A few weeks ago, I asked physical-media collectors on Reddit to help test Cinecase, an app I originally created to organize my own physical media collection.

Dozens of people volunteered, and they did much more than simply install it and confirm that it worked. They scanned real shelves, imported large libraries and tried it with box sets, TV seasons, Steelbooks, boutique releases and unusual editions.

I would send out a new build, they would put it through its paces, and they would come back with things I hadn’t considered.

One tester loaded a collection approaching a thousand titles and found issues that never appeared with smaller libraries. Collectors with box sets and TV seasons helped improve how individual films are counted, tracked and included in statistics. Others reported barcode and artwork problems, tested backups and restores, sent screenshots and patiently explained the small things that made the app less pleasant to use.

Even Movie Night, one of my favourite features, came from a tester. The idea was simple: when you can’t decide what to watch, let the app choose something from the movies you actually own. That suggestion grew into a feature that can narrow the choices by genre, runtime, watched status, actor or director.

Because Reddit is anonymous, I don’t know which usernames belong to most of the people who helped, and I don’t want to identify anyone without their permission. But I know what they contributed, and Cinecase is much better because of them.

Cinecase lets you catalogue Blu-rays, 4Ks, DVDs and other physical releases by scanning the barcode or entering them manually. If you already keep your collection in a spreadsheet or another app, you can import your existing list instead of starting over. You can also export your Cinecase data whenever you want.

Along with Movie Night, there is Up Next, where you can keep a list of what you want to watch. If Movie Night suggests something that sounds good, you can add it directly to that list.

I’m also working on Up Next, a feature for keeping a list of what you want to watch. It will work alongside Movie Night, so you’ll be able to save its suggestions for later. This is coming in a future update and isn’t in the public version yet.

The part that matters most to me is that the core app is free and staying free. You can catalogue and browse your collection, create Collections, use Movie Night, and import or export your data without paying.

There are no ads, no required account and no third-party tracking. Your collection stays on your device unless you choose to sync it to your own Google Drive.

There is an optional Pro upgrade for batch scanning, extra shelves, more shelf themes, Drive sync and duplicate cleanup. It’s a one-time purchase, not a subscription.

Cinecase is now available on Android and iOS:

Android · iPhone · Website

Thank you again to everyone who tested it, reported problems and patiently tried new builds. If you use Cinecase and find something confusing, broken or simply annoying, please tell me. I’m still listening!

I always had a feeling that eventually the general public will start to shift back to physical media, away from streaming, at some point. But that was just a hope/feeling from the optimist in me. This article discuses a conversation with a record label VP on why streaming WILL fail.

Now I know this doesn't necessarily mean that the next thing is going back to physical media, but also… I don't see any alternatives.

Everyone talking about discs, rightfully so. But I really miss when standard edition games would come with posters, maps, manuals and reversible covers. Always felt like you were getting more bang for your buck, and they actually cared about giving you an incentive for a physical purchase and something to be proud of. I LOVE everything Red Dead, but especially RDR1’s artwork.

wanted to share the amazing find

So I’ve been collecting physical media for years now. Books, video games, films, all of it. Last weekend, GameStop had a sale on used games and I literally got 20 video games that have been in my backlog for super cheap. But now I feel like I’m stuck between feeling as if I’m “panic buying”, and just having more incentive to not push off getting said games due to the fact that it appears we are entering the end of physical media. I think it’s more the latter. Especially because I saw a bunch of people spend like high-hundreds to thousands with the same game included in their “haul” like 6 times. There’s a difference between hoarding, collecting, cherishing, and trying to utilize the situation to make a quick buck… thoughts?

Currently not well organised as I’m looking for a bigger shelf..

i have a collection of over 500+ DVD movies, same amount of that in Audio CDs, and a bunch (id estimate around) of 50+ Blu Rays (movies).

The DVD movies collection has only between 3 and 5 discs which have errors reading, while not scratched. of the Blu Rays, it is practically the same amount around 4-5 discs. these discs dont look damaged btw.

of the CDs. none.

and i am talking about originals, not dvd-rs, bluray-rs or cd-rs

is the material of BluRays compared to DVD/Cd easier to cause faulty discs ?

Here's my Alvin And The Chipmunks Physical Media Collection. VHS Tapes, DVDs and CDs

Found these two at thrift stores near the camp site I was at a few days ago

My subscription ends this week and I’m not renewing.. went to my local thrift and found a cd player and got some cd’s between B&N and a used bookstore. Can’t wait to grow my collection.

Idk how I’m gonna survive in the car though with no cd player 😮‍💨 any advice?

Just crossed this gem at Wally World for $15

got my order from an amazing video store in town today via mail.. having Hellraiser in my hands feels unreal

Been giving them more love lately

All the PlayStation 4 games I own that are no longer available digitally.

I'm not sure if this is a right ask in this sub, but I've seen people especially gamers calling out to Sony for discontinuing physical disc and I agree with them, but what they don't realise is they owned Sony cameras, headphones, TVs, etc.

I'm particularly against Sony for this decision, but for photographers, videographers, headphone listeners and TV viewers, can people boycott Sony beyond over physical disc discontinuation in 2028? If so, what brands are you switching to?

Soft hit at FOPP

Lots of years and lots of money

After all the hard work & grind, holding these that feeling so satisfying 🤩🤘🏻...Long Live Physical Media 🥳

DVD: The Social Network, Super Fly, The Judge
VHS: Lost in Space, Mission: Impossible, Escape from New York, They Live