

[ChrisBEA]

DVD Profiler is the way to go, I have been using it for over 2 years now, and it keeps getting better!

 

[Jason Bennion]

I use CATVIDS myself. I like the looks of DVD Profiler, but I'm one of those dinosaurs who's still surfing the web from a dial-up connection, so an online service isn't very convenient for me.

CATVIDS has a few hinky little problems, but nothing so bad that I wouldn't recommend the app, and it's got all the information fields you could possibly want and the ability to customize more if there is something you want that the programmers didn't think of. You can download film info from IMDB and product info from Amazon, so it isn't a big time investment, especially if you have a fast connection.

I'm satisfied with it, for whatever my opinion is worth.

 

[Alex-A]

One big vote for DVD Profiler here. My collection only runs to 150, but it serves me well. I can keep track of everything I could ever want to track and I can run reports and various other cool features. Paying for it not only kills the ads if you want, but it grants you access to the high-res cover scans, which to me is well worth it cause I hate blocky pictures. The online downloading seriously isn't that bad. The largest files are only downloaded once when you first install the program, subsequent downloads are just updates to those files which don't even come close to that size.

 

[ChrisBEA]

DVD Profiler isn't an online program, granted there is the inital download of the program, and after install, the databases which may take awhile. but your database is on your PC and can be accessed without internet connection.

 

[MikeBr]

I wish I could say the same thing. My website's DSL line is extremely busy. No browser running under Linux can connect with www[dot]intervocative[dot]com. I managed to download the program because I found the URL to it and used Linux wget to get it and that connection worked, only because the server was a different box on a different IP address.

My PeeCee is connected to the DSL circuit through my Linux box. It manages to make a connection and tries to download those damn profiles at about 10-25kbps, yet about 3-4MB into the download, for no reason at all, it thinks the download failed and aborts for no damn reason.

Why did the designers decide that every user needed to download the whole database in the first place and use up alomost 8MB of space on every user's system. Programs that catalog CDs query an on-line database and only pull the info for that CD. Why doesn't DVD Profiler do that?

Because DVD Profiler won't deal with an extremely busy internet connection, and because it wants to eat up disc space when it really shouldn't, it appears not to be the program for me.

I will say, that it looks damn good in what it can do, if only the interface was as good as the rest of what it can do. I'll just never know because it refuses to work for me.
:frowning:

 

[Alex-A]

The online Profile List that is downloaded the first time does NOT contain all the profiles themselves. They are actually stored online, what you download is merely a list of the over 213,000 DVDs contained in the database, and basic info for them such as title, UPC code, release dates, region codings etc. Its a miracle the database file is only 8Mb, as having to download every single one of said profiles would surely kill your computer before it knew what happened. All I'm saying is give the software a chance to do what its supposed to do before deciding that it is poorly designed. DVD Profiler's site makes no mention of a Linux-compatible version so perhaps that's the problem you have?

 

[MikeBr]

Before going any further, how does one do an automatic reply with a quote of a particular posting, without having to manually cut-n-paste?

Why bother with such a list in the first place? You pop in the DVD, the software takes a looks at it, goes on line and pulls down the info, if there is any info. Or you enter the UPC code and it goes online and fetches the info.

Linux has nothing to do with it. It is the main server of my website and internal network firewall. The PeeCee with Windblows is still loaded with the program.

I've just come from the company's forum and have discovered that they either broke the latest build or their server. It is beginning to look like the server. Right at 5 minutes, the software bails, or the server cuts off the connection. No one, and I mean no one, can download the complete profile set, unless it can be done in under 5 minutes.

What is worse is that the problem has been reported about a week ago and they have still not responded. What kind of support is that?

Another person has made the profile DOD file available on their server and I've downloaded it. We shall see if I can get it to work.

 

[Alex-A]

Many people cannot simply pop their DVD in if they don't have a DVD-ROM drive. Assuming everybody goes for a DVD drive is wrong IMO, as not everybody plans on using their PC for movies.

As for why bothering with the list, it is my understanding that the majority of users prefer having a local list to aid in adding entries to their local database. I am one of these people, as if I happen to not be connected to the internet for whatever reason, I can't add anything period if there is no local list. With it I can add stuff to the pending downloads list which will update when a connection is available.

 

[Paul Padilla]

DVD Rom's aren't just for movies, but you're right Alex...best not to assume.

Having the local list works out well for me because I'll typically update from work as well as home. I'm a network administrator and I don't spend tremendous amounts of time on my computer at home...I get my fill all day long and I'm not likely to bring my DVDs in to work so the list is extremely convenient. I'll also add titles to my wishlist regularly...

ChrisBEA...True, DVD Profiler isn't technically an "online" program, but online access is a major component. Not only to share your collection, but to research movies, prices, and it also acts as a backup. You can install the Ap on any machine using the activation code, choose "download from my profiler" and have an exact copy to manipulate and update at your convenience.

 

[Devin_C]

There's Another Thread over in the movies section too...

 

[MikeBr]

The problem I was having with DVDProfiler was happening to a lot of people. After almost two weeks of complaining, the problem was found. There was a config problem with the MicroCrap server they are using. An obscure value that Gates and his minions thought should be one thing, when actually a different value was really required. A security patch upgrade changed it (if I remember that part correctly).

Once they reset it back to where they had it, it worked again.