Introduction: My Movies Collection Management Overview

In this Instructable, learn how to use 'My Movies Collection Management' and how to unlock the advanced features for free!

About the Software:
'My Movies Collection Management' is part of the 'My Movies' family of products from Binnerup Consult for Windows. It is a program designed to manage your collection of movies including all associated meta-data... or in other words it lets you keep a record of all your movies along with DVD covers, genre, actors and almost any other information you can think of!

There are three advantages of using this program:
  1. There is excellent integration between the family of products
  2. Meta-data can be downloaded for free from the companies servers and IMDb automatically
  3. You can get it (legally) for free!

Step 1: So I Can Get This for Free?


In short yes!

The basic functions of the software are free to download meaning that you can add your collection of movies and get all the meta-data for free, but some of the more advanced features require you to get 'points'. Many people will not require any of the advanced features but if you are a home theatre geek then you'll definitely want to consider unlocking at least a few of them!

Points
There are two ways to get points:
  1. Buy them at a cost of $1 per 25 points
  2. Contribute data to the My Movies service... don't worry you don't need to be a computer expert to do it
Contributing data can be as simple as adding the name of a DVD or copying the description on the back of the DVD. It is possible that if you do a few hours work a day, contributing data, you can accumulate enough points to unlock every advanced features. More on how to do this later on!

Step 2: Download the Software

Follow this link to download the software

Click the image in the table column headed 'Link:'

Step 3: Install the Software

Once the download has completed you will have a ZIP folder. You need to extract the installer from this folder, to do this right click on the folder, click 'Extract All...' and follow the dialogue through to the end.
(There are also other programs such as WinRar and 7Zip that can be used... if you have them you should know how to use them!)

You will now have the setup file, double click it to start installing the software

If this is the first computer you are installing the program on, then check the 'Standalone' radio button and then click 'Next'
Follow the steps through
It is likely that you'll have to install SQL Server, if you do the installer will automatically do it for you.

Step 4: Setup the Software

When you first open the software you'll be prompted to register. This is a good thing because it means you can access your collection on any computer and it allows you to contribute data to collect points.

Once you have registered you can start exploring the software!

Step 5: Adding a Movie

To add a movie click 'Add Titles' in the top left hand corner of the window. You are then presented with a dialogue box which gives you many different ways to add a movie.

The process is fairly intuitive but just in case here are two examples:

Adding by Barcode
  • If you have a webcam you can use it to scan the code from the DVD/Bluray box - click on the picture of the webcam and then hold the barcode up to your webcam
  • If you don't have a webcam then you can copy the barcode into the dialogue box
  • Once the barcode has been entered, matching titles will appear in the box at the bottom
  • Click the title that matches yours (making sure it is the correct country)
  • Then click 'Add Offline' - this will add it to the queue
  • Select which category you would like to add the movie to from the drop down box in the bottom right by clicking on the arrow
  • Click the box itself to add the movie!
  • The meta-data should begin to download
Adding by Disc Id
  • Insert the disc into your computers DVD/Bluray drive
  • If you have more than one drive then select the one you inserted the disc into from the drop down menu
  • Click search
  • Matching titles will appear in the box at the bottom
  • Click the title that matches yours (making sure it is the correct country)
  • Then click 'Add Offline' - this will add it to the queue
  • Select which category you would like to add the movie to from the drop down box in the bottom right by clicking on the arrow
  • Click the box itself to add the movie!
  • The meta-data should begin to download

Step 6: Collecting Points

The reason My Movie's meta-data is so good is that it is update by the community to a strict set of rules and if you follow those rules you can unlock features of the program that you may otherwise have to pay for. The first step is to read the 'contribution guide'.

There is already a great video tutorial that takes you through contributing data:

These videos will take you through how to contribute data in baby steps

"All my movies are already on the system!"

Don't worry, the next step shows you some tricks to get points quickly!

Step 7: Tips - Descriptions

2,500 Points might seem like a lot but here are some tips to get points quickly.

If you read the website's introduction to contributing you will realise that not all meta-data was created equal. Add the ones that carry the most points:
  • Description 15%
  • Covers 10% each
  • Disc IDs 10%
Out I suggest adding the description, 'My Movies' helpfully has a live updating list of those titles that need a description added.
  • Those titles with high percentages (>85%) often only need the description and extra features added
  • Remember that since you're an English speaker you can select from the UK, USA and Australia - this gives you more titles to update (Canada tends to have both French and English)
  • If you speak French you can select from France and Canada
You can type out all the text or you can cheat (sort of):
  • Loads of online retailers will have already written up the description
  • Write out a couple of sentences and then copy it into a search engine and search for it as an exact phrase
  • In Google, use "quotation marks"
  • Once you have found the complete description copy it into My Movies
  • PROOF READ IT ALL otherwise when it is moderated you will not get any points!


Step 8: Tips - Finishing Titles

If you complete the meta-data on a title then you get an extra 12 points! This means that any title that it at 90% complete can be a fast road to points.

Step 9: Tips - Actors/Crew

If you find that you have completed all the high percentage and description missing titles then another option is to complete actors and crew members; a quick bit of Googleing can lead to a speedy 12 points!


There are three ways of going about this:
  1. Look for a title in your collection and search through the actors/crew to find one that has missing information
  2. Go to the My Movies contribution list and look for low percentages - often these will be titles that have no actors or crew added. The bonus with this method is that you gain points for adding data to the title (try to find obscure films with actors that are likely to have missing info).
  3. Once you have been doing this for a while you may find a niche that often has actors or crew with missing information e.g. cartoons. Use random search terms to find titles that are not 100% complete. This has the advantage that many may not have a genre added, so you can pick up an extra point or 2!
  • For all techniques you must first go to the WebService menu in the top left of the window and 'Update Actors and Crew'. This will prevent you from filling in information that is already on the server.
  • Click the 'Edit Actors' on the right hand side of the window next to the IMDb logo
  • This will bring up a list of possible actors. Select one and then click edit actor
  • This brings up another window
  • Inside this window fill in any missing data
  • Once you have done that use the drop down menu at the bottom to select what you want to contribute
  • MAKE SURE YOU SELECT THE RIGHT OPTION - if you are only adding a picture select 'Contribute Photo' not 'Contribute Data and Photo'
  • Then click the centre of the box and follow the steps



Step 10: Final Thoughts and Links

Once you have learn how the system works there is a huge amount you can do with it, check out the mymovies.dk to find out more. One thing to consider for iPhone users is the MyMovies Pro app if for nothing else other than the fact you can use the iPhone's camera to scan barcodes... I added my extensive collection of DVDs and Blurays in a matter of minutes with this!

Additional Links:
My Movies Wiki
My Movies Forum
My Movies How-To

NOTE: I am not connected with MyMovies.dk, Binnerup Consult or Apple/iTunes in any way.