However, the software should be smart enough to create six separate movie entries for something like ‘Star Wars: The Complete Saga’, or at least give the user the option to create those entries if desired. This allows the software to create entries for each specific movie in the box set. Listing your box sets is supposed to allow you to enter each film individually and then group them together. Even the online manual fails to explain how to use it. However, the “Box Set List” setting is incredibly confusing. Movie Collector lets you make all sorts of lists, by any type of sorting criteria you can think of. To be fair, many of the other cataloging programs I’ve tried have these same kinds of bugs. Why it does this, I have no idea, but it’s pretty frustrating. For example, the “Edition” column is only haphazardly populated with descriptions like “Blu-ray” (or sometimes “Blue Ray”!), “Special Edition” or “BD-Live” on some discs, and nothing at all in others. ![]() The database doesn’t provide all information for every movie you enter. Honestly, once you upload an image, the system should automatically copy that picture to its own files so it always has it on hand, rather than trying to pull the image from wherever it’s stored on your computer. I think this has to do with the subfolder in Windows where you save the photos, but even the manual on the website is confusing at times. The database is usually good about finding cover art, but a few covers that I added by myself simply no longer existed the moment that I went back into the program. Sometimes, images that I found online would disappear once I reopened the program. The software also has a bug involving cover art. This didn’t happen on every disc, but it happened frequently enough to irritate me. I had to physically go into “Edit Movie” mode and change the format from DVD to Blu-ray. What I found annoying is that even though all the discs I entered were Blu-ray copies, numerous UPCs were listed as DVD in the database by default. You can’t just use any old free app, at least as far as I know.Įntering in movies by UPC is tedious, but not too bad. Annoyingly, if you want to use a mobile app barcode scanner, you have to purchase the Collectorsz special barcode app. sells its own barcode scanners too, but they’re pricy. You need the Pro version to do batches of movies. In the Standard set-up that I have, you can only do one title at a time. ![]() This is where I ran into some bugs that incessantly nagged at me. Not only that, but it will sort by just about any criteria, including theatrical release date, Blu-ray release date, distributor, studio, personal star ratings and so on. I choose to go the minimalist route and simply have the main information displayed (run time, director, actors, etc.) with no backdrops.Īnother nice thing about the software, which other cataloging software packages may also do, is that it can organize your collection by genre. I think that this view is a little too cluttered for my tastes, but some may like the individual backdrops. However, the picture below this shows a different mode that uses a backdrop image from the movie (also editable) and provides much more information including trailers and such. I have it set on the minimalist mode, as you can see in the picture above. If the database doesn’t have an image already, you can easily look it up online, save it, and then upload it into your collection using the “Browse” function in the “Covers” tab, when you’re in “Edit Movie” mode.īelow the side-scrolling view of your collection is a window that allows you to see all relevant information about the disc or set you’ve selected. Movie Collector is also good at finding cover art for you. The viewer at the top allows you to see your whole collection in a side-scrolling fashion. I think my favorite interface is the one on Delicious Library, but I’m not a Mac user, so I couldn’t get that one. I’m a sucker for cool animations that display one’s collection easily. What drew me to Movie Collector was its streamlined interface. I thought I’d provide a quick review of what Movie Collector does well, and the places it sorely needs improvement. ![]() I actually paid for it out of my own pocket. ![]() Disclaimer: This software was not provided free for this review. For a one-time fee, you can unlock the Standard or Pro versions of Movie Collector with a key code that will be emailed to you. Many of the free programs seemed sorely outdated, or had way too many bugs for me to deal with. I’ve tried all sorts of cataloging software for my movie collection in the past, but I’d never found one that fit my needs. After weighing the options, I decided to go with Movie Collector from. My movie collection had gotten far too large for me to remember everything I owned, and I’d already lost at least one title when I let someone borrow it and couldn’t remember whom I lent it to.
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