# Software for Cataloging Movie Collection



## Drew2k (Aug 16, 2006)

Mods: I wasn't sure where to post this, here or in the Tech forum, or elsewhere, so please move as appropriate. Thansk.

I want to move past my Excel spreadsheet and I'm trying to find some software to catalog my movie collection. Ideally I want something that is easy to input all my titles to, and that also can be taken with me in a portable format for use on my Windows Mobile phone. Does anyone have a recommendation?

I've found MediaMan, which looks nice and is fairly inexpensive, and even lets you use a webcam to scan barcodes, but I don't see an option for Mobile phones. (If I can export to Excel that would be moot.)

I also found VideoList Plus (from WakefieldSoft), built for mobile phones, but it hasn't been updated since 2007 and the PC version is a little lacking.

I also found MovieCollector (from Collectorz.com) but it's a bit more money and only seems to have iPhone portability.

Anyone have some good suggestions? How do you catalog your movie collection?


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## Stewart Vernon (Jan 7, 2005)

I have used Movie Collector, but not the others. You're correct they only have an app for the iPhone... but they also have a pay-per-month feature where you can share your collection online and then anyone can access from a Web browser.


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## Drew2k (Aug 16, 2006)

Does Movie Collector let you export to Excel, for example? That could work for me to keep a listing on my WinMobile phone, at least ...


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## Stewart Vernon (Jan 7, 2005)

Drew2k said:


> Does Movie Collector let you export to Excel, for example? That could work for me to keep a listing on my WinMobile phone, at least ...


I don't think it will do Excel directly... but the Pro (paid) version lets you export to both HTML and XML... and I think Excel will import those. Worst case, is if you could just use the HTML export as-is and see if that is a clean enough presentation.


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## rudeney (May 28, 2007)

I've used "DVD Profiler" for many years. They have an ad-supported free version and a paid version. They so offer a Windows Mobile verision, too. Look here:

http://invelos.com/


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## DCSholtis (Aug 7, 2002)

DVDpedia though I believe its a Mac only application.


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## spartanstew (Nov 16, 2005)

I've been using DVDProfiler for about 7 years and really like it. I've never used their mobile app, so I can't speak to that. I paid for my version about 4 years ago ($35?) and it's been great ever since. There's a lot of things you can do with it and their forum has a lot of guys that program new reports/skins/etc. I don't use those very much, but if someone wanted to, they could customize it a lot of different ways.


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## barryb (Aug 27, 2007)

I too have been using DVDProfiler over the eons, and have always liked it.

http://www.invelos.com/

I don't see any way to import from Excel Drew, but you can input via the bar code on the DVD case.


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## Drew2k (Aug 16, 2006)

Thanks! DVDProfiler looks promising ... $30 + $19 gets me a desktop and mobile solution with an integrated/synchronized collection. 

For you guys that have had it for a while, have you had any problems reinstalling it based on OS upgrades, for example, XP to Vista? I'd like to start inputting my collection on Vista, but in October I'll be upgrading to Win7 and want to make sure reinstallation won't be an issue with a license key ...


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## Nick (Apr 23, 2002)

+1 for DVDProfiler - comprehensive, versatile, and reports/stats are highly configurable. Upon input, it draws heavily on a continuously-updated database to flesh out movie/DVD data.


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## barryb (Aug 27, 2007)

Drew2k said:


> Thanks! DVDProfiler looks promising ... $30 + $19 gets me a desktop and mobile solution with an integrated/synchronized collection.
> 
> For you guys that have had it for a while, have you had any problems reinstalling it based on OS upgrades, for example, XP to Vista? I'd like to start inputting my collection on Vista, but in October I'll be upgrading to Win7 and want to make sure reinstallation won't be an issue with a license key ...


XP to VISTA to VISTA ULTIMATE to WIN7 ULTIMATE, and zero problems.


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

rudeney said:


> I've used "DVD Profiler" for many years. They have an ad-supported free version and a paid version. They so offer a Windows Mobile verision, too. Look here:
> 
> http://invelos.com/


Same here...it is a great piece of software that has been supported and used for years now.


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## rudeney (May 28, 2007)

Drew2k said:


> Thanks! DVDProfiler looks promising ... $30 + $19 gets me a desktop and mobile solution with an integrated/synchronized collection.
> 
> For you guys that have had it for a while, have you had any problems reinstalling it based on OS upgrades, for example, XP to Vista? I'd like to start inputting my collection on Vista, but in October I'll be upgrading to Win7 and want to make sure reinstallation won't be an issue with a license key ...


Nope, none at all. You install it and then plug in your unique license ID. I've used it for years and moved through XP, Vista, Windows 7, and even Server 2003 and 2008 with no issues.


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

rudeney said:


> Nope, none at all. You install it and then plug in your unique license ID. I've used it for years and moved through XP, Vista, Windows 7, and even Server 2003 and 2008 with no issues.


Here too....once you get your license key...you're all set.

I especially like the various reports / lists that you can run.


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## rudeney (May 28, 2007)

Another great feature is the ability to upload your collection online to Invelos. This does two things. First, it saves your collection so you don't have to worry about backups on your own PC (you can always reverse-sync from your online account). Second, it allows you to share your collection with others via a URL, like this:

http://www.invelos.com/dvdcollection.aspx/CHEESEBEAR


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## spartanstew (Nov 16, 2005)

Drew2k said:


> For you guys that have had it for a while, have you had any problems reinstalling it based on OS upgrades, for example, XP to Vista? I'd like to start inputting my collection on Vista, but in October I'll be upgrading to Win7 and want to make sure reinstallation won't be an issue with a license key ...


No reinstall issues. In fact, a couple of months ago I installed it on my laptop and didn't even need to transfer it from my desktop. I just downloaded it on my laptop, entered my key and then transferred all the data from my personal profiler website to the laptop. A snap.

You basically have two distinct versions all the time. The version on your computer and the version on your profiler web site. Every time I make a change (add a DVD) to the desktop, I just upload the changes to the web version so it's always correct online. If my computer crashes or I lose the info, I've still got the website info to grab it from.

HERE'S my web page if you want to see what it looks like.

If you notice (look at the movie "300", for example) you can see how I customized my list to distinguish Blu Rays from regular DVD's. If you reorder the collection so that it's by number (click on Coll #), you'll see that all my most recent aquisitions are all Blu Ray.


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

spartanstew said:


> If you notice (look at the movie "300", for example) you can see how I customized my list to distinguish Blu Rays from regular DVD's. If you reorder the collection so that it's by number (click on Coll #), you'll see that all my most recent aquisitions are all Blu Ray.


You can actually sort your list within DVDProfiler by media type....I have my Blu Rays, followed by HD DVDs, followed by SD disks.

However you do that sort can get uploaded as a viewable list for others (see the sample links above).


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## spartanstew (Nov 16, 2005)

hdtvfan0001 said:


> You can actually sort your list within DVDProfiler by media type....I have my Blu Rays, followed by HD DVDs, followed by SD disks.
> 
> However you do that sort can get uploaded as a viewable list for others (see the sample links above).


Yes, I do that too when I'm just interested in looking at a certain type, but I like being able to distinguish them visually in any sorting order, since I usually have it on alphabetical (since that's the easiest when I'm checking to see if I already own something).

PS. What sample links are you referring to?


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## Drew2k (Aug 16, 2006)

Thanks for the information guys. I downloaded DVDProfiler and input one shelf so far - 47 titles, a mixture of BD, HD-DVD, and DVD and multiple genres. I figured out how to make my own tag to track the "Sealed" media, as I have quite a few still shrink-wrapped. I haven't decided yet if I want to go through Quicken and try to pull out Purchase Date and Prices for what I'd captured as I shopped, but I know it's not everything in my collection.

I noticed the cover art wasn't the best quality, then noticed that registered users get higher quality. I also played around with the views and like it with medium thumbnails, five across, but I wish it had more of a layout like Media Center or Netflix. Perhaps that's there already and I just need to play with themes or layouts or something...

All in all, I think this will serve me well. I'll continue to add titles, play with some reports, and then create an online account and upload there. It's too bad the web view can't be updated to show more columns, such as media-type - it seems a bit of a kluge to have to add BD or HD to a title, but it does the trick. 

Thanks for the help guys - if you have any more tips or tricks, please point 'em out!


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## rudeney (May 28, 2007)

spartanstew said:


> HERE'S my web page if you want to see what it looks like.


Nice collection, Stew. I see you are a fellow Disney and Muppets fan.


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## tzphotos.com (Jul 12, 2006)

Does anyone remember using DVD Profiler with the Radio Shack CueCat? I think that was the reason I started using DVDProfiler.


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## spartanstew (Nov 16, 2005)

rudeney said:


> Nice collection, Stew. I see you are a fellow Disney and Muppets fan.


Yes, but the boys are 4 and 6, so I won't be a fan too much longer.

You should have seen my collection 1 month ago before my wife moved out. Check out my wishlist. Those are the majority of the movies she took.


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## rudeney (May 28, 2007)

tzphotos.com said:


> Does anyone remember using DVD Profiler with the Radio Shack CueCat? I think that was the reason I started using DVDProfiler.


I never tried the Cue Cat, but a friend of mine did because and he had a large collection to add. You can still buy them for < $10 and I suppose they still work with DVD Profiler.


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

Drew2k said:


> I noticed the cover art wasn't the best quality, then noticed that registered users get higher quality. I also played around with the views and like it with medium thumbnails, five across, but I wish it had more of a layout like Media Center or Netflix.


The cover art is updated if you select Online>Refresh Updated Profiles....


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## Drew2k (Aug 16, 2006)

hdtvfan0001 said:


> The cover art is updated if you select Online>Refresh Updated Profiles....


It was updated automatically after I registered.


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

Drew2k said:


> It was updated automatically after I registered.


Yup...that will do it too.

Most of the cover art is pretty good....sometimes certain titles take a while to get updated - the updates mostly come from fellow users.


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