Movie exchange site

Well, after talking about this project for quite a while now, I think I'm finally getting somewhere. However, I don't want you to think that I got somewhere on my own... that would be crazy talk. I actually found a similar product online, an open source software package to manage dvd collections and keep track of who they're loaned to.

Since I didn't design it, it's not customized exactly to my needs. So, I'm going to spend some time customizing the look and the functionality of some pieces of the site. In the meantime, though, I thought I'd post a few screenshots of the application - VCD-db. It's a really great piece of software.

Take a look at the following screens. They will show the loan system (in it's current state), the category listing, the category listing (image view mode), and the page that shows a dvd's information.

You'll notice that the dvd info page closely resembles the look of the imdb page (and references it on the page). It does so, because when you add movies you have the option of typing a title and having the site search the imdb collection for similar titles. If you find a match, click the format (DVD or DVD+R or Divx... etc.), the number of discs then click confirm and your title is added with all relevant imdb data including a dvd cover, if available.

It's a time saver when adding DVD's... though even with that feature it's still time consuming. However, now I can track my DVD collection (along with a printable list the next time I go DVD shopping).

The downsides seem to be that the loan system is a somewhat manual process. Providing a list of users in addition to a custom borrowee would have been nice. Also, the ability to request to borrow a DVD from the category or movie page would be absolutely great. Granted, this would require some kind of queue management, but I think it would be a huge feature.

Lastly, my biggest complaint initially was that the my movies page didn't show my movies. That's crazy talk. I added a little code to show them on the my movies page now.

Don't let these complaints mislead you to thinking that this is a poorly written or designed software package... it's not. It's a great package, and it's well designed from a code standpoint. I would just like to improve the usability of the site.

So, in summary, I now have a system that will let me do most of what I want. List my DVD's, allow others to add their collections, and then trade the DVD's if people wish to do so. I just have to customize the look and try to improve some of the functionality. The last step (which should be the first step) will be to find a system that can host the site... as my host doesn't support PHP 5, which is a requirement of Vcd-db.