14 DAY TRIAL // Keeping track of your DVDs can be a real pain. Especially if your are one avid collector that buys all the movies that get on DVD. The worst part is adding the details of the movie. A simple name of the movie and a number in the collection will just not do for me. I can do that just by simply using Notepad.
Complete details for a movie include the starring actors, the synopsis, the director, genre, year of release, the medium it is stored on, some personal comments, poster etc. I am sure you've got the picture. There are very good applications out there that are able to provide all this information at a simple click of the mouse.
Movie Track is a freeware created by George Karanastasis that comes to the help of those movie fans that have to harness a huge collection of movies. It succeeds in downloading the necessary details from IMDB and more.
The interface of the application is absolutely incredible and besides a minor issue I had the first time I installed the software (a reinstall solved the problem graciously), only the resizing option is missing. Original icons are running down in the left side of the application's dark window. There are four of them, each being extremely intuitive. Pressing the first of them will list all the movies in the collection.
Add Movies is the one you want to use first. The Movie Addition/Editing menu allows the user to introduce some data about the movie (the title is mandatory) like genre, if it has been purchased, the medium it is stored on, rating, and some personal comments. Saving option will launch the updating tool. The application connects directly to IMDB and retrieves the data.
If the title is ambiguous and the result list displays more than one item, then you should choose the correct title and click OK. The only thing I could not make to show was the poster of the movie. The film information includes the official title, the director, tagline, synopsis, actors, genre, language, runtime, IMDB rating and the year of the release.
Right clicking any item in the list opens the context menu that offers quick access to IMDB (launches the default web browser and opens IMDB page) and to the movie editing menu. Deleting one entry is done from this menu also.
Movie Track is equipped with a search tool. The feature is absolutely necessary when the collection is too extensive and you want to read the synopsis of a movie. The search options provided by the software include searching by title, rating, year, medium the movie is stored on, actors etc. The user can combine all the elements available in the search window in order to get an accurate result.
The movie info box can quickly be accessed from this window too, and Movie Track, IMDb, History (stores the date of the entry and the number of views), DivX(S)VCD, Trailers and Gallery tabs are ready to provide all the available information.
One of the most important aspects when it comes to movie database softwares is exporting the list capability. Once the database is exported, you can list it and give it to a friend, or send it over the Internet directly. Movie Track is equipped with such a utility and you can even import lists.
But all the above mentioned are just the surface options. The key to going deeper into the software's options is located in the topmost left side of the application window. To be more specific, take a look at the little down arrow in the left side of the title bar. Click it and you will gain access to the menu of the application.
As the software supports creating more then one movie database before switching from one list to another you should save the previous list. In the File menu there is the Save and Backup options.
To change the profiles (that is the first thing you will have to do before getting to fill in the database) and the skins, Tools is the menu you are looking for. Additionally, you can find the exporting function in here (HTML, XML or CSV).
The Settings window comprises numbering system, GUI colors and IMDb settings (updating options).
The Good
The application is free and once you get it started it should work fine (minus the little mischief mentioned above). The interface is absolutely beautiful.
The user has the possibility of adding posters of the movie from the files stored on the computer.
The Bad
Connecting to IMDb and retrieving the tagline, synapsis, year of release and all the other info is not enough if the poster of the movie is missing. Also, I imagined the Trailers section in the Movie Info will automatically connect to a website and stream the trailer of the motion picture (that would have been great). However, you can add preview clips and associate them with each movie.
Another downside of the application is the ensconced menu bar (little down arrow in the title bar). It took me a while to find it.
The Truth
Everything in all the application is really worth the effort of downloading and trying. The options are a bit baffling, but they are all available and once you get accustomed to the system you will realize that the software is worth it.
Here are some snapshots of the application in action:
