Quoting Ian79:

Quote:
First, I don't know anything about software. So don't hate me for the question/remark.

I noticed that there are some software specialists/engineers on this forum. Is it an option or chance that you guys get together and write a new DVD Profiler. With the best parts from DVD Profiler and update it to be better then it's now. I know it's not written in two days. But is it doable?

It is a very good and valid question. Most of us take the answer for granted since we have been here so long. The answer is, yes of course it is theoretically doable. But it would be very costly and the results might not be commercially viable. Here is why:

(1) DVD Profiler has a long history, having been built by a genius programmer and colleagues. Over those years, which included court battles, the program, mobile apps, web site and online database have evolved to be the gold standard for DVD / Blu-Ray collectors. The code is not open source, and the database is proprietary.

(2) The MO ("modus operandi") of the Invelos ecosystem involves intense user participation. DVD metadata is contributed by users who meticulously audit the actual DVD contents, or validate other contributions against it. There are strict, complex contributions rules, a committee, anonymous reviewers that still exist even now, for approving database contents, known as DVD profiles.

(3) DVD Profiler has a unique method for encouraging other developer enhancements called "plugins". To recreate DVD Profiler would mean not only duplicating the enormous functionality of the program, the database, contributions mechanism, synchronized cloud and mobile apps, ability to extend the database, shared windows database across PCs, filters, reviews, custom skins, reports and the list goes on; one would have to decide which plugins would need to be reviewed for functions that many users consider to be important parts of the DVD Profiler experience.

(4) One of the reasons DVD Profiler was so popular was that it provided high value for a very low one-time license fee. This scenario would never work in today's economic environment.

(5) A replacement program would need to accommodate the new streaming paradym and consider innovative features and functions to allow users to make the most of the significant investments that we are all making on purchasing and using digital rights to online content. A new program would have to go much further than DVD Profiler to provide enough value to justify the high license fee it is likely to require in order to be financially viable. The use of "AI" will have to be heavily featured to be competitive.

Finally, perhaps the most glaring manifestation of the answer to your question lies in the observation that of all the competitors who have tried to create an equally compelling alternative, so far nobody has done it. Yes, there are other successful and useful approaches, but so far, nobody has captured the imagination and spirit of avid media collectors like DVD Profiler and embodied that spirit in a set of computer program functionality that continues to surprise those of us who have been using it for over 20 years. I am still discovering nuances that I didn't know were there, that reflect the enormous vision and creativity of Ken Cole and his team.

It is a "once in a century" type of invention. There will be a new one someday - maybe already out there, waiting to be discovered. I hope so.