In order to provide better support and performance for our members, we have migrated to a dedicated server. No more shared hosting! The process went pretty smooth, and we were only down for a short time. If you notice anything not working correctly, please bring it to my attention.

Now that we have our own dedicated box, we can provide better search functionality. There is no longer a 3 character limit on search results, and they are sorted by relevance. This should also fix the problems some members were having while trying to recover their forgotten passwords.

I do anticipate a few problems here and there, but the hard part is done. Happy searching!

The DVDxml.com Windows Client has been updated to version 1.1. This update brings mostly new features, and one minor bug fix. Version 1.1 will upgrade existing installs, there is no need to uninstall the previous version. Be sure to download it and check it out!

• NEW: Option to rename a query (and optionally the underlying folder) by right clicking on it in the Listing Grid.
• NEW: Cover Art displays in Results grid
• NEW: Additional options to filter loading a root folder (load all, load only needing XML, load only needing cover art, load any needing xml or cover art)
• NEW: Option to right click an item in the Listing Grid and open that folder location in Windows (N/A for manual query)
• FIX: Results grid will clear when changing selection in the Listing Grid to a title with no results

Matt over at Zerosandtheone.com was kind enough to create a FREE Windows based client for our API web service. Using this application, you can automate downloading of DVDID information from DVDxml.com if you have an API enabled account.

The application is very simple and straight forward. It is not designed to be a DVD Library Manager of any sorts. It's only purpose is to automate the downloading of dvdid.xml files. It also features a nice utility to automatically create a directory structure if you just tossed all of your movies into one folder. Keep in mind you will need a directory stucture to use dvdid.xml files in Windows 7 for MKV, AVI and MPG files.


You can download the application here: http://www.dvdxml.com/download.php?view.15509

DVD Library Tool has reached its final build and now available from Clever Technologies. You can get a fully licensed version for just $20. Not only does it allow you to automate downloading DVDID information, but it will rip DVDs, upload DVDID info to DVDxml, as well as allow you to manually edit your cached XML files! This is a great utility for Media Center. You can also download the demo to try it before you buy it.

Some of our members and developers have been working hard since we launched our API web service a few weeks back. Here is a small preview of a new program coming soon from Clever Technologies! Their application (appropriately dubbed "DVD Library Tool") is currently in beta testing. I have been working with the lead developer Paul for a couple weeks now to help integrate DVD Library Tool with the DVDxml.com API. The final version of DVD Library Tool should be available from Clever Technologies within the next week or so. As for now, if you would like to participate in the beta, you can pick up a demo version here. Don't forget you will need an API Membership as well.

DVD Library Tool aims to be your "one stop shop" to manage your DVD Library for Windows Media Center. I must say, I have been quite impressed with its features and stability (even for being a beta). Combining this utility with the DVDxml API, you can literally click 1 button and a dvdid.xml file for every single DVD stored in your DVD Library. Though it will not be 100% accurate all the time, I was hard pressed to find a movie it didn't tag correctly.

When you first load the application it will take you the settings page. Here you can tell it where to look for movies, enable/disable the DVD Library in Media Center, input your DVDxml.com user name and password, and license key. There is also an option (disabled by default) to upload DVDID information to DVDxml.com automatically if you come across something we don't already have. No information is collected and the only thing sent to us is the 16 digit DVDID.


After you leave the settings page, DVD Library Tool will find all of your DVD movies and load them up for you. You are then presented with a list of movies that the application found and from here you have a lot of choices. You can get DVDID information from DVDxml's API, search manually on IMDB, or search manually on Amazon.



Clicking the DVDxml button on the toolbar will bring you to this screen. From here you can manually search and/or browse for the corresponding DVD. After you click ok, the application downloads the dvdid.xml file and meta data automatically, then places them in the correct folders for you. It also saves the cover art and names it folder.jpg.



Alternatively, you can click the "Auto Fix Library" button. Doing this will trigger DVD Library Tool to automatically loop through every movie in your library and download the first result it finds. As mentioned above this method may not be 100% accurate all the time, but it found every movie I own (near 100 DVDs) and correctly tagged them all. The main reason for using the auto fix button would be to get the bulk of your movies tagged automatically. If any results were incorrect, you could select them and then correctly identify them at which point the correct information would be downloaded and stored.


All in all, DVD Library Tool is a great application from Clever Technologies. I suggest you download the beta and try it out for yourself!