Author Topic: EMDB: Eric's Movie Database (Read 35499 times)

Nighted · « **on:** July 08, 2007, 07:04 AM »

Eric's Movie Database is a free program that you can use to put all your movie titles into a database. I've been playing around with it for a few hours and I'm quite happy with it. It's definitely good enough for my needs.

It doesn't matter if they are DVD or some compressed container format, EMDB is suitable for just about anything related to movies. It's simple to use: Just click on Add, enter the title of the movie, hit enter or click the Search IMDB button, and it does the rest for you.

It has a nice HTML template setup, although the default template is rather crude and needs some kind of tags to allow you to use tables and tweak image height & width for covers (if these tags exist, I am not yet aware of them). It's export feature is also very nice, letting you decide exactly what information you want to put in the text file. The covers feature seems to add the cover sideways when you add it manually, but there's a fix for this by un-checking "Automatically rotate images when needed" in the options dialog. A feature to open the cover by clicking on the preview would be welcome also as the thumbnails are very small.

It seems to be portable too. Don't ask me if it's stealth or green or whatever, but I do know you can move the directory around and the program runs fine wherever it's placed. Overall though, I'm very impressed with this little program. Send the author a donation and he'll even put your name at the top! I'll let the screenshots tell you the rest.

The main screen:

Here's the various sections of the options dialog:

yksyks · « **Reply #1 on:** July 09, 2007, 05:48 AM »

I'm using Ant Movie Catalog (http://www.antp.be/software/moviecatalog), which is more configurable and scriptable. Maybe it's not as easy to use, but it's capable of gathering movie info from different databases, not just IMDb.

Nighted · « **Reply #2 on:** July 09, 2007, 09:34 PM »

Yeah, Ant Movie Catalog does look very nice. There's source and a Linux version too!

nosh · « **Reply #3 on:** October 12, 2007, 11:54 AM »

I've tried several movie databases in the last couple of days. EMDB has its quirks/bugs and it lacks the power of most of these but I keep coming back to it coz of its simplicity. It's also the fastest one to add movies in. I just wish he incorporates a full text search that includes movie descriptions in a future version.

Umbrella · « **Reply #4 on:** October 27, 2009, 08:26 AM »

Thanks very much for your post. Unfortunately, EMDB doesn't allow downloading information about a film from different databases, it has no built-in player for watching movies. I also used Ant Movie Catalog, but its development was dropped and some useful features were still missing. That's why I chose Movienizer. It's a multifunctional freeware.

J-Mac · « **Reply #5 on:** June 05, 2012, 11:44 PM »

"Axcent" is obviously associated with the link he provided. He has posted the same post all over the web for at least the last year.

Spam.

Jim

nosh · « **Reply #6 on:** June 06, 2012, 02:03 AM »

It would be so easy to cut off spammers if the first post was vetted by mods.

wraith808 · « **Reply #7 on:** June 06, 2012, 09:52 AM »

It would be so easy to cut off spammers if the first post was vetted by mods.
-nosh (June 06, 2012, 02:03 AM)

This. But I can't imagine the workload increase- would it be a lot, or not?

nosh · « **Reply #8 on:** June 06, 2012, 10:05 AM »

Not if it's spread among several volunteers...

I have a feeling the idea has been discussed before and dismissed because it may send fickle new users packing? <- IIRC.

jgpaiva · « **Reply #9 on:** June 06, 2012, 10:42 AM »

Actually, I did spot that post, but my google search didn't find any similar posts

So, having moderators vet first posts really wouldn't help much if all moderators are so easily fooled as I am

[edit] and now since I removed the spammy post, this thread has stopped making sense [/edit]

nosh · « **Reply #10 on:** June 06, 2012, 11:13 AM »

This particular post was a bad example, the guy posted an alternative sw for the same category. I wasn't really thinking about having mods google posts. So _that's_ what wraith meant by increased workload! *lightbulb.jpg*

Yeah, that would be totally OTT.

jgpaiva · « **Reply #11 on:** June 06, 2012, 11:26 AM »

Actually, for me, the best way to handle these cases is just for people to report the post by using the link on the bottom-right. At least for me it's nice because:
1 - I don't check every thread, and
2 - It gives me the indication that someone else also has the impression that it's a spam post and I'm not just being overzealous

J-Mac · « **Reply #12 on:** June 06, 2012, 12:08 PM »

Actually, I did spot that post, but my google search didn't find any similar posts
So, having moderators vet first posts really wouldn't help much if all moderators are so easily fooled as I am

[edit] and now since I removed the spammy post, this thread has stopped making sense [/edit]
-jgpaiva (June 06, 2012, 10:42 AM)

I searched Google with the terms "axcent myfilms -accent" and found almost the exact same post at several dozen - maybe even a hundred - different forums - one was in 2007! Most had only 1 post by axcent and it said that his/her favorite was "MyFilm" plus of course the link. Searching the username alone was tough because an unrelated company named Axcent filled most of the first page. Adding "myfilms" eliminated that company results but then Google insisted on "correcting" me and adding results for the word "accent" - bastards! - so I had to add "-accent" to remove those results.

Jim

mouser · « **Reply #13 on:** June 06, 2012, 12:55 PM »

It would be so easy to cut off spammers if the first post was vetted by mods.

In fact we do exactly that.. You'd be surprised how many spammers we catch and kill. In fact we don't just watch first posts, but first couple of posts and the first changes of a users profile (which catches spammers before their first post).

We just tend to be conservative about banning people if it's not really obvious that their post is clearly spam -- and sometimes that means a spammy post is left in place for a bit until we conclusively determine that it's spam.

4wd · « **Reply #14 on:** June 06, 2012, 07:36 PM »

That's why I chose Movienizer. It's a multifunctional freeware.
-Umbrella (October 27, 2009, 08:26 AM)

It's not freeware in any way, shape or form:

Movienizer is distributed as try-before-you-buy. You can use the trial version with its limitations as long as you wish. If you like the program, you have to purchase a license in order to unlock all features. Otherwise, it should be removed. Detailed information is available at the licensing page.

The only way it could be considered free under those terms is if you hate it and continue to use it as trialware....slightly oxymoronic.

I still use Personal Video Database, after trying EMDB, AMC and Movienizer, PVD's flexible file importing is a lot better when it comes to adding files into the database. PVD is the only one, (of the above), that seems to import the properties of the files, (resolution, codecs, etc), and it also allows you to specify a regex expression to parse the file names.

daddydave · « **Reply #15 on:** June 06, 2012, 11:16 PM »

What's always amused me about EMDB is that you are only allowed to have movies in languages hard-coded into the program. which you can see in the animated second screenshot when it gets to "Default settings". That list used to be a lot smaller, and I complained about it somewhere but I can't find my complaint now, so now it is a bigger list, but hard-coded just the same.

You can see the same kind of thinking in the Custom values section where you are allowed to have two custom genres. So if you thought you could repurpose genres to compensate for lack of custom fields, you're out of luck.

I agree Personal Video Database is the only sane choice, for different reasons that I am too lazy to enumerate right now and spite of its having the ugliest incarnation of the ribbon UI you have ever seen (I am using the version 1 beta you can get from the forums). Will elaborate later, it is pretty late here now.

nosh · « **Reply #16 on:** June 06, 2012, 11:30 PM »

@mouser, I was thinking more on the lines of not having the first post see the light of day until it's been approved by a mod. And relying on members reporting spam for subsequent posts. I brought it up because there have been occasions where I've noticed obvious spam in a user's first post.

But I'm sure the forum must be getting hammered with a lot more spam that joe user never gets to see.

@4wd, I stopped using PVD when they got rid of the grid feature. They got it back again years later and by that time I'd committed to Collectorz. I get by with Collectorz (and the unofficial support for importing from IMDB), but PVD was a lot more fun to work with. Collectorz has apps for iOS and Android, so that's a definite plus.

wraith808 · « **Reply #17 on:** June 07, 2012, 06:28 AM »

I use DVD Profiler, and have been very happy with it. I don't keep up as much with it now, but I'd still heartily recommend it even after its sale. They are still using the model of lifetime updates, and they have great online features.

My DVD List (sadly out of date, but it gives you an idea of what you can output online)

Note: They've changed their website, and it sucks... they have the forum on top and the software at the bottom for some reason. Just scroll down and you can see the content.

J-Mac · « **Reply #18 on:** June 07, 2012, 06:52 AM »

I have a lifetime license for DVD Profiler but when I got this new computer in January this year I didn't reinstall it. I always had a problem with how nasty a lot of members could be over the content of their DVD "Profiles". Many of my DVD sets - mostly TV series - had no profiles available for the individual episodes. Plus, as I posted a while ago here, back before I knew better - when I had first purchased and installed the program - I foolishly allowed the program to auto-update my DVDs. I had created many of the missing episode profiles for my DVDs and the update wiped out almost all of them. I didn't allow the program to auto-update anything after that.

Wraith - surely you have read some of the 20 page threads in their forum arguing violently over whether certain crew members' middle initials should be included in the DVD profiles. Really obsessive folks there! I had clicked Yes to submit some of my episode profiles when I created them and the program prompted me to upload them to their database. You should have seen the nasty comments/PMs I received because I included info beyond what was on the DVD case! Of course I never submitted anything again!

I didn't realize that the program was sold. For the better or worse? I should reinstall it and give it another look. Currently I use CATVids, from the developer of SoftCAT, BookCAT, etc. Not as flashy but the data is infinitely more customizable. Plus it searches more than just their own database, like IMDB and Amazon for example. Much better reports available from DVDProfiler though I admit.

Sorry for any spelling or formatting errors; I'm posting from this damn iPad again (POS IMO!)

Thanks,

Jim

daddydave · « **Reply #19 on:** June 07, 2012, 07:46 AM »

Currently I use CATVids, from the developer of SoftCAT, BookCAT, etc. Not as flashy but the data is infinitely more customizable. Plus it searches more than just their own database, like IMDB and Amazon for example. Much better reports available from DVDProfiler though I admit.

Sorry for any spelling or formatting errors; I'm posting from this damn iPad again (POS IMO!)

Thanks,

Jim
-J-Mac (June 07, 2012, 06:52 AM)

Thanks for the CATVids tip. I may have to check that one out. Yeah, I remember something like that from DVDProfiler too - a real design flaw, they should not try to ~~be IMDB Jr.~~ have one canonical movie record for everyone - most of the data gets downloaded from somewhere else anyway. I think they also require a barcode for any submissions, which is irrelevant to me, especially I don't use this type of software as collection inventory, I use it mainly to keep movies I (or someone in my family) want to see. (But I am weird that way, I am working on a PVD mini-review but I am going to need to have a long list of biases up front.)

wraith808 · « **Reply #20 on:** June 07, 2012, 02:09 PM »

Wraith - surely you have read some of the 20 page threads in their forum arguing violently over whether certain crew members' middle initials should be included in the DVD profiles. Really obsessive folks there! I had clicked Yes to submit some of my episode profiles when I created them and the program prompted me to upload them to their database. You should have seen the nasty comments/PMs I received because I included info beyond what was on the DVD case! Of course I never submitted anything again!
-J-Mac (June 07, 2012, 06:52 AM)

Actually... no. I've not frequented the forums at all. I find most official forums to be full of nutjobs, so I try not to visit them.

jgpaiva · « **Reply #21 on:** June 08, 2012, 09:03 AM »

That's why I chose Movienizer. It's a multifunctional freeware.
-Umbrella (October 27, 2009, 08:26 AM)

It's not freeware in any way, shape or form:
-4wd (June 06, 2012, 07:36 PM)

Notice that the post is 2 years old, something may have changed in the meantime

daddydave · « **Reply #22 on:** June 08, 2012, 11:52 AM »

That's why I chose Movienizer. It's a multifunctional freeware.
-Umbrella (October 27, 2009, 08:26 AM)

It's not freeware in any way, shape or form:
-4wd (June 06, 2012, 07:36 PM)

Notice that the post is 2 years old, something may have changed in the meantime
-jgpaiva (June 08, 2012, 09:03 AM)

Good catch!

4wd · « **Reply #23 on:** June 08, 2012, 10:33 PM »

That's why I chose Movienizer. It's a multifunctional freeware.
-Umbrella (October 27, 2009, 08:26 AM)

It's not freeware in any way, shape or form:
-4wd (June 06, 2012, 07:36 PM)
Notice that the post is 2 years old, something may have changed in the meantime
-jgpaiva (June 08, 2012, 09:03 AM)

J-Mac · « **Reply #24 on:** October 29, 2013, 10:25 PM »

Sorry to resurrect this thread, but I thought I would mention - for anyone subscribed to this thread - that Movienizer is available today on Giveaway Of The Day. I realize it's late - the giveaway ends in about 4 hours - but maybe enough time for someone to pick it up!

I'm looking again anyway.... FN Programs has just become "abandonware"... sniff... sniff..

Their forum was read-only for a couple of months - I figured he was getting too much spam or something, though it was definitely suspicious, and tonight I went there and the entire site is gone! Just a basic file listing page where you can still download the latest versions and a note with an email address if you lose your license key. And a thank you. No other info. Damn... Here I go again.

Thank you.

Jim