Hardware

Ask something
Question Locked

Store Divx Movies in a database

0 helpful
10 replies

by stefan 3 views

Closed to new repliesThis discussion is closed. It stays readable, but it takes no new replies.
Hi there everyone.I need some help finding a free program that can be used to store my divx movie collection in and to be able to run it from the program.It must also have the feature to put in the movie title and what the movie is about.So it almost sounds like eg.ANT movie catalogue,but in that program you can't link your video files to the database.I want to be able to view what movie i want to watch and then basically run it from the program.if anyone can help me out i will really appreciate it!Thanx everyone

10 replies

by jaqui

it will be a very, very slow program then.
storing the video files in a database will slow it down massively, unless you spend a few thousand on high end hardware and database server software.

the "playlists" in your media player are the better option for functionality of the system.

by stefan

Hi Jaqui,Thanx for the reply man.I was wondering since Ant Movie Catalog's source code is free,isn;t there a way to add a hyperlink in the program to point to say my d drive on a certain server?That way the files are still stores somewhere else and it basically just hyperlinks to it?Ant Movie Catalog is really a nice freeware program to use and it gives you a pic of the movie and descriptions and everything.I just want to be able to run it from within Ant MOvie Catalog.I am not really any good at programming but isn't it possible to change the program to include hyperlinks?Thanx for your help!!

by rahouseholder

You can use OpenOffice to accomplish this. It is a free office suite like Microsoft's Office.
http://www.openoffice.org/
You can create a database using either the database or spreadsheet programs. Enter any information you want for the movie and then create a hyperlink to your Divx movie. When you click the hyperlink, your Divx player should start playing the movie, just as if you had double clicked the filename.

by dumphrey

where the database stores information about the movie and screen shots etc, and a link to the movie outside the database to play it.

by older mycroft

Moving them to be 'inside' another program is both a waste of time and will inevitably slow everything down.

Allow a media database to scan your hard drive(s) and build a database of where each file is. WinAmp can play video files just as easily as audio files plus it can apply Metadata tags to the AVI files, for you to include all the background info.

There is also the possibility that with metadata tags, WinAmp may update your tags by running comparisons with online databases. I can't guarantee this though, since I've never bothered with hard drive storage for video files. I tend to burn them to disc.

Don't be fooled into thinking that your 'carefully sculpted and honed to perfection' video file database is fire-proof. Your video collection will only be as safe as any other hard drive - until it crashes and takes all your films with it.

My MP3 collection does exist on my hard drives BUT it is also burned to 24 data DVDs.

[u]As we keep telling folks who post on TR:[/u]
[b]There are only TWO types of User - those that have lost important data & those that will lose important data in the future.[/b] ;)

by stefan

Hi there OLD Mycroft,i hear what you are saying.What i am actually looking at doing is to somehow hyperlink the video files from the Ant Movie Catalog program to where the files are stored.So it means that the files are still located on the harddrive where they always have been,but to just hyperlink it from the program.It would be nice to have all the information on the program with the picture of the movie and to be able to just click on it to play and not to go out of that program and then go into winamp or another program.Thanx for the help!Thumbs up for you.

by older mycroft

That is why you are having problems relating it to files stored on your hard drive(s).

You are stoically trying to make this database do something it was never intended for. In this regard, both the 'snowball' and 'hell' also enter the equation.

[u]According to the Ant Movie Catalog site:[/u]
[i]Ant Movie Catalog is a free (really free, i.e. the source code is available) program made to manage your collection of movies on DVD, CD (VideoCD, DivX, ...) and tapes.[/i]

http://www.antp.be/software/moviecatalog/

You see - the program is only capable of doing what it was originally designed to do. If you choose to keep your media files elsewhere (like on your hard drive), you can hardly blame the program for any difficulties you may be having, since it is you that is causing the problem.

If you insist on sticking with Ant Movie Catalog you'll have to start burning your beloved files to disc.

If you insist on keeping your files on hard drive you'll have to start using a different cataloging system.

Plain and simple. :)

by older mycroft

Now that I know what this Ant Movie Catalog is (I'd never heard of it until this thread) I can understand your reluctance to move away from it, having spent untold hours typing in all your entries. I'm assuming the program can't scan the files since they're not on optical disc.

However, if you were to use something like WinAmp, you wouldn't have to lift as much as one finger to build the database. All you have to do is navigate with the mouse to the parent directory that contains your video files - WinAmp will then SCAN the entire directory and build it's database automatically.

All you then have to do is search for an actor, a film title, a film genre, a production year, and any other statistic you care to include. The resulting information is blisteringly fast, double clicking on the item of choice will start it playing within WinAmp.

In other words, your days of typing are over. When you add another file to your hard drive directory, WinAmp will detect it automatically when next started. :)

WinAmp is FREE too. ;)

by stefan

Thanx for your effort man i really appreciate the help.I just wish there were some other freeware utility available to do what ant movie catalog does with all the details and everything and has the optional hyperlinking capability.Anyways thanx again for your help it is really appreciated!!

This discussion is closed to new replies.