DVD Collectors Online

General => Softwares => Topic started by: Touti on December 29, 2009, 11:30:57 PM

Title: MyMovies
Post by: Touti on December 29, 2009, 11:30:57 PM
I've been using MyMovies (http://www.mymovies.dk) for a few days now and I really like it.  It integrates well with my computer/network setup at home since I already had a Windows Home Server and a HTPC running Windows 7 Ultimate and Media Center.

I plan on writing a full review of the 3 programs that they have (for Windows Media Center, Windows Home Server and the Collection Manamenent) in a few weeks when I feel I've learned enough to be able to talk about it in depth.  However at this point I can say that I'm gonna keep using it and I'm planning on adding storage to my Windows Home Server to rip some (most ?) of my collection and keep it on drives.  

I moved my HD-DVD player to the WHS and ripped all but 3 of my newly acquired "Red" movies.  That obviously freed the drive bay in my HTPC so I'm now planning on selling my Blu player to replace it with one in the computer.   All my movie watching would be done from Windows Media Center, that's what I've been doing for 5 days now with quite a few HD movies and it works to my satisfaction.  The only problem I had is that I couldn't playback a Red movie in the living (from the server's drive) while the server was ripping another one but the MM and WMC aren't to blame for that, my server isn't really a server, it's a cube that I was given and I'm really pushing it to the edge (more on this in a future post).

So why am I talking about it if i"m not ready to write a full review ?  Because as collectors we're all interested in those things and I though maybe some of you would like to know that it's being tested by one of us and that questions may be asked and discussions may take place.

Another reason is that I wanted to put a link to my MM Online Collection which, IMO looks way way way better than DVDP's online collection.

http://c.mymovies.dk/EricGagne


P.S: Just a note to our canadian members.  If you were thinking of jumping to blu-ray with a low priced player send me a PM, I'm sure I would have a good deal for you.
Title: Re: MyMovies
Post by: MEJHarrison on December 30, 2009, 12:44:48 AM
I'm very much looking forward to hearing more about this Eric.  My wife recently asked me how cool it would be to have our movies stored on a computer that could magically just stream them to the TV like Netflix does. :hysterical:

When I told her that wasn't a fantasy, she got very excited.  I'm not sure why, but sometimes when the train is leaving the station you just have to jump on and enjoy the ride! :laugh:

Anyway, we probably won't take any serious steps until the summer at the very least, but it never hurts to soak up information ahead of time.
Title: Re: MyMovies
Post by: Achim on December 30, 2009, 03:27:16 AM
I couldn't find the Mac version...

(click to show/hide)
Title: Re: MyMovies
Post by: Touti on December 30, 2009, 05:48:21 PM
Achim,

MyMovies relies on Microsoft SQL 2005 Express which is automatically installed with the programs.  Because of that, I doubt that they will ever release a Mac version which would force them to rewrite completely for a different type of database and then maintain two completely different sets of programs that do the same thing.

Mark,

MyMovies works with a system of points that you can purchase or accumulate by contributing.  The availability of certain features depends on how many points you have but the programs themselves are free.  You need 2500 points to have all the features "unlocked" but if you want to try the program you can do so by registering for a trial which will give you 2500 points for 21 days.
Title: Re: MyMovies
Post by: Achim on December 31, 2009, 05:59:32 PM
Quote from: Eric on December 30, 2009, 05:48:21 PM
MyMovies relies on Microsoft SQL 2005 Express which is automatically installed with the programs.  Because of that, I doubt that they will ever release a Mac version which would force them to rewrite completely for a different type of database and then maintain two completely different sets of programs that do the same thing.
I had my tongue firmly planted in my cheek ;) (since I hoped but didn't really expect to find one).
Title: Re: MyMovies
Post by: Touti on January 21, 2010, 12:26:44 AM
I wanted to write a full review on MyMovies with screenshots of installation and all but my work and study schedule won't allow it for a while.  However, I mentioned it a few times today and someone asked me "what program is that" when I mentioned in a PM that I have an alternative to DVDP that suits my needs so I thought maybe I should talk about it although I can't write a formal review at this time.  So here it is.

I should probably start with a simple comparison between MM and DVDP.  The programs took a different approach.  DVDP allows to catalog your movie collection, they don't care about playback.  MM on the other hand is more oriented toward playback and a little less about cataloging although I feel this is only temporary.

MyMovies allows you to catalog your collection of movies, not your collection of discs.  What this means is that it doesn't matter whether you have the movie on a DVD/BR/HD-DVD disc or in a .ISO file or in a folder structure on a hard disk somewhere.  You tell MyMovies what movies you have and where they are.  This can be achieved in 3 different ways with a combination of any of 3 programs, one of which is required.

First and most important program is MyMovies Collection Management.  This is the program that you use to manage collection (in case you haven't figured it out with the name ;)).  Here's what it looks like.

(http://www.mymovies.dk/media/6fa2e51a-c5b3-48c3-92a3-3941238b477d-01.png)

In this program there is 5 ways to add a movie to your collection, by Barcode, By Disc ID, By Title, By Manual Typing, Upcoming.  Each method has a different screen with the corresponding fields.  Here's 2 examples of it.

(http://www.mymovies.dk/media/92150f97-6e8d-4629-9ea9-a8d51be55e27-02.png)
(http://www.mymovies.dk/media/3610544e-8f20-4c2e-b28d-379755a84030-03.png)

Once you've entered your information the program will search their online database (which they call the WebService) and brings a list of all the matching titles with the localities.  You can use the preview button to check it out and then add it to your collection either as Offline or Online.  Offline is a movie that resides in a location outside of your PC/Network, typically a DVD, BR or HD-DVD.  Online is a movie that exists somewhere on a hard disk.

The Collection Management program has most of the fields that you find in DVDP except for the Personalization field.  Unfortunately there's no place where you can say where/when you bought it and for how much.  I've sent that to them as a request, I'm sure I wasn't the first one, and hopefully it will be part of a future release.

In the next post: The Client/Server approach.
Title: Re: MyMovies
Post by: Touti on January 21, 2010, 12:39:44 AM
Client/Server.

Unlike DVDP, MyMovies uses a real database engine. Not a set of ISAM files driven/used as if they were a database.  The big advantage of this is concurrent access.  You can have many users (copies of the program) on different computers working with the collection database simultanuously (however one spells that word :)).  Another advantage is that you only have 1 copy of your collection no matter how many PC's you own.

The developers have opted for Microsoft SQL Server Express which is free.  It is installed automatically with MyMovies.  For the more savvy members, know that MyMovies uses it's own instance of SQL Server and they don't support installing it in your own server if you have one.  This limitation can't be easily overcome since the configuration screen only allows you to specify the server on the database is installed but not an instance.

So who's the server, who's the client and who does what ?  It's all up to you as you have 3 options.

1: MyMovies has program for Windows Home Server.  You can set it up there if you own such a server and this is where your database (collection) will reside.  The WHS program does much more than that but I'll talk about it later.

2: If you don't own a Windows Home Server you can install MyMovies Collection Management as the server on one of your PC's.  That machine have both the database (with SQL Server) and the Collection Management Program.

3: You install the Collection Management program as a client only machine in which case it will connect to the database on your WHS machine or the PC onto which you installed the collection management program as a server.

Here I have a Windows Home Server so I installed their WHS version on it where my database server and database file reside.  On my HTPC machine in the living room I installed the Collection Management program as a client only machine.

Next: MyMovies as an entertainment system.
Title: Re: MyMovies
Post by: addicted2dvd on January 21, 2010, 01:01:09 AM
I played around with MyMovies for a while... but overall decided I just didn't like it. Didn't like the look and feel of it. And (personal preference here) Don't like the info being from imdb. Not because it is god-awful bad... but because I prefer accurate to credits for my info. There was a couple things I liked... like being able to describe the extras better... but over-all it is just not for me.
Title: Re: MyMovies
Post by: Kathy on January 21, 2010, 02:07:02 AM
I'm downloading now to check it out. But, I don't think I could cope with entering almost 5,000 DVDs - too much work.
Title: Re: MyMovies
Post by: Touti on January 21, 2010, 02:08:01 AM
You can import from the DVDP profiler xml file ;)
Title: Re: MyMovies
Post by: Kathy on January 21, 2010, 02:36:25 AM
Quote from: Eric on January 21, 2010, 02:08:01 AM
You can import from the DVDP profiler xml file ;)

How do I do that?
Title: Re: MyMovies
Post by: addicted2dvd on January 21, 2010, 02:39:20 AM
Quote from: Eric on January 21, 2010, 02:08:01 AM
You can import from the DVDP profiler xml file ;)

I realize that... but as I said... I don't like the look and feel of it either so....
Title: Re: MyMovies
Post by: Touti on January 21, 2010, 02:41:33 AM
Quote from: Kathy on January 21, 2010, 02:36:25 AM
Quote from: Eric on January 21, 2010, 02:08:01 AM
You can import from the DVDP profiler xml file ;)

How do I do that?

Export your collection from DVDP then in MM collection management choose File->Import->DVD Profiler XML (3x).  And with 5000 titles............a little prayer probably won't hurt ;)
Title: Re: MyMovies
Post by: RossRoy on January 21, 2010, 02:52:00 AM
Quote from: Eric on January 21, 2010, 02:41:33 AM
Export your collection from DVDP then in MM collection management choose File->Import->DVD Profiler XML (3x).  And with 5000 titles............a little prayer probably won't hurt ;)

Do pray - because it takes forever even with just 3000 or so profiles.
Title: Re: MyMovies
Post by: Kathy on January 21, 2010, 02:52:49 AM
 :laugh: Import??? Export??? Do I need a passport? XML file??? I think I'd better stick with DVDP! :laugh:
Title: Re: MyMovies
Post by: RossRoy on January 21, 2010, 03:43:24 AM
Quote from: Kathy on January 21, 2010, 02:52:49 AM
:laugh: Import??? Export??? Do I need a passport? XML file??? I think I'd better stick with DVDP! :laugh:

Haha yeah! Me too probably.. I don't actually need all the fancy SQL stuff or openness of MyMovies. DVDP is more than enough for my needs.

I'll still let MyMovies finish importing, and I'll play a bit with it. But knowing me, I'll most probably stick with DVDP no matter what.
Title: Re: MyMovies
Post by: snowcat on January 21, 2010, 08:29:38 AM
I quite like My Movies, ive had it on my hard drive for a while and imported about 20 DVD's it seems pretty cool... I just need to find a day when I can sort it all out :p
Title: Re: MyMovies
Post by: lyonsden5 on January 21, 2010, 01:44:59 PM
Quote from: Kathy on January 21, 2010, 02:52:49 AM
:laugh: Import??? Export??? Do I need a passport? XML file??? I think I'd better stick with DVDP! :laugh:

 :hysterical:
Title: Re: MyMovies
Post by: Taro on January 21, 2010, 03:04:36 PM
So far I've only used two apps for keeping track of my disc-based collection:

- Collectorz Movie collector
- DVD Profiler

Of those two, I prefer the functionalities of DVDP the most.

Can anyone give an idea of how MyMovies stacks up compared to those two? I've just downloaded it and will start to play with it, but it's always useful to hear from other (more experienced) users.
Title: Re: MyMovies
Post by: Touti on January 21, 2010, 05:00:44 PM
People need to understand that MyMovies and DVDP are different products intended for different things.  I don't know what direction MM intends to take but as it is now, the Collection Management program is very limited compared to DVDP.

If you want to manage your collection tightly and be able to filter on lots of fields and search on this or that then MyMovies isn't for you, at least for now.

I know many people are very sensitive about the accuracy of their database, personally I couldn't care less.  What I want to do with my movies is watch them, not watch data about it so I really don't care if there's a few mistakes here and there.  I have no need whatsoever for a detail crew section and I can live with a 95% accurate cast section.

As I said in my previous posts, MM is more oriented toward entertainment and playback.  The point of MM is to provide data to your Home Theatre system.  It works with Windows Media Center and it supports some DVD Changers and certain systems like XBMC Scraper.  I really know nothing about changers or XBMC types of systems so I will only talk about Windows Media Center.

The MyMovies database can provide data to WMC two ways.  It can feed it's own MC client and it can also feed the default WMC DVD Library.  I haven't used the latter so I can't say anything about it for now but if someone wants to know more I can test it this week-end.

The MM Media Center client connects to you MM database wherever you installed it, you only need to configure the program to tell it where your server is.  Then you can see your entire collection in a nice graphic interface.

These are some of the ways you can view your collection in MM in Media Center. The background images are provided by users.  They call these "Fanarts".

(http://www.mymovies.dk/media/7260/07.png)
(http://www.mymovies.dk/media/7280/11.png)
(http://www.mymovies.dk/media/7285/12.png)
(http://www.mymovies.dk/media/7290/13.png)
(http://www.mymovies.dk/media/7295/14.png[/img[


You can sort your view on different columns.
[img]http://www.mymovies.dk/media/7305/16.png)

And you can filter on different columns.  The Collection Management program also allows you to build filters and store them in the database.  You can apply these filters in MyMovies for Media Center later.

(http://www.mymovies.dk/media/7310/17.png)

Of course you can "open" a title to see the details.
(http://www.mymovies.dk/media/7320/19.png)
(http://www.mymovies.dk/media/7325/20.png)
(http://www.mymovies.dk/media/7330/21.png)
(http://www.mymovies.dk/media/7335/22.png)
(http://www.mymovies.dk/media/7340/24.png)


Playback:

(http://www.mymovies.dk/media/7320/19.png)
In the above picture you can see there's a "play" button.  MM allows you to start playback of your movies and watch them in Media Center.  This is where the online/offline things comes to sense.  If the movie is offline, you will be prompted to insert the disc.  If however the movie is stored online it will play it from there.  Movies can be stored in different format like .ISO, Folder structures, MPEG or whatever you want, but I will talk about this in another post.

MM doesn't have it's own playback program, it needs to rely on whatever you have in your Media Center.  For DVD's it will take the player that is configured as the default one in your MC.  If you haven't installed your own it will use Media Centers playback program.  Unfortunately WMC doesn't support Blu-Ray or HD-DVD so you will need a program that can play them.  MyMovies can use PowerDVD and Arcsoft's Total Media Theatre.  I don't know if WinDVD is supported.

The Collection Management program keeps track of the discs that are part of a title, their location type and location.

(http://www.totalexpedition.com/MGalleryItem.php?id=1401)
(http://www.totalexpedition.com/MGalleryItem.php?id=1402)

On the second picture you see the location types.  This is how you tell MM if your movie is stored online or offline and whether it's in a folder structure, a single file or on a disc changer.  The MyMovies program in media center will use this information and after starting your playback program it will point it to the right source.  If you keep your movies in .ISO files then you need to install the free VirtualCloneDrive from SlySoft (makers of AnyDVD) and MyMovies will mount the image in a virtual drive before making this drive the source for playback in your program.  When the movie finishes, MM automatically marks it as "Watched" which is a flag that can be used in the filters.

Next post: Ripping movies.
Title: Re: MyMovies
Post by: ninehours on January 23, 2010, 09:46:54 PM
I have been using it but for me it's not as good as profiler (yet)

My Movies (http://www.dvdcollectorsonline.com/index.php/topic,5315.0.html)

MyMovies Collection (http://c.mymovies.name/ninehours)
Title: Re: MyMovies
Post by: Kathy on January 23, 2010, 10:32:56 PM
I decided to try and export and import my DVDs to MM. I exported my collection to my desk top "Collection" which looks like a piece of paper with a fold on the upper right corner.

When I go to MM and hit import I see "DVD Profiler XML (3.x)".

When I hit "DVD Profiler XML (3.x)" I get "Choose DVD Profiler exported database"

I then hit the imported "Collection", which is listed as an XML file, I placed on my desk top. When I hit "Open" I get a prompt "Browse For Folder" "Select where DVD Profiler database is stored (typically in My Documents\DVD Profiler)".

But, when I hit the DVD Profiler folders, nothing happens.

So, what do I do? Or, what am I doing wrong?

Title: Re: MyMovies
Post by: Najemikon on January 23, 2010, 10:46:13 PM
Eric will likely confirm, but you might need to go to the DVD Profiler folder, then select the Databases folder. In there is another called Default. Try that one.
Title: Re: MyMovies
Post by: Kathy on January 23, 2010, 11:13:23 PM
Quote from: Jon on January 23, 2010, 10:46:13 PM
Eric will likely confirm, but you might need to go to the DVD Profiler folder, then select the Databases folder. In there is another called Default. Try that one.


 :yahoo: Something is happening...I don't know what...but something! :yahoo:

Title: Re: MyMovies
Post by: Touti on January 23, 2010, 11:30:56 PM
I think it needs the path to your DVDP collection to import your cover images.
Title: Re: MyMovies
Post by: Kathy on January 23, 2010, 11:46:37 PM
Earlier today I was updating a few DVD for DVDP and when I put the disc in MM asked me if I wanted to contribute them. I've earned a bunch of points, 30 something, for just a couple of DVDs. I don't know what that means yet but I've never earned anything on DVDP for contributing!

It looks like Jon's suggestion was correct - it looks like things are importing - my "progress" green line is increasing!
Title: Re: MyMovies
Post by: Touti on January 23, 2010, 11:59:39 PM
With a collection of 5000 movies it's gonna take some time for the import to complete.  The point system is how you unlock features in MM.  You can either purchase them or earn them with your contributions. 

This page (http://www.mymovies.dk/how-to/written-documentation.aspx?Page=Features Requiring Points) details what features need points and how many.
Title: Re: MyMovies
Post by: Kathy on January 24, 2010, 12:06:13 AM
Thanks Eric. I don't know what I want or would use but its going to be fun playing around.
Title: Re: MyMovies
Post by: ninehours on January 24, 2010, 12:08:03 AM
Quote from: Eric on January 23, 2010, 11:59:39 PM
The point system is how you unlock features in MM.  You can either purchase them or earn them with your contributions.


At the moment i have

Contribution Points: 6247

It can be quite addictive trying to collect those stars  :stars:
Title: Re: MyMovies
Post by: Touti on January 24, 2010, 12:15:45 AM
You have way more than me Nick.  I got 845 contribution points and when my trial expired I bought what I needed to keep my features  :-[

Kathy,  MM is for people who want to use their computer as a DVD Player and/or have disc changers and want to catalog the discs and control the changer from their computers.

As a management program for collectors who need to catalog and profile their collection, keep track of what they own, when and where they purchased it and that kind of things DVDP is is by far better than MM.  As I said in a previous post, MM doesn't even have personalization fields yet and I don't know if they developers plan on adding it. Still, it's always fun to play with a new program and see what else is available.

Personally I really enjoy having my movies on a network drive and watching them from the computer.  I moved my HD-DVD reader to the Windows Home Server machine which I use to rip my DVD's and HD-DVD movies.  Later this year I will sell my regular BR player and put one in the computer int the living room and I will become HTPC only user, no more shelf player.
Title: Re: MyMovies
Post by: Touti on January 24, 2010, 05:38:22 PM
Lately I've talking highly about MyMovies.  Today my post will not be as praising as the other ones.  Although I really like the programs, I have to say that I'm extremely disappointed with the poor support that people are getting in installing it.

There's many cases of people being unable to install MM because something in their Windows prevents SQL Server Express from installing.  They ask for help int MM's forum and frankly, the support on these issues sucks.

The most recent one is this guy (http://www.mymovies.dk/forum.aspx?g=posts&m=89321&#89321) which I have been trying to help for days and I won't give up until we make it work because I never let a stubborn piece of software win.  The thread is two pages long now and there hasn't been one single reply from anyone at MyMovies.  That is really really bad.

Here's (http://www.mymovies.dk/forum.aspx?g=posts&t=15712) another one that I helped in December.  The user tries to install MM, SQL Server which is installed automatically with MM doesn't get through its setup, the user asks for help and posts the error number is getting.  Check the replies from Binnerup (owner of MyMovies).  His first reply basically says "Your trouble is with SQL Server...........sorry but not my fucking problem" and his other replies are 2 negative posts saying "I don't think you'll find a solution".  I don't mean to brag here but it took me less than 10 minutes to find it.

And there was also this one (http://www.mymovies.dk/forum.aspx?g=posts&t=16237) which was magically resolved before we found what the problem was but check the 2nd post, this error message has not been seen before.................that's it ?  Sorry buddy no one has ever seen this, you're on your own ?

This is highly disappointing, very very bad support.
Title: Re: MyMovies
Post by: Achim on January 25, 2010, 06:23:58 AM
So you are saying that their support is the same as at Invelos but Ken's attitude is better? :hmmmm:
Title: Re: MyMovies
Post by: Alien Redrum on September 17, 2010, 05:14:46 PM
Okay, so I installed MYMovies Collection Management because I'm pretty sure Ken is never going to come out with a Droid version of DVDP (at least not this decade) and I want something on my phone and I wanted to try this out. I'm having a problem, though.

I've created an .xml file of my collection and exported it to my desktop.

I opened My Movies, File --> Import --> DVD Profiler XML (3.x)

I choose the .XML file I created.

For the DB path, I navigated to --> C:\Users\USERNAME\Documents\DVD Profiler\Databases\Default

I choose yes when asked if I'd like to convert my titles blah blah.

And each and every time it says "The XML file is not valid."

Is there something special I should be doing?

Thanks for any help.
Title: Re: MyMovies
Post by: EdwinK on September 17, 2010, 07:32:21 PM
So, you can use this on a Droid phone? Cool.
Title: Re: MyMovies
Post by: DJ Doena on September 17, 2010, 07:58:52 PM
Quote from: Alien Redrum on September 17, 2010, 05:14:46 PM
And each and every time it says "The XML file is not valid."

Is there something special I should be doing?

Thanks for any help.

It might be possible that MyMovies still works with the 3.5.x version of Ken's export XML file.

Try to use this tool http://doena-soft.de/dvdprofiler/3.6.0/Convert360XMLTo351XML.zip to convert the 3.6.x XML to a 3.5.x version and then try again with your MyMovies app.
Title: Re: MyMovies
Post by: Alien Redrum on September 17, 2010, 10:47:53 PM
Quote from: DJ Doena on September 17, 2010, 07:58:52 PM
Quote from: Alien Redrum on September 17, 2010, 05:14:46 PM
And each and every time it says "The XML file is not valid."

Is there something special I should be doing?

Thanks for any help.

It might be possible that MyMovies still works with the 3.5.x version of Ken's export XML file.

Try to use this tool http://doena-soft.de/dvdprofiler/3.6.0/Convert360XMLTo351XML.zip to convert the 3.6.x XML to a 3.5.x version and then try again with your MyMovies app.

Firstly, thanks!

I could be doing it wrong, but I put my "Collection.xml" file in the same folder as the .exe and ran it. After a moment, it said: "There is an error in XML document (677691, 507)."
Title: Re: MyMovies
Post by: Alien Redrum on September 17, 2010, 10:48:53 PM
Oh, I don't know if it helps, but I'm using Win 7.
Title: Re: MyMovies
Post by: Touti on September 17, 2010, 11:12:16 PM
Have you asked on the MyMovies forum ?
Title: Re: MyMovies
Post by: Tom on September 17, 2010, 11:15:15 PM
I am guessing that there is an invalid character exported to the XML file. If you send me your collection.xml (zipped), I could take a look if I find anything amiss.
Title: Re: MyMovies
Post by: Alien Redrum on September 17, 2010, 11:47:00 PM
Quote from: Eric on September 17, 2010, 11:12:16 PM
Have you asked on the MyMovies forum ?

:laugh:

Ironically, I was going to, but I read your post at the top of this page and I decided to ask here first.  ;D

Quote from: Tom on September 17, 2010, 11:15:15 PM
I am guessing that there is an invalid character exported to the XML file. If you send me your collection.xml (zipped), I could take a look if I find anything amiss.

Hey, thanks!

What I'll do first is screw around with it this weekend and see if it's not me (I'll try it on my vista machine, too). If I can't work it, I'll bug you.

Thanks again everyone.  :clap:
Title: Re: MyMovies
Post by: Najemikon on September 17, 2010, 11:48:02 PM
Hey Eric,

How are things going with MyMovies? Have they developed it at all since you were last talking about it?

I was interested as soon as you said SQL, because that implies a little more flexibility than Profiler, but I was concious that it wasn't a manager as such. But I'll tell you where I am at: I update Profiler, but I also update a spreadsheet now because it's easier to keep track of costs.

Is it at all practical to think that Excel could connect to MyMovies SQL as a data source? Allowing me to expand on the data as I have been doing, but without entering it twice.

The other thing I've been wondering is if I could utilise my NAS box (Netgear ReadyNas) to run the database and present the PHP...
Title: Re: MyMovies
Post by: Touti on September 18, 2010, 12:32:48 AM
Jon,

Was it at all possible, I would be the first one to get rid of DVDP and let the world know about it  ;D.  Unfortunately, as a collection management tool, MyMovies isn't there and I don't think it will ever be.  My understanding is that this just isn't the product they want to offer.

MyMovies is all about ripping your movies and play them back on different devices whether it'd be a HTPC, a Dune system or a simple Media Extender.  The "Collection Management" tools is only there to support the "true" product which is MyMovies for Media Center.

To answer your direct question, no they haven't developed it at all.  They released a mobile version for iPhone and then one for Android but except for bug fixes, there hasn't been anything done to the collection management program.

My *huge* (cough cough) collection is now under 200 titles and I still wouldn't try to manage it with MyMovies.  Why ? 

Well first, there isn't any personalization field there, not a single one so you can forget keeping track of where you bought, when and how much you paid.

Second, you can't customize the interface.  It is what it is and you have to live with it.

Third, you can only sort your database by title or collection numbers and there's real search except for a filter field on the title.  This actually is more advanced in the Media Center interface.

Bottom line is.  If you want something to manage an collection of purchased or home movies stored online and be able to watch any of it from different devices.........MyMovies is the way to go.  If you want to manage a collection of movies that you watch on a regular player, MyMovies isn't the route to go.

Time to talk about SQL now.  The important thing to know is that MyMovies uses it's own instance of SQL Server Express 2005 and the server/instance names can't be configured anywhere.  You only get to specify the server name and it will automatically go to server/MyMovies.

The database has its own users with passwords.  The passwords have been posted a few times on their forum so it's easy to connect to the database but if you ever want to migrate it to a full fledge SQL Server you'll have to recreated the users, the permissions and the passwords.

I see no reason why you wouldn't be able to connect with Excel.  I've installed SQL Server Management Studio on my HTPC and I often play around with SQL commands to change sets of records instead of going manually with the collection management interface.

Best of all.........it's all free for lower features so you can install it and test as much as you want before contributing to earn points or purchase them.

I hope that answers your questions.
Title: Re: MyMovies
Post by: Najemikon on September 18, 2010, 01:22:14 AM
Thanks, Eric. I might have a play around with it...  :thumbup:
Title: Re: MyMovies
Post by: Alien Redrum on September 21, 2010, 05:35:08 PM
Got it running!

With all of the prior XML files I had created, I had let all of the optional stuff checked (notes, reviews, whatever). I decided to try it with no options checked, so it just pulled UPCs and that did the trick. I'm sure that is probably in the instructions somewhere.  ;D

It's going through now, and once that is complete, I'm going to see what's what with the droid version.

Thanks again for all the help and offers of help. Rock.
Title: Re: MyMovies
Post by: addicted2dvd on September 21, 2010, 11:09:21 PM
I tried this program a couple different times... it is just not for me.
Title: Re: MyMovies
Post by: Alien Redrum on September 22, 2010, 12:23:30 AM
I think DVDProfiler has the edge locally, but, as I mentioned, considering a droid version may be very long way off, this one is pretty damn slick from what I can tell.

Plus the online is much better looking than Profiler's.

May be a little more work to keep both synched, but not that much.
Title: Re: MyMovies
Post by: addicted2dvd on September 22, 2010, 01:11:32 AM
My problem with it is I can't keep track of my personalized information. And I could be wrong here... but if I remember right I also couldn't track what I watch when. Without those it is pretty useless to me. But then I am not the target user either. As I don't rip my DVDs and keep them on my computer.
Title: Re: MyMovies
Post by: Touti on September 22, 2010, 01:54:38 AM
Pete you're right about personalization but not entirely on the "Watched" thing.  There's a "Watched" checkbox on the main screen that you can check when you've watched a movie.  It is updated automatically when you watch a ripped movie from the media center interface.  But you can't track each time you watched a movie like DVDP does.  There's no user, no date, just a flag that you watched it or not.

And as I said in another post, there really isn't any sort/filter option in the collection management program so you can't really do much with this "Watched" flag.  It's pretty much only used in the MCE interface where you have more filter/sort options and you can "ask" it to only show titles that aren't watched.

Title: Re: MyMovies
Post by: addicted2dvd on September 22, 2010, 01:58:52 AM
yup... not for me. I like having a history of each time I watch a title.
Title: Re: MyMovies
Post by: Alien Redrum on September 22, 2010, 02:45:17 AM
I agree that it's not a replacement for the DVDProfiler local program, but it is definitely better in some aspects.
Title: Re: MyMovies
Post by: Jimmy on September 22, 2010, 05:10:44 AM
Quote from: Alien Redrum on September 22, 2010, 12:23:30 AM
Plus the online is much better looking than Profiler's.
It's one of the urban legend of DVDP that one day DVDP+ will be created :laugh:
But you can have a great online presentation by using phpdvdp or something that Tom or Karsten (not sure wich one and I am too lazy to check :whistle:) had made.
Title: Re: MyMovies
Post by: Alien Redrum on September 22, 2010, 05:55:31 PM
Quote from: Jimmy on September 22, 2010, 05:10:44 AM
Quote from: Alien Redrum on September 22, 2010, 12:23:30 AM
Plus the online is much better looking than Profiler's.
It's one of the urban legend of DVDP that one day DVDP+ will be created :laugh:
But you can have a great online presentation by using phpdvdp or something that Tom or Karsten (not sure wich one and I am too lazy to check :whistle:) had made.

:lol:

True. That DVDP+ is just around the corner. :lol:

You are correct, phpdvdp is pretty badass. I just need to sit down one day and work it out so it only updates my changes instead of me having to upload my entire collection each time. I know there is an easy way to do this, I just have to finagle the settings on the back end, and I want to give myself a day or so to mess with it.  :thumbup:
Title: Re: MyMovies
Post by: Najemikon on September 22, 2010, 07:02:04 PM
I think that's the killer for any DVDP rival. The add-on support and functionality is excellent. We have PHPDVDProfiler, plus Tom's work such as the Awards plugin amongst others.
Title: Re: MyMovies
Post by: Dragonfire on September 22, 2010, 09:21:27 PM
I just flag the titles I want to upload because of a change and export only those profiles.  When I had my whole collection in one file, it was too big for my host, so I changed it so that each profile is one file.  Then I just upload those few at a time.  That works for me without me messing up something in that local file...which I've done before.
Title: Re: MyMovies
Post by: Touti on September 27, 2010, 10:50:45 PM
There's a new pre-release version of MyMovies 3.17 and there's a section for personal information now.  Available fields are: Rating, Location, Lent To (with return due date), Exclude from online collection, exclude from mobile software, invisible to friends, local tariler, purchase date, purchase price, currency, purchase place, Condition (Bad, poor, fair etc), Notes, Tags.

There's also a field called "Estimated Value per" in with you can set a date and a value......I don't really see the use of it but some may.
Title: Re: MyMovies
Post by: Achim on September 28, 2010, 07:43:00 AM
Quote from: Eric on September 27, 2010, 10:50:45 PM
There's also a field called "Estimated Value per" in with you can set a date and a value......I don't really see the use of it but some may.
My first guess would be, and it's probabyl wrong, that they went the additional step beyond what Ken does.

You add the value at purchase date. Then later you can enter conversion rates for different currencies and therefore the total amount will be in the currency of your choice, or something along those lines. At least that's what I would like to see ;)
Title: Re: MyMovies
Post by: dfmorgan on October 05, 2011, 11:29:54 PM
Quote from: Achim on December 30, 2009, 03:27:16 AM
I couldn't find the Mac version...

(click to show/hide)


I was just looking around there after Kathy's request in another thread and see that there is now according to their news page.
Title: Re: MyMovies
Post by: Achim on October 06, 2011, 06:52:35 AM
Quote from: dfmorgan on October 05, 2011, 11:29:54 PM
I was just looking around there after Kathy's request in another thread and see that there is now according to their news page.
They do! ...and also accompanying versions for iPhone and iPad ;D Downloading the free test version (for 50 profiles... :laugh:) right now.
Title: Re: MyMovies
Post by: Mustrum_Ridcully on October 24, 2011, 12:27:34 AM
I'm preparing the conversion right now.

Might take some time to get used to it, but man am I tired of Invelos.
BTW: did anyone notice that Ken last logged in 3 days ago.
I at least hope that he personally is OK.
Title: Re: MyMovies
Post by: Jimmy on October 24, 2011, 12:35:19 AM
Michael you don't need to suffer the Invelos non-sense if you want to accept to do all the works. Of course this is sometimes annoying when you must do many profiles the same day, but DVDP without the online database and all those weird contribution discussions is always the best DVDs cataloging software.
Title: Re: MyMovies
Post by: Achim on October 24, 2011, 06:51:41 AM
Quote from: Silence_of_Lambs on October 24, 2011, 12:27:34 AM
I'm preparing the conversion right now.

Might take some time to get used to it, but man am I tired of Invelos.
BTW: did anyone notice that Ken last logged in 3 days ago.
I at least hope that he personally is OK.

I may be switching as well, at least I'd get a native Mac App. Of course I would miss my watched banner, but things could be worse. One thing I still need to check with My Movies are watched events though; even with the banner I want them properly tracked (at least more than one event per disc).
Title: Re: MyMovies
Post by: EdwinK on October 24, 2011, 09:41:13 AM
In the Mac version, I can't find an import option :(
Title: Re: MyMovies
Post by: EdwinK on October 24, 2011, 09:50:43 AM
Quote
the current DVD Profiler import is going to be deprecated.

Instead, we will be adding a website that lets you import directly into the user account on the online service, which you then can import into the application.

This also means that the option to import only data will disappear, and left will only be the option to fully convert the collection.

This new importer will be abl to import all personal fields as well.

Title: Re: MyMovies
Post by: Mustrum_Ridcully on October 24, 2011, 01:01:39 PM
Quote from: Achim on October 24, 2011, 06:51:41 AM
One thing I still need to check with My Movies are watched events though; even with the banner I want them properly tracked (at least more than one event per disc).
Seems not to be possible at the moment.
All I found (yet) was the option to flag/unflag the "Watched"-status, no dates, no way to add multiple views.
Title: Re: MyMovies
Post by: Mustrum_Ridcully on October 24, 2011, 06:55:42 PM
Stopped conversion and decided to stay with DVDProfiler and if only strictly local.

Reason:
1) My IMDb-allergy.
The whole database is completely IMDb infested. Depending on your PoV this might even be something positive, for me it's negative.
2) Usability
No matter what I clicked on at import, I couldn't bring the program to import the cast/crew data from the *.xml file. The program always downloaded the data from their maindatabase.

What I liked:
- SQL-database with simultaneous multi-user access
- The simplicity with which crew-data is handled (only very basic crew roles)

I might try it again when the promised new import tool is ready.
Until then I don't want to lose my hard-earned data.