Having lots of CDs or DVDs can sometimes be a real pain in the neck. I have a pretty small collection of DVDs and CDs (about 500 items) and still have problems finding the much needed item. A friend of mine on the other hand has over 2000 DVDs and at one moment he invented a strategy so that he could remember on what disc a certain item is stored. Of course, alphabetizing and numbering were obligatory. Futile to say that the strategy worked only inside his mind because whenever I asked him for a disc with a movie he told me that it did not work anymore and threw it away.

Anyway, I saved him by recommending a disk cataloging software. He assimilated my idea and now he can find every item on the list. The only condition is that you keep the disks in a certain order. For cataloging the DVDs and CDs in your collection there is a myriad of softwares available. But sometimes you store more on a DVD than a simple movie. MP3, .flac, audio CDs, they can all be cataloged in a few mouse clicks.

WinCatalog Standard is developed by WinCatalog.com and they released version 2 on the market at the price of $39.95. The only limitation available in the trial version is that the users cannot add files and folders from more than five volumes. The restriction will not incommode you at all in testing the application.

WinCatalog also comes in a much cheaper version, as cheap as $0, but this is not yet the application at hand right now. The Standard edition is able to store an unlimited number of files and volumes. The main benefit when using this application is that you don't have to insert any disc in the drive in order to see what you have stored. The software will scan the storage device and quickly add the information to the internal database.

Every item scanned by WinCatalog will be viewed in the software together with additional information like size, file type (according to the file associations during the scan), modification date, location etc. The user can even add contacts so that when a disc is lent to a friend s/he can make a note in there reminding him/her that the item is not available and also the name of the person it has been lent to.

My Collection folder in the left hand part of the application window will display in a tree-like way all the added volumes, files and folders. The sample database provided when opening the application has already a structure that contains folders such as My Books, Audio, Backup, DivX, Soft, MP3 or Games. The user can rename these folders and add the necessary files.

In the right part of the application window there is displayed the content of the volume or folder and below it there is the properties window.

The Options menu includes settings for the entire program, scanning options, audio CD settings and Additional. The scanning options are the most important in here as they allow you to set the scanning parameters. Thus the user chooses the depth level of the scan (scan the contents of ZIP and RAR archive contents), retrieve the audio track names from the Internet, scan only folders without actually adding files to the catalog, or keeping the descriptions for the .mp3, .txt, .html etc. files.

In Audio CD tab the user can change the CDDB Server, the default one is freedb. freedb.org, while additional settings allow you to set the compression level of the database (it could get large enough and take a lot of disk space). Getting the slider to the Best level will result in a slower opening and manipulation of the database.

A search option is also included in the software, so you will not have to browse each folder in order to find the needed item. The Properties window of each element of the catalog permits the users to add keywords and personal comments about the file.

If you have cataloged the current drives on your computer, you can execute the files by simply pressing the F9 key. The item will open with the associated software.

The Contact List available in the software can function like a regular address book and you can add the contact’s name, phone number, ICQ, fax number, email as well as some personal comments. When selecting a contact in the list, you will be provided with the list of items you have lent, as well as the date when you lent it and the type of the file.

The Good

Ease of use and fast cataloging of the files are just some of the pluses the software comes equipped with. The interface is great looking and the list of contacts can be imported from Microsoft Outlook.

The keywords will increase the search relevance and they can be edited.

The Bad

Despite the great features, the application lacks a number of things like retrieving posters and information about movies from the Internet. The price is too high in my opinion, as WhereIsIt costs the same but comes equipped with a whole lot gear.

The Truth

Nice application for beginners and it is very good when it comes to cataloging. But it lacks the little details the user needs. For example, you can see the lending date of an item, but you cannot set the due date. Anyway, play with it as it is very comfortable and easy to use and judge for yourselves.

A lower price would have made it great, but in this case it proves to be its main drawback.

Here are some snapshots of the application in action: