Virtual shelves for DVD collectors
DVDs are just as easy to collect as their round-and-shiny brethren compact discs. Unfortunately, they’re just as easy to lose and get disorganized. Organization among DVDs in no simple task either, as every collector and casual buyer has individual ideas for sticking the cases next to each other. Some group by significance, others by date or director, and many just stick to plain alphabetical order.
That’s on the shelves, of course. On the web, there is a raft of possibilities for organizing a DVD collection. Lists of DVDs owned and lusted after can be collected, cataloged, sorted, published and re-sorted all with the click of a mouse. Pay sites offer incredibly detailed services with front and back cover images, related film links and more, but for a price. One free site is DVD Aficionado, which stays current with new releases and is extensible enough to handle any collection. DVDaf users (who apparently can’t consistently spell ‘aficionado’) have the ability to create heirarchical lists of DVDs owned, wanted, on order and out for loan. Adding new titles is as easy as typing them in, and image submissions for covers are readily accepted, if not encouraged. For a site developed by one guy for fun, it’s amazingly usable and eminently useful.