News & updates tagged 'movie collector'
Webcam barcode scanning
Use your webcam as a barcode scanner, to add or find movies by barcode.
- Scan barcodes with your webcam
Just use the live camera view to point your webcam at a barcode
and let our software detect the barcode that is in view. - Use the webcam scanner to add movies by barcode
Pop-up the scan window and scan DVDs or Blu-rays,
either using Direct Search or scanning into the Queue. - Or use it in the main screen to find movies by barcode
Scan a DVD or Blu-ray while in the main screen,
to quickly search your local database by barcode. - Works best with auto-focus or manual-focus webcams
Fixed focus cameras will not work well (or at all).
Hi all!
It’s a short month, so here I (Alwin) am already, with the Feb ’14 edition of the CLZ Newsletter. Today’s newsletter will focus on one of our customers, Michael Thomasson, who has attained the official Guiness World Record for “Largest Video Game Collection”!
But first, let me give you a super-compact overview of what the CLZ Team is working on at the moment:
- Robbert and Ronald: Updates for all Windows editions, with a new Cobalt Compact template for Add Auto, plus other program-specific new features.
Their Movie Collector update is already live, more info below. - Pim and AJ: CLZ Movies 2.0 for Android. Add Movies screen is finished (inc barcode scanning!), working on Edit screen and two-way CLZ Cloud syncing now.
- Patrick: Big update of Book Collector for Mac, with automatic e-book cataloging features and the new Cobalt Compact templates for Add Auto.
- Robbert and Dion: a complete redesign of Connect, with a more modern look that automatically adapts to desktop, tablet and phone screens.
- Rowdy and Martin: Quality checking all movie and edition cover images in our online movie database, replacing all small and low-quality images with better ones.
- Chris: A complete rewrite of all manuals of our Windows and Mac editions, using our own online manual software Manula.
Okay, on to the biggest video game collection… in the world…
Our longtime competitor FNProgramvare (the maker of CATVids) has ceased operations. We received loads of requests from current CATVids users, seeking an alternative, for an import feature.
We have created and released a dedicated import routine for CATVids users, wanting to switch to Movie Collector. This import feature is available in version Cobalt.3 build 1 and up, released January 9.
Great Canadian Reviews, the source for independent evaluations of computer products, reviewed Movie Collector.
The conclusion: “Movie Collector’s ease of use, multiple application functions and faultless operation has earned it Great Canadian Reviews Highest Award, The Gold Leaf Award for Excellence.”
WOW! Thanks for the honor.
You can read the entire article here.
A very nice review of Book and Movie Collector on Sunilification. Here is a quote from it:
“Friends and readers would be aware of my woes of cataloguing books, DVDs and Blu Rays. I don’t own too many, roughly about 1200 books and 500 DVDs, but managing them can be a nightmare. Especially when items are regularly borrowed and returned. It took me a while to remember who hadn’t returned my copy of White Teeth or the original Festen.
For a long time now, I have been seeking a software to catalogue them or a barcode scanner that can scan and update the status of items when they are added or borrowed ( a la a public library). So far, I didn’t find anything that was complete or met all of my needs.
Last month, a friend suggested Collectorz. A visit on to their website and checking out the features of their products convinced me that they had what I was looking for. I have been using it over last couple of months and it runs like a dream. I think for people like me, who collect and manage books, I can’t recommend it enough.”
Read the complete review here.
We have just released version 9 for Movie Collector Mac OS X.
Version 9 gives you automatic images and IMDb links for actors & directors, Core for Movies support, improved Update Auto feature, custom item images plus a full cosmetic overhaul: Virtual Shelves, new templates, new icons, etc…
A small, but recommended, maintenance update of Movie Collector 9 for Windows has just been released.
Fixed:
- Update Automatically: sometimes actor image links would disappear
- Main Screen: sorting on IMDB rating was very slow
- Quick Search: cast and crew names weren’t always searched correctly depending on the “Show Names as Last Name, First Name” option
- Edit Lists: ID column was never showing values
- Templates: movie poster or backdrop weren’t showing when movie had no links.
To update, just use Help > Check for Updates in your current version of Movie Collector.
Mac users, good news!
A new major version of Movie Collector for Mac, version NINE, is coming soon!
Yesterday we have revealed the first v9 feature to the members of our MOVIE9MAC Preview Club.
It is up on our Preview Page now, with screenshots.
This is your last chance to become a member of this MOVIE9MAC Preview club.
Just click this link, then use the form to join.
Version NINE of Movie Collector for Mac OS X is coming soon.
We’re currently aiming for early April 2013.
What will be new, you ask?
Well, if you have been following the news about the Windows counterpart, you already have a good idea of what to expect of this Mac edition. If not, here’s a sneak preview screen shot with some hints:
Yesterday’s release of Music Collector 10.2.2 completed an update sequence for our 4 Mac OS X titles. Small issues were fixed and some new features added.
These new updates come highly recommended to all our existing Mac users.
Make sure to install the updates!
Use menu [name of app] Collector>Check for Updates to update to:
- Book Collector 8.2.1, released January 24
- Comic Collector 5.3.4, released February 5
- Movie Collector 8.3.2, released February 6
- Music Collector 10.2.2, released February 14
Our Mac programmer does not stop here of course. He is steadily working on a major upgrade for Movie Collector, version 9!
Keep an eye out for news about this upcoming major upgrade.
We have just released a major upgrade for Movie Collector for Windows, version NINE.
Version 9 will give you automatic images and IMDb links for actors & directors, full Unicode support, an improved main screen, Core for Movies support, plus a full cosmetic overhaul: Virtual Shelves, new icons, new templates, etc…
Read more
A few weeks ago we launched the first part of Core for Movies, Reporting Missing Movies. Today, it is time for part 2:
Report Missing Barcodes
The Report Missing Barcode section of Core lets you add missing barcodes to our movie database, by selecting the movie the barcode belongs to.
How to Report Missing Barcodes?
First, go to the Core for Movies – Missing Barcodes page, and login to your Connect account.
Then, simply follow this three-step process: Read more
The book and music editions have been live for a while, so now it’s time to do Core for Movies.
Core for Movies is a new system that lets Movie Collector users help each other by improving the quality and completeness of our central online movie database.
And unlike the book and music editions, Core for Movies does not require you to submit the movie data to us. Instead, you only need to report which movies or barcodes are missing or which movies contain data errors. Our content guys Martin and Rowdy will do the work for you 🙂
Today, the first part of Core of Movies was launched: Report missing movies. Read more
As you are probably aware, a new major version of
Movie Collector for Windows, version NINE, is coming soon!
Next week, we will start revealing the full feature list, including many
sneak preview screen shots, but *only* to members of our V9 Preview Club.
So this is your last chance to become a member of this V9 Preview club.
Read more
This is the October 2012 edition of the Collectorz.com newsletter,
brought to you, as always, by the CLZ head honcho himself, Alwin Hoogerdijk.
You may have guessed from the subject: most of this newsletter is about
two most popular products: Movie Collector and it’s companion app CLZ Movies.
Because that is what all of us have been working on this October:
- Coming soon: Movie Collector 9 for Windows
- Submitted to Apple: CLZ Movies 2.0 for iOS
The other topics today:
- * Windows 8 compatible!
- * A small favor?
Now with tiles, touch interface and much more, Windows 8 is a fully re-imagined operating system. So did you upgrade already? Because we sure did!
As a careful user, you might be wondering if your Collectorz.com software works on it? And we’re happy to announce that you have nothing to worry about.
We can confirm that these Collectorz.com programs are working on Windows 8:
- Movie Collector 8
- Book Collector 8
- Music Collector 10
- Comic Collector 5
- Game Collector 5
We have been working on this in secret for over 2 months now,
so I am happy I can finally bring you the big news:
Movie Collector 9 for Windows is coming soon! ( ETA: December 2012 )
- Martin, Rowdy and Sven have been working on our central online movie database,
to prepare it for 2 very cool V9 features, Sven creating new in-house admin tools,
Martin and Rowdy using the tools to add new V9 specific "content". - Robbert has implemented several improvements to the barcode search engine,
plus a new way to report missing movies, missing barcodes,
broken trailer links and other errors (“Core for Movies”). - Last but not least, Ronald is programming the new features and improvements for the Movie Collector 9 program itself. Some hints:
- The automatic downloading of the new V9 content mentioned above …
- An interface re-design that will make everyone’s life easier …
- A database improvement that many users have been requesting for years …
- Several very nice cosmetic updates to the main screen …
- The integration of Core for Movies …
Mika Malja from MoviesGamesGadgets.com reviewed Movie Collector for his own DVD collection.
“Some people may wonder why anybody should use a cataloging software because of course everybody knows the names and everything else of their 5 – 10 or in some cases even 20 movies that they own. And if that’s the amount of movies that you own then you definitely don’t need any cataloging software whatsoever.
But sometimes like in my case I have about 1000 movies it’s not that easy anymore to remember all the titles that you own. So when I’m shopping for more I can’t always be 100% sure if I got that bargain bin treasure find already or not. I believe also that this is the most common reason why people do catalogs of their collection. It also saves you money because you don’t accidentally buy any doubles.”
Read his complete review on MoviesGamesGadgets.com.
The Collectorz.com cataloging software retrieves the details per title from our own databases for movies, music, books, comics and games. New releases instantly hit our top 10, even in pre-release phase or before the movie is released on DVD or Blu-ray.
The database statistics are live and up to date, which gives excellent info on the movies you like, have seen, are on your wish list or just bought on DVD.
This weeks’ top 5 movies from our movie database, according to you:
1. Man on a Ledge
2. Safe House
3. Mission: Impossible: Ghost Protocol
4. Underworld: Awakening
5. Iron Sky
Quote from the article in the Columbia Daily Tribune:
“Hobbyist databases don’t get much better than the Collector Series from Collectorz.com. The brainchild of Alwin Hoogerdijk, this Amsterdam-based publisher has been fine-tuning and expanding his line of specialty PIMs for the past 12 years.”
Local computer consultant Scott A. May reviewed Movie Collector for his own movie collection and liked very much what he saw.
“Managing data doesn’t have to be a dreary chore. In fact, it can be a lot of fun, especially if the information you need to organize pertains to something you find fun.”
You can read the complete story here.
As you know, Movie Collector 8 for Mac is live and has already received a
number of maintenance builds to fix bugs and tweak the user interface.
Movie Collector 8 for Mac screen shots.
Also, we released a nice update of Comic Collector for Mac (v5.2), introducing
the Backdrops feature, the new toolbar and the Field Defaults screen:
Comic Collector 5 for Mac screen shots
So what’s up next? Read more
It’s finally here, Movie Collector 8 for Mac OS X!
For Movie Collector 8, we focused on:
** More and better automatic data for movies:
IMDb ratings, movie trailers, movie posters, movie backdrops and more plot summaries (in English, Dutch, French, German and Spanish).
** More and better automatic data for more TV Series and their episodes:
Full episode lists with: titles, air dates, plots, runtimes, writers, directors, guest cast and screen grab images.
( and yes, you *can* use Update Movies Automatically to auto-download the extra data to your existing database entries! )
But that’s not all.
Here is a progress update on our Mac development.
Currently, our focus (and therefore this news update) is on Movie Collector 8 for Mac, which is planned to be released on December 27.
As soon as Movie Collector 8 is live, we’ll start on Book Collector 8 for Mac, which we hope to release before the end of Q1 2012. Next up after that is of course Music Collector, planned for launch late Q2 2012.
Anyway, back to Movie Collector.
It’s finally happening, a new major version of Movie Collector for Mac OS X!
And it’s *very* close now: We’re currently aiming for December 27.
Completely rewritten *from scratch*, with a faster database system
a more Mac-like user interface and of course, many new features.
What’s New in V8 for Mac?
- More and better automatic data for MOVIES :
IMDb ratings, movie trailers, movie posters, movie backdrops and
more plot summaries (in english, dutch, french, german and spanish). - More and better automatic data for TV SERIES and their episodes :
Full episode lists with: titles, air dates, plots, runtimes,
writers, directors, guest cast and screen grab images.
Way back when in 1996 Alwin Hoogerdijk, founder of Collectorz.com and my hubby, was sitting on a stack of CDs that were driving him insane. He finally got fed up with trying to remember what he had and where it was. So, he locked himself in a room and started writing a program that would keep track of everything for him.
You see, Alwin is a music lover by nature and a computer programmer by profession.
Late August, I told you about our plans for the Mac editions.
In the past 2 months, a lot has happened so it’s time for an update on our Mac OS X development. And I can even show you the first screen shots of the upcoming Movie Collector 8 for Mac OS X!
We’ve got 4 developers on this 4-product-project now. Two full-time programmers: Ronald (who is leading the project) and Patrick (our new Mac programmer, started on October 1st). Plus two parttimers: Bernard (working as a hired freelancer for 2 days a week) and Dinh (still working 2 days a week until the end of December). Read more