Any good media cataloging apps for the iPhone?
November 30, 2009 6:23 AM Subscribe
Yesterday I accidentally bought the same season of a show on DVD that I already owned, because I forgot I'd already owned it. Faulty memory aside, it made me wish I had a mobile-accessible library of things like that I own. What options do I have? iPhone-specific for me, but other suggestions for the benefit of the hive are welcome. Bit more inside.
I have an iPhone, but not a Mac. I figure there must be an app out there that will allow for barcode scanning of things like books, DVDs, and video games, and cataloged it for mobile access. Heck, if it went further for more consumer-grade products, it'd be nice. I know of Delicious Library and its iPhone app, but since I don't have a Mac, it's not a route for me. Any suggestions?
I have an iPhone, but not a Mac. I figure there must be an app out there that will allow for barcode scanning of things like books, DVDs, and video games, and cataloged it for mobile access. Heck, if it went further for more consumer-grade products, it'd be nice. I know of Delicious Library and its iPhone app, but since I don't have a Mac, it's not a route for me. Any suggestions?
Librarything on a computer is awesome, but Librarything on a mobile phone needs some work ...
posted by TheyCallItPeace at 6:46 AM on November 30, 2009
posted by TheyCallItPeace at 6:46 AM on November 30, 2009
I keep a list called "Buy" in my google tasks. It's a list of things I want to buy but don't have the memory for. ie, I've lost track of which Rush albums and seasons of South Park I own.
posted by valadil at 7:52 AM on November 30, 2009
posted by valadil at 7:52 AM on November 30, 2009
Evernote is more general purpose, but you could easily take a picture of everything your library, and then search by text with the OCR it runs on images. It's optimized for searching through images and text, rather than through obsessive tagging, so you don't need to worry about being too pedantic in keeping inventory.
Plus, it's free (both the app for the PC and the iPhone) so long as you upload less than 40 MB of images a month, and it's good for notetaking, too.
posted by mccarty.tim at 8:09 AM on November 30, 2009
Plus, it's free (both the app for the PC and the iPhone) so long as you upload less than 40 MB of images a month, and it's good for notetaking, too.
posted by mccarty.tim at 8:09 AM on November 30, 2009
(A note: Delicious Library doesn't actually have an available iPhone app, although their website still says they do.)
posted by The corpse in the library at 11:38 AM on November 30, 2009
posted by The corpse in the library at 11:38 AM on November 30, 2009
I have a Blackberry, not an iPhone, so not sure if this will work for you. But I make a simple Excel spreadsheet with the movie (or TV series) title in one column, and the year of its release in the other. I e-mail it to myself whenever I make an update, so whenever I'm out shopping I always have my video library on hand. It isn't exactly pretty, but it works like a charm.
posted by doh ray mii at 12:03 PM on November 30, 2009
posted by doh ray mii at 12:03 PM on November 30, 2009
Really, your easiest bet would be to make a Textfile with all your DVDs, and store it in SimpleNote. (Unless you actually want to store all that extra information that something like DeliciousLibrary does.)
posted by chunking express at 12:40 PM on November 30, 2009
posted by chunking express at 12:40 PM on November 30, 2009
Take11? A website like LibraryThing, but specifically for movies. Disclaimer: I have not used the mobile version, only the regular site, but it is supposed to be mobile-accessible.
posted by timepiece at 1:38 PM on November 30, 2009
posted by timepiece at 1:38 PM on November 30, 2009
DVD Profiler has been great for me on Windows, and they are working on an iPhone version.
posted by Gridlock Joe at 1:46 PM on November 30, 2009
posted by Gridlock Joe at 1:46 PM on November 30, 2009
Collectorz.com have a whole range of inventory software - dvds, books, comics, music. I tried the book one several years ago and thought it was great, but not so great that I was willing to buy it. I see there is an iphone edition for sale, but it appears that YOU NEED THE DESKTOP VERSION. If you have an extensive collection and are a real passionate collector, it might be your thing.
On the cheaper side of things:
MyStuff is a free inventory app that you can use not only for DVDs, but anything else you own.
Listomni is an app for all sorts of lists: ToDo, Groceries, etc. It comes with a bunch of template lists, including the Movies list.
I have both MyStuff & Listomni. One day I will get around to entering all my belongings into MyStuff. Listomni I use for groceries & ToDo, and not much else at the moment, but I think I'll start using it to keep track of DVDs I want to buy/borrow & movies I want to see at the cinema.
One feature the Collectorz software has is the ability to read stuff in via barcode scanner, which I imagine would save heaps of time if you have an extension collection.
posted by goshling at 3:47 PM on November 30, 2009
On the cheaper side of things:
MyStuff is a free inventory app that you can use not only for DVDs, but anything else you own.
Listomni is an app for all sorts of lists: ToDo, Groceries, etc. It comes with a bunch of template lists, including the Movies list.
I have both MyStuff & Listomni. One day I will get around to entering all my belongings into MyStuff. Listomni I use for groceries & ToDo, and not much else at the moment, but I think I'll start using it to keep track of DVDs I want to buy/borrow & movies I want to see at the cinema.
One feature the Collectorz software has is the ability to read stuff in via barcode scanner, which I imagine would save heaps of time if you have an extension collection.
posted by goshling at 3:47 PM on November 30, 2009
You don't need an app for this.
You say you have an iPhone. If you have an iPhone 3GS, you have a video camera. Record a video of your DVD collection, panning relatively closely past the spines of your DVD cases slowly so that they're readable. If you're so inclined, you can even speak the names of your DVDs as you pan past them, although this isn't strictly neccessary.
Yes, an iPhone version of DVD Profiler would be great, but while you and I wait for this to appear, this free method has helped me avoid your predicament a number of times.
posted by Effigy2000 at 4:35 PM on November 30, 2009
You say you have an iPhone. If you have an iPhone 3GS, you have a video camera. Record a video of your DVD collection, panning relatively closely past the spines of your DVD cases slowly so that they're readable. If you're so inclined, you can even speak the names of your DVDs as you pan past them, although this isn't strictly neccessary.
Yes, an iPhone version of DVD Profiler would be great, but while you and I wait for this to appear, this free method has helped me avoid your predicament a number of times.
posted by Effigy2000 at 4:35 PM on November 30, 2009
By the way, as an added bonus, this video also comes in handy if you ever get broken into and have your DVDs stolen. The video serves as evidence that you once owned the DVDs you're claiming on your insurance. So it's worth doing even if you weren't looking for an app-less way to catalouge your library.
posted by Effigy2000 at 5:00 PM on November 30, 2009
posted by Effigy2000 at 5:00 PM on November 30, 2009
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by gene_machine at 6:26 AM on November 30, 2009