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Topic Summary

Posted by: DenS
« on: July 12, 2012, 12:23:43 pm »

Hi Rick,

To conserve space I store my discs in binders. Sorting by Title is nice until you need to insert a new disc and have to move all the subsequent discs to make room. PVD is the perfect index / table of contents, why not use it... thus the idea to store the discs sequentially by a 'key' number. At first I considered a custom field to hold the numeric key and then found the ID# field almost by accident. It looks like the perfect key to this system. It is easy to add a new disc, enter it into PVD, write the ID# on the disc and put it in the last binder. PVD is perfect for searching for a movie, everyone seems to like it better than paging through the binders.

I was just looking for more information on how PVD creates and utilizes the ID# field. Most of my knowledge on how PVD handles the ID# has come from hacking... there does not seem to be much documentation on the field!

Using the PVD as an index for our TV series has been a challenge because they are not stored in the binders. I was hoping to hear a solution here on the forum but it looks like I will have to work it out on my own. So far the 'TV' prefix and re-using the number for a movie looks most promising.     

I am sure others have similar storage / retrieval issues.... maybe the numeric key system will help.
Thanks for all your time...
DenS
 
Posted by: rick.ca
« on: July 11, 2012, 10:42:28 pm »

I'd just file the discs by Title and not bother with ID's. If they were original discs that had been ripped to HDD that I wanted to keep track of, I would do the same but record the existence of the disc. That could be done by recording a disc type in Media Location. Or, if I wanted to record more information about the discs, I would use a set of custom fields (Date Acquired, Source, Edition, Cost, etc.)

ID's make sense if used as a method of control. That is, each disc acquired is assigned a sequential ID and recorded in the database. The ID is then used to ensure all discs are recorded and all discs recorded exist. The latter is not done by filing the physical discs by ID, but using the database to list all records with an ID according to how they're filed (e.g., by Title within Type—Movie/Series). If the loan system is being used, the list can also indicate which discs are out on loan. The list is then periodically compared to the physical inventory to identify unrecorded and missing discs.

Although not directly supported by PVD, bar codes could be used to control discs. That would depend on the routine of entering a Bar code (and other data that may be looked-up at the same time) using a scanner. A bar code would then indicate the existence of a disc, and serve the same purpose as ID's. The periodic inventory would be taken by scanning all the bar codes, then comparing a list of those with the database.

Which method is used, if any, depends on the number of discs, how important they are, and whether the circumstances warrant some form of control. None require the discs be filed by ID. I would only do that if the discs are only an archive of original media never used for playing or loaning.
Posted by: DenS
« on: July 11, 2012, 11:54:39 am »

Thanks for the quick reply. Your answer fits with what appears to be happening... makes sense.

Yes, do store episode data distinguishing a series in the database by the way they appear in the list.
The issues is in the physical storage. I store my TV Series discs separate from movie DVDs. Movie DVDs are in order using the ID #.
Where there is a TV series there appears to be a 'missing' DVD in the physical storage.  I am looking for a way to prevent this so it does not appear as though a DVD is missing.

One solution may be to reuse the TV series ID#s for movie DVDs. So I have ID# TV-7 and ID# 7. I know you can have multiple records with the same ID# so this just may work.

Your thoughts?
DenS   
Posted by: rick.ca
« on: July 11, 2012, 01:04:03 am »

Although a prefix will always appear with the number, it will be recorded separately. As a result, the values will always sort by the number, regardless of prefix. I assume that's what users wanted at the time prefix support was added. Unfortunately, logical operators used in Advanced Search cause a 'conversion' error if any records include a prefix.

But it's unclear why you would need to distinguish TV Series in this manner. Are you not recording episode data—and thereby distinguishing those records as series?
Posted by: DenS
« on: July 10, 2012, 09:53:40 pm »

I use the ID field as an index to my DVDs. What effect does adding a prefix such as 'TV-' to the number? I'd like to distinguish TV series from my movie DVDs.
Any other suggestion as to how and differentiate storage location would be appreciated.
DenS