Howdy all,
I'm a recent migrant from DVDSpot, a UK user, and this is my first post.
Over there I did a fair bit of contributing (about 250 tickets), to get all of my owned and wishlisted DVDs onto my profile, and to amend the details I knew to be wrong.
Of course the procedure was a little less strict over there, and we were allowed to source cast lists etc from websites and so forth.

When DVDSpot announced it's closure, I promptly backed up all my DVDSpot UPCs, signed up here and d'led the software. The interface is taking a little getting used to, what with it being local to my PC(s) and nothing like Spot, but I think I'm getting there.
I've spent some time over the last week getting my collection onto DVDProfiler, and adding in DVDs I own but are missing from the database.

So, the next stage will be submitting these for approval...

I have some newbie q's, and apologies in advance if the answers are freely available elsewhere:

1) Is it ok to add very basic entries - UPC, title, release date and little else? I don't intend to be this brief, but it will certainly be the case that I can't add all info - for one, I don't currently have access to a scanner, and for another, lots of the films I watch are non English language, and often the cast and crew info is in it's original language in the credits and goes mostly unsubbed.

2) I've had added one submission so far (a 4 film Hitchcock boxset) and it was seemingly automatic added (i.e. there weren't any yes or no votes). Is this what happens with new entries as long as they're not obviously dodgy in some way?

3) When I added the Hitchcock box, I first added the UPCs of the films within the box (fortunately all were already in the database), then I added the box as it's own profile and then assigned the contents to the box. This reuslts in a little "expand" plus button next to the boxset profile. Cool.
However, I noticed that other boxsets in my collection don't have the expandy button. I'm thinking of the R2 17 disc Hitchcock box, the R1 Samurai Rebellion boxset, the Shaolin Kung Fu Master Collection, the Lee Chang-dong boxset etc. Is this because I haven't added the UPCs of the films themselves? In other words, if I add a new entry to my collection using the boxset's UPC, but I don't add the UPCs of the films within the box, are the contents not automatically added too? Or alternatively, is it just because those particular boxsets haven't had the contents added yet?

4a) In order to get some missing DVDs into my collection, I've performed a search and located another release of the same film, and then changed the UPC and Locality and edited other details such as the SRP, distribuition company, NTSC to PAL and such. In each case, I've removed the Disc ID and the cover scans, but in some cases, this means the cast list has been copied over. If I submit this, will everyone have a dicky fit, because it is not suffient proof that those cast members were listed in the same way on a different region's release? Or is it accepted that a R1 DVD will have the same credits as the R2 release of the same film?

4b) And further to that, what happens in the case of a different release with the same UPC? For example, Ross Noble: Unrealtime - in the database, the available entry was R4. Mine is R2 and has the same UPC, but has a different sleeve (i.e. without the big blue Australian rating certificate on the front) and of course SRP should be GBP instead of AUS$. For the time being, I've added the Aussie one and edited it to the R2 spec. If I submit this, will it affect the original entry (or be refused for trying), will it add as a new entry, or will it give me the option to choose?

Ok, that'll do for now!

Cheers!

First of all: a warm welcome is in place! 

In addition to snarbo's excellent suggestions, a few remarks:

ad 2.
An additional difference is that new contributions are processed much faster (often the same day) than updates of existing profiles, because other users are usually given a couple of days to vote on the latter.

ad 3.
Regarding the other box sets: it is quite likely that if the parent (box set) profile is in the database, then so will the children. If the children have their own EAN/UPC, you can add them using that. If they don't, you might want to insert the disc into your DVD-ROM drive - if all goes well, DVDP will recognise the Disc ID and you can then add the child by Disc ID. If neither of these work, try and do a Title search (add by Title) and download (the most complete profile, if there are several) an existing profile for the title you're looking for. You can then proceed with the procedure below 4.a.

ad 4.a.
What you're referring to is called "cloning profiles". Here's a guide on how to do that. In your contribution notes please state you copied data (especially cast & crew) from the existing profile .... (list EAN/UPC) in Locality ..... (state the country where the source DVD was released).

ad 4.b.
Snarbo's suggestion applies in case both releases were in the same locality (country). Yes, that does happen.
However what you mentioned was a release in R4 that shared the same EAN/UPC with an R2 release that you own. If the localities (countries where they were released) are different, it is possible to use the same EAN/UPC twice - then they can co-exist. Just make sure the Locality is set correctly (if necessary: in DVDP go to DVD / Change Locality - you may have to change the Region settings first by editing the profile).

Hope this helps!

P.S.
I don't know if you're aware our fellow user mediadogg has written an excellent tool to import DVDSpot data into DVDP. You can find something about it here, the long post in the middle.

You can download the plugin itself here.

Thanks for adding this, Skip!
Should have mentioned this in the first place - probably skipped (no pun intended ) this because of ClemBones' first question.

In any case: it's great to see a new user trying to find out how to do all this correctly! 

Quoting dee1959jay:

Quote:
Thanks for adding this, Skip!
Should have mentioned this in the first place - probably skipped (no pun intended ) this because of ClemBones' first question.

In any case: it's great to see a new user trying to find out how to do all this correctly! 

Agreed...in spades.

Skip

Quoting ClemBones:

Quote:
but in some cases, this means the cast list has been copied over. If I submit this, will everyone have a dicky fit, because it is not suffient proof that those cast members were listed in the same way on a different region's release? Or is it accepted that a R1 DVD will have the same credits as the R2 release of the same film?

I always copy the cast and crew from another profile (dont have the time to verify them myself). So i add to the contribution notes that from which profile i copied them (e.g. from the Norwegian profile). So the next person and the screeners know where i took them. Though I always try to use a profile i know has the same credits (meaning i avoid all localities that use dubbing ). I have never got a negative vote, contribution declined or anything of that nature because of this.

Quoting snarbo:

Quote:
That's how incorrect data gets propergated throughout the DB. Supposing your are just copying a profile that later turns out to be totally incorrect, how are you a, going to know. b, let the original submitter know that their profile is incorrect?

Yes there are times I copy from another profile but I still varify the data that I am interested in, if I copy say a R1 profile for and just released R2 profile, I will change the areas that need changing EAN/UPC locality etc, and go through the credits to make sure they are at least correct. Had one a few months ago where the character credit stated  actor x as "can driver" turned out it should have read "Cab Driver"...so it's always best to verify, typo's aren't only Skip's domain.

Thats how there actually is data in the database. From the past 6 contributions ive made 5 were new. Making those 5 new ones with verifyed info to all other fields plus cover scans, took me less time then to verify one profiles cast & crew. How do I know if its totally wrong? Well obvious errors are pretty easy to spot. The person that comes after me can see from the contribution notes that they havent yet been verifyed and can check them if s/he wish. So what do you think is better 5 complete profiles with unverifyed cast/crew (but have been accepted for another release), or one profile that has verifyed cast/crew? I cant do both, i have 14 profiles in my collection that arent in the main DB yet, i have tagged 113 profiles that i think need cover scans (or much better ones).

Quoting skipnet50:

Quote:
I hate to criticize, but I would NOT contribute something I had copied without verification. That accomplishes NOTHING if you copy a bad profile, all that happens is that somebody has to FIND it and then fix it. Even if you are copying one of my profiles ALWAYS verify FIRST, I am hiuman...believe it or not and i make mistakes. Not having time as you put it is an excuse.

Skip

That somebody has to use less time to check the cast/crew, then to start the profile from scratch. Imagine how much work one would have to do, if all US profiles were only added by people from Minnesota, thats the size of Finland. What i am doing is contributing unverifyed (which i state on the notes) cast/crew, the person that wants to verify it can A start checking and fix errors as s/he sees them or B delete the cast and start writing. In either case, the amount of time used is MUCH less then starting from scratch.

Quoting whispering:

Quote:
That somebody has to use less time to check the cast/crew, then to start the profile from scratch. Imagine how much work one would have to do, if all US profiles were only added by people from Minnesota, thats the size of Finland. What i am doing is contributing unverifyed (which i state on the notes) cast/crew, the person that wants to verify it can A start checking and fix errors as s/he sees them or B delete the cast and start writing. In either case, the amount of time used is MUCH less then starting from scratch.

Doesn't make any difference how big Finland is, or how many user's. Every Profile in the ONLINE DB effects things like the CLT. So if your coping an already BAD profile that says "Joe Blogs" is the main actor when in fact the credits actually say "Joe Bloggs" straight away the CLT is wrong by 2 counts (profiles). The only other thing to do would be just don't contribute if you can't be bothered to verify your data.

Some people prefer to have all their actors with BY, but they don't supply every profile with the BY's, as everybody keeps saying what you do locally is your business, but the online is best served for everybody by being by the rules and accurate.

Wouldn't look good for your credit if say next week somebody new from Finland (ex DVDSpot refugee) starts complaining to the Forum that all your contributions are incorrect, would it.

Steve