DVDealer

I just noticed a message to that effect at the top of my dvdtracker.com screen this morning. I was half expecting this, as things like the catalog of new titles hadn't been updated for many months now, and other services of theirs have been shut down earlier and owner doesn't respond much to email now.

I know there's a lot that are mentioned like DVDProfile, etc. but I want to find something that will meet the following criteria, as I have a pretty sizable collection stored in dvdtracker now (in the thousands of DVDs).

1) Will take a data transfer pretty easily from a .csv file saved from dvdtracker and not lose data (have ability to perhaps customize and add fields to accomodate all of the data I have stored.
2) Minimize the effort of importing this data into the new system. I don't have a lot of time to do much hand altering/updating of stuff once I put it in the newer system.
3) Hopefully have at least a superset of the features that DVD Tracker offers now (list browsing, loaned out lists, keeping track of pre-ordered vs. owned, etc.

Any comments would be most welcome. Thanks!

acubfaninmd

i use dvdspot it seems to work good. dont know if it transfers using csv. it has lent out, wish list, tabs. this is a demo of there product go to that site and check it out
www.dvdspot.com/member=demo

some features that dont show up in demo a tab for ordered.

sracer

Forget about DVDProfiler... it still doesn't have an "import" feature.

Ant Movie Catalog is what I use... and has a flexible and easy-to-use import feature. But it doesn't have an "online" component. AMC provides templates and scripts to generate web pages, then you can upload to your web host. (assuming you have one). If you need online access, dvdspot looks real nice.

RobCA

Another vote for DVDSpot. I've been using it since last July, and I love it. In the past, I've used DVDProfiler, DVDTracker and DVDAficionado, but I never liked any of them as much as I like DVDSpot. I love how you can set up filters for your collection, and the fact that you can keep track of DVDs you've watched. You can import your collection from a .txt or .csv file.

Hope that helps!

Rob

onebyone

Just how easy to use is that? It looks really good. Do you store it on your computer like dvdprofiler???

gotrice487

DVDSpot has always been a favorite of mine, I suggest you try it out and see how you like it

The Man with the Golden Doujinshi

This is the reason why i use a software one, collectorz.com, instead of a web based one.

If I want my stuff on the web, I can generate a site with the software

Patman

I'm bummed that the Exporting feature on DVDTracker doesn't work for me anymore. I have an old export, but it's about a year out of date.

laserdogg

I couldn't export a large collection to a .csv file either, but I started reducing the number of fields to output and got it down to a level that allowed an export to occur. I then selectivley collected the data until I had it all, then merged it into one massive file.

Quite a pain but I was able to save everything.

Good luck!

Wildo1966

DVDspot, the absolute best!

Mr. Cinema

Best software out there.

acubfaninmd

just wondering why would i want to pay $39.99 for collectorz software when DVDspot does it for free? what are the pros of paying for something that can be done for free

TomOpus

PC-based systems, such as DVD Profiler (which has a free version), you always have access to your collection w/o the internet...as opposed to a web-based system such as DVDAf and DVDspot.

LorenzoL

I have solely used DVDAf but after checking this thread and the suggestion for DVDSpot, I have to say that I'm very impressed with DVDSpot.

Steve

uh, not sure what version of DVDProfiler you have, but my version has lots of filters, and lets me see who has watched the movie or who I have loaned out the movie too (and hasn't returned it out).

RobCA

I never said it didn't, I was merely stating a couple of the things I like most about DVDSpot. I haven't used DVDProfiler for several years, but for what it's worth, back when I was using it, I don't think it had those features yet.


edited to add:
Those features had nothing to do with why I stopped using Profiler. As I said, it's been a long time, but I think it was because I got tired of all the errors in their database, and the fact that I had to keep uploading my collection over and over whenever I made a change, addition, deletion, etc.

Rob

dcprules

I've been using DVD Profiler for at least three years and have been very impressed with it. Really easy to use, too.

matome

Seconded for Movie Collector (collectorz.com). I can't do without it now and I love the customization you can do with the templates. As far as online databases go, DVDSpot is excellent with a kick-ass import system, though I believe they just got bought by CNet, so let's see what happens there. Things like that and guzzlefish, is why I would never kill myself importing tons of titles to online only databases. DVDaficionado works well too, though it's a little simple.

Pizza

I also have Movie Collector from collectorz.com and I like it very much. My only complaint is I can't find a way to add other websites not found in its search database.

matome

Besides not having to rely on an internet connection and the whim of the webmaster, customization is the biggest factor here. You can download multiple templates from the website which you can use straight or tweak if you know a little XML. You can even build your own templates and scripts from scratch to download just the info you want from many sites, not just user submitted, which is erroneous lots of times. For instance below is a screencap of my Movie Collector. I used their Aqua template, tweaked the fields and their locations to my liking, added my own icons and images and changed what exact info I wanted pulled down from IMDB, DVDEmpire, Amazon etc. That's something that online databases can't provide. And you can also have the program export your database to HTML so you can upload it to your own website for online usage.

click pic for larger image

acubfaninmd

thank you for the info. can i import my dvdspot file into collectorz or would i need to reenter all of my dvds. not a whole lot only 234 but would take time if i would use collectorz. also does it work on apple computers or would i need to use a different program.

matome

I'm using a PC, but they do have a version for Mac OS X and you can download a fully functional free version from the site that is limited to 50 titles.

You can export from DVDSpot and import the title list into Movie Collectorz. I tried it out and it required a little tweaking on the export file, but it seemed to work decent enough. I lacked a good export source back then and I manually entered all my 2200+ titles and then let the program pull down the info (it's not as bad as it sounds).

Try this (remember I'm using a PC, but I'm assuming this procedure should be the same for a Mac):

1) In DVDSpot go to your MySpot page and then click the Manage Membership button, then the Export to File button to download a zipped CSV file to your computer.

2) Hopefully, you have MS Excel or some program that can open CSV files. Unzip the downloaded file and save it somewhere.

3) I used Excel to open the CSV in a spread sheet. Delete all the columns except for title and UPC ones. Rename those column headers to Title and UPC (Barcode) and switch the columns so that Title is the first column and then save it.

4) Open Movie Collector and go to File>Import From>Text. Change the Delimiter section to Comma and then browse to your CSV file and open it. This should import your titles into Collectorz.

5) Now you need to pull the info for your titles down from the various websites. Hilight a group of about 20-30 titles a shot then go to Edit>Update movie(s) automatically. There's a problem here that Collector doesn't like the date that DVDSpot added next to the title. Unless you are an Excel guru that can eliminate the last 6 characters in the Title field back in the CSV stage, you're gonna have to delete out the year and parenthesis in each title at the box at the top and then hit the Update In Queue button. If you don't do this the title will only be found by IMDB.

6) When that's done hit the Search button and it will do it's thing. When it's finished verify the choices are correct for each title in the bottom left window. When that's done hit the Update button in the top right and it will download all the info from IMDB and collectorz or whatever sites you checked in the top right.

7) that should bring you back to the main screen and hopefully, you'll have most of your disc/movie info filled and you just go back and enter your personal info.

davidwu

Does anybody if it supports HD/BR now?

The Man with the Golden Doujinshi

Not sure what you mean, but if I try to add Monster House on BR, it finds it when it searches amazon.

If you mean by format(dvd, vhs) in the database itself, you can add any format you want. I have the latest version, so I would have to add that myself. It's just a matter of typing it once so it shows up in the drop down list for formats.

Living Dead

I was taking a look at DVD Spot and have a question... are there no folder options with that program? I like a lot of the features of spot, but currently I use DVDAF and have my stuff divided into folders (favorite directors, box sets, etc.), and don't see that option on Spot. Am I overlooking it?