Sneak Preview: CLZ Movies v9.0!

[CLZ_Alwin]

A huge update for your CLZ Movies mobile app is coming up, probably next week. Here’s a sneak preview of all the new features and improvements:

• Improved Add Movies screen: big cover images for 4K/Blu-ray/DVD releases
• Collection tabs: easily switch between collections using tabs at the bottom
• New: tap an actor name in details to show all your movies with that actor
• Better screens for reporting “unrecognized barcodes” and adding them anyway
• Many new icons for digital and streaming formats

Improved Add Movies screen: big cover images for 4K/Blu-ray/DVD releases

For version 9, we have done a serious re-design of the “Add by Title” part of the Add Movies screen:

• “By Title” search results now include a short list of the main actors, to help recognizing the movie you are looking for
• After searching by title, tap a movie result to go a new page listing all physical releases for that movie (on 4K, Blu-ray, DVD, etc…)
• Browse releases with BIG cover images (instead of the previous list with tiny thumbnails)
• Filter the release list by format!
• Select and add your choice quickly and easily using the Add Movie sheet that slides in from the bottom
• Tip: tap the top left entry to just add the movie itself with a default movie image, without edition details.

Collection tabs: easily switch between collections using tabs at the bottom

The ability to have multiple collections within your movie database is a popular feature. Many users have separate collections, e.g. separating their movies from their tv shows, maybe a separate collection for “Digital” purchases, or for “For Sale” stuff.

The CLZ Cloud site and the Movie Connect web-based software both show those collections as nice tabs at the bottom of the screen, but we never added that to the mobile app, for fear of losing too much screen estate. Instead, switching between collections was done through the app menu.

However, for today’s update, we added the tabs anyway, using a smart “auto hide” to give you the full screen height when scrolling.

Of course, the tab bar will only show up if you have more than one collection. Also, you can opt to remove it completely: just open the Manage Collection screen and disable it using the toggle at the bottom.

New: tap an actor name in details to show all your movies with that actor

Here’s one suggested by one of our users: tap on actor name in the movie details page and instantly filter your collection to show all movies you own with that actor/actress.

Better screens for reporting “unrecognized barcodes” and adding them anyway

When you scan a barcode that in not recognized by our CLZ Core online movie database (yet), you always get the “Unrecognized Barcode” popup, which lets you:

1. Find your movie by title (assuming the movie itself IS listed in Core)
2. Select the Format of your edition (4K, Blu-ray, DVD, HD-DVD, LD, etc….)
3. Then… add the movie to your app anyway, with that barcode and format filled in
4. And… very important… report the missing barcode to our Core at the same time!

This screen is super-useful for you (for easily adding the movie anyway) AND essential for us (for improving the barcode recognition of our Core). So we did a complete re-design from scratch of the “Unrecognized Barcode” screens, to:

• make it clearer and easier to use
• finally support unrecognized box set barcodes!
  (it now even lets you select which movies are in the box!)

Many new icons for digital and streaming formats

More popular formats now automatically show a nice format icon, as we added a lot of new icons for popular digital, streaming and other formats:

• Amazon Prime Video
• Apple TV
• YouTube/Google (they’re merging their video service)
• VCD
• DVDR
• CD
• Hulu
• VUDU/Fandango (these services have merged)
• Roku
• Microsoft Movies & TV
• Movies Anywhere
• Netflix
• Disney+
• Plex
• Files
• Divx
• UltraViolet
• Shudder
• Tubi
• ESPN+
• Freevee
• MGM+
• Crackle
• HBO/HBO Max/Max
• Discovery+
• Crunchyroll
• Peacock
• The CW
• AMC+

[CorneliusCardew]

Thanks for this!

I store some movie files in Dropbox so I would love a Dropbox logo.

[CorneliusCardew]

Thanks!

[wdmarsh]

Along with the Dropbox logo already added, can we get icons for Google Drive and Microsoft OneDrive?

[CLZ_AJ]

So we were very much in doubt of adding Dropbox, because it is not really a format you have your movie in… but yeah we added it.

As for Google Drive / Microsoft OneDrive, do you actually have full movies on there? What is the situation exactly?

[CLZ_Alwin]

My vote: remove the Dropbox icon, and do not include icons Google Drive and Microsoft OneDrive.
These are not movie formats in any way.

[wdmarsh]

Actually, they are a series of studies that were downloaded as MP4s and I stored on Google Drive to safe space on my SSD drive. While I did purchase them, they are not movies that would ever appear in CORE, so I get that adding my two suggestions might be frivolous. But I figured if you were going to add Dropbox, might as well add its counterparts from Google and MS.

I won’t be devastated if you decide against it, believe me. LOL

[CLZ_Alwin]

But for those, would the format not be just “MP4” ?

[wdmarsh]

Indeed. I think the person who requested the Dropbox icon is in the same (or very similar) boat. Dropbox, Google Drive, and MS OneDrive are not formats, but locations, and we can already add as many of our own locations as we want.

[CLZ_AJ]

Yeah I’m starting to be on the side of getting Dropbox out of there, as it is more a “location” rather than a format. Or even a Storage Device, rather than a format.