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How It All Began
My love for movies. Our parents took my brother and I frequently to the movies when we were kids, despite our not having a lot of money. This would be a highlight of our week to escape into the worlds of action, drama, and comedy (driven by their preferences). I later acquired my own taste for the exciting visually-stimulating worlds of Sci-Fi/Fantasy and the magical, visual candy that are animated movies which really drove my love for movies!
Collecting movies. I have always been a fan of the visual mediums, especially when they pushed the visual limits in the Sci-Fi/Fantasy genres - and of course, particularly with animation. I loved some of these movies and TV series so much that I wanted to have them readily accessible in the highest quality, so I started collecting video discs (first DVDs, then Blu-rays) based on the criteria that I would only buy/keep a video disc if within a couple of years I could see myself enjoying watching it again. Also note, as you can see from my My CG Story, I was so enamored with CG animation that I also started collecting video files on the web.
Craving a media server. By the time I invested in a high-quality home theater system (2009), my video disc collection had grown quite a bit -and- streaming services like Netflix were coming out with quick access to their impressive catalogs - so I started contemplating a high-quality media server that would hold all my movies on a big hard drive, and allow me to conveniently access them from a user interface accessible on my TV. But, at the time, there were no solutions readily available at the maximum Blu-ray video and audio quality.
My first media server. Then in 2012, large network hard drives (NAS - network attached storage) became more affordable -and- media PCs became available that could access these NAS with their full Blu-ray quality - so I bought them both. Then I spent countless hours using my programming expertise to develop a cool user interface that could display my collection from the NAS for playback on the media PC to my TV. People who have seen it can attest to how cool it was with its many innovative features (links across actors, access to online streaming service content, etc.).
Discs just for display. At this point, the discs were just backups for the digital versions on my network hard drive. Since they were just for show, I did not bother with the fact that many of them were behind the displayed ones and in closed cabinets below them.
Getting into 4K. In 2014, I invested in an even higher-quality home theater system with the advent of 4K and 3D content. However, as I started accumulating 4K Blu-rays, my media center solution was not able to support the newer technology. It was not until 2021 that the Zappiti company created a turn-key solution that did everything I wanted, so I said goodbye to my beloved user interface and adopted their solution, so I could finally access my whole collection with my media center!
Slow evolution to streaming. In addition to my physical discs, more and more there are various movies and series online that I can not get the highest quality on disc (primarily original content from the major streaming services that keep the highest quality versions online) or that I originally purchased digitally (Apple TV - previously iTunes) and did not warrant purchasing on disc. Note that Disney has been the worst, releasing 4K Blu-ray discs without Dolby Vision or IMAX-enhanced-aspect scenes, and only providing those quality features on Disney+! Considering Star Wars, the MCU, and Disney's own blockbusters, that is over 100 4K Blu-ray discs that I shelved (i.e., took off my server) in favor of watching them on Disney+!
Throwing in the towel. At the end of 2023, I looked at the high quality streams (with Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos, and increasingly better bitrates like 25+ Mbps) provided by all the major providers, and I finally threw in the towel, and stopped buying physical media (discs). In addition, I began streamlining my media server (from two to one) in favor of high quality streaming releases where available. So, now less than half of my collection I watch through my through my Zappiti (now defunct) player, and the majority through my high quality Apple TV 4K streamer.
Rating and Reviewing
Why I started rating and reviewing. Also originally part of my home-grown solution, I started using IMDb to rate (i.e., simply assigning a number from 1 to 10) all the movies and TV series that I saw - the plan being that I would make the rating accessible from my media center user interface (this never happened before the Zappiti solution came along). I also started reviewing (i.e., writing a text evaluation of the work) on IMDb with every rating at one point. However, since August 2022, when IMDb stopped accepting concise reviews, I stopped using IMDb for this purpose, and instead I started storing them in my Movies and TV Series Info spreadsheet.
My rating criteria: This is what I use when rating movies and series on IMDb ... and when I rate restaurants too!
| Stars | Grade | Descriptor |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | A+ | exceptional! |
| 9 | A | great |
| 8 | B+ to A- | very good |
| 7 | B- to B | good |
| 6 | C to C+ | mediocre |
| 5 | C- | weak |
| 4 | D | bad |
| 1-3 | F | very bad |
How my ratings compare to the general user community: My ratings are about 18% different than the average rating from the general user community - mostly on the higher side.
Enjoying the Collection
My Movies. Explore ALL the movies and series that I have collected -plus- all of those I have rated and reviewed! My collection is comprised of more than 1,500 video discs (4K Blu-rays, 3D Blu-rays, Blu-rays, and DVDs) in addition to my favorite streaming content!
My Watchlist. Check out the list of upcoming movies and series that I am interested in and tracking.
My Charts. Dive into my movie collection and reviews through engaging charts and analytics. Explore my genre preferences, rating trends, and more, all on my up-to-date charts page.