I have been collecting DVD movies since 1997 when the format first came out. I was one of those early adopters who bought a US$450 DVD player and discs that cost $21 each. The difference in video/audio quality, compared to VHS and Laserdisc, was very noticeable. It wasn’t a difficult choice to take the plunge. The only caveat, back then, was the lack of titles available on the market. The movie studios were slow to re-release their titles on DVD.
Fast forward to 2008, I now have over 400 discs. My DVD list is online (Warning: the images from the list may take a long time to download with slow internet connection), thanks to a program called Libra that lets me scan the UPC code using a Webcam, and populate its internal database automatically. I had a similar list in a MySQL database back in 2002, but I lost that. I’m planning to code a new PHP based site and migrate this Libra list to MySQL again. A customized site with search capability will also help me search my database while I’m out DVD shopping – usually at Walmart and Fry’s in the $5 bargain bins. It should help minimize buying dupes.
Additionally, I always wanted to do movie reviews on this site. I’ll need to painstakingly review all of my movies and enter them into the new database. I’ve already started reviewing on Facebook’s Flixster application. They’re not extensive reviews, just quick fire ones. I’ll need to find the time to get started on these projects!
I’ve also started my HD-DVD collection, what’s left of the format in the market. What’s nice about my HD-DVD player is that it’s a very capable upconverting DVD player. Watching DVD movies at 1080i resolution is a very nice bonus. I definitely see a difference in picture quality. If I didn’t have the HD-DVD player, I would consider getting the recently announced Toshiba XDE “special” upconverting hardware. I’m just not ready to sink in big dollars to Bluray player and discs, yet.
So, here’s hoping for DVD’s longevity. I look forward to keep on expanding my DVD collection.
Photo Credit: Elijapa
Tags: dvd, electronics, hd-dvd, movies
Building IT
Jot It Down
Wow. 400 DVDs is a LOT. I wish I had that many DVDs. Can you let me know when you’ve coded that thing in PHP and if I can use it? 😀 you know me and staying organised!!
re: Reviews… it’s strange. I review movies from time to time… but I tend not to listen to reviews written by others – at least when it comes to watching the movies. If someone says it’s bad, and I’ve wanted to see it already… I’ll usually still go! lol
fragileheart’s last blog post..Best friend
Hi Reggy,
I’ll let you know when the PHP code is done. I’ll share it with you.
My “reviews” are mainly for fun. Sort like blogging: journalizing what I see. I wish I had my old reviews because I would be amused by them. If someone else can be amused by my reviews, then it’s a bonus.
wow, thats alot of DVDs. I also hope for DVDs long stay. I was also one of the many people that supported HD DVD when it came out simply because of its online aspects. Than it saddened me to see Blu Ray win the format war, but I got over it. Im not ready to pick up a Blu Ray player just yet, but its something I will eventually get. Im sure DVD will last atleast another 4-5 more years before people start buying Blu Ray players.
farzan’s last blog post..REVIEW: The Kingdom
I actually tried the online HD-DVD feature with Transformers HD-DVD. It was certainly interesting because it was new, but it wasn’t something to write about. It would be much more useful if it was factual data, like the background information in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones. With that feature, I had to use the PC to get connected. I could imagine how nice it’ll be with HD-DVD.
I guess I’ll just have to look forward to it on Blu-ray… 4-5 years from now.
[…] of the nice things about having my own DVD library is the ability to watch a movie at a moment’s notice. Yesterday, I had a conversation with […]
[…] been buying DVD movies that won Oscar’s Best Picture award. I haven’t got all of it. Currently, I have 50, […]