Automatic notification when movies have been released on DVD

[Hyomil]

I'd like to see PVD use the field 'Release:' date of a movie on DVD/Blu-ray to automatically notify you when it comes out.  There could be a popup and/or a link like "3 new releases" you could click on that would display those 3 movies in the left pane.  (or just set View > Group by > Release)  If Release date = current date, then PVD would know to notify you; if Release date > current date, a message like "3 new releases" where the count would continue to accumulate as more release dates passed.  To stop future notifications, the user could either delete the contents of the 'Release:' field or uncheck the 'Wish' box.

http://www.videoeta.com is a site that does this by sending you an email, but they have a limited database.

[Joe.au]

Creepy man.

[rick.ca]

It's not necessary to use an existing field. If something like this were implemented, it would probably use an existing field. But more to the point, a field can't detect that related external data has changed (or come into existence). So how, exactly, do you propose such a feature work? Should it poll the source continuously for releases for all movies in the database? That doesn't seem practical. If VideoETA has only a "limited" database, where would the data come from?

I'm not sure it's the best source, but it would be more practical to add the ability to import the IMDb DVD page. You could then import/update that for your wish items as needed, and then search those for the availability of DVD new releases. But I think my existing solution is much cleaner. I import the Allmovies link to it's DVD page and save it as a hyperlink. If there are no releases, there's no link. If there are releases, the link takes me to a complete list of them. Each release in the list is linked to a page of details for that release.

[Ivek23]

I import the Allmovies link to it's DVD page and save it as a hyperlink.

Code is here.

I use Mass often this Hyperlink for access to details set for DVD Release.

[nostra]

I think he just wants a notification when current date = release date for one or more records.

I have notifications in my TODO list already.

[Hyomil]

I think he just wants a notification when current date = release date for one or more records.

I have notifications in my TODO list already.

Yes, that's right.  I was confused thinking of the Date Added field, which is not needed.

Should it poll the source continuously for releases for all movies in the database?

Running the comparisons once a day or at startup would be sufficient.  It doesn't seem like doing an Advanced Search with [current date] >= [release date] would be that slow, but if it was, PVD wouldn't have to poll every movie in the database--just those with data in the 'Release' field.  And PVD would know which those were because every time a date was entered into that field, an addition could be made to an all-movies-with-a-Release-date list and the polling could be done just for that list. 

If VideoETA has only a "limited" database, where would the data come from?

It would be manually entered.  I'll sometimes check sites like asianblurayguide.com for release dates and enter them into the 'Release' field.

I'm not sure it's the best source, but it would be more practical to add the ability to import the IMDb DVD page. You could then import/update that for your wish items as needed, and then search those for the availability of DVD new releases.

Many of the movies/shows I watch have no IMDb page, and, if they do, they have minimal information and no DVD page at all.  If there is one, it may not be until well after the DVD has been released (because a fan did it when the distributor didn't find it worth the trouble.)

I import the Allmovies link to it's DVD page and save it as a hyperlink. If there are no releases, there's no link. If there are releases, the link takes me to a complete list of them. Each release in the list is linked to a page of details for that release.

Good idea.  I added the code Ivek23 pointed out to your AllMovie+ script and will start using it.  I'll also start including a link to the movie's page on dvdcompare.net (if there is one) in the Features field.

[rick.ca]

I think he just wants a notification when current date = release date for one or more records.

Not exactly. The IMDb Release Date is the date the movie was (is expected to be) released. It has nothing to do with DVD release dates. Those are on the the DVD page (and all that information, BTW, comes from Amazon). He wants a notification when the current date equals the date he has manually entered in the release field. I don't see much point in this. If the expected release date is just being entered manually, it can go in a custom field, and the list can be sorted on that field as required.

BTW, future release dates are sometimes an exact date, but are more often just a year. If so, the plugin returns nothing (although the release year is obviously the same as Year). For those tracking unreleased movies, it might be helpful to return those as December 31 of the specified year. That way, at least those will appear in a logical position of a list sorted by release date.

Should it poll the source continuously for releases for all movies in the database?

By "source," I meant some external source of DVD release dates. I don't believe this would be feasible or practical, even if there were a suitable site. A simple comparison of two database values, of course, would be relatively instant. But then so would sorting by release date (movie or DVD). Such a list can also be restricted to wish items and to any particular range of release dates.

Sorry, it just seems gimmicky and of limited practical use—even to those who have an interest in the information. If it were possible to get and maintain the information automatically, then maybe. But there are a number of more practical things one can do if they are interested in DVD releases. As mentioned, a link to existing DVD releases per Allmovie can be recorded. For upcoming releases, the Wish shopping cart button provides a direct link to an Amazon search page for the movie. This page will normally show the release date and details of any planned DVD editions. A Web search will do the same thing for other sources (e.g., wherever you buy your DVD's from). The release date and perhaps other details about the specific edition of interest can be recorded manually in custom fields. The loan feature can be used to track DVD's of interest and/or on order (by "loaning" the movie to "borrowers" like "Available at Amazon" and "On order from Amazon.")

The idea would be more useful if implemented in a more general way—as a simple "reminder" function. Specify custom fields for a "reminder date" and "reminder message." Then on startup, a list of titles and reminder messages for the current date could be displayed. To facilitate taking whatever action is required, it would be helpful to include a filter for "today's reminders."