Last weekend I found a great software to keep track of my DVDs. It's called My Movies. MyMovies integrates into Windows Mediacenter. I can browse or search my DVDs using the remote while sitting on the sofa :-) The media center plugin is supposed to allow playing DVD backups you made on your hardisk. I haven't tried that yet. But considering current hard disk prices it would definitely be affordable to store all my DVDs that way.  

There's a client application to manage the stored data. It either works locally on the media center system or remote via the network. I run the client app on my laptop to add DVD information. Adding data can be done manually or preferrably by scanning the barcode on the DVD back cover and get the information from a web service automatically.

It also has a feature to scan barcodes with a web cam, but I couldn't get it to work. The built-in cam in my notebook seem to not have sufficient quality. I tried an old Philips ToUCam Pro, but according to the Philips website there will never be Vista drivers. To satisfy my play instinct I have bought a cheap barcode scanner on eBay :-) I'll post how it works after it arrives.

MyMovies has an interesting donation model. It's freeware with some advanced features blocked. You can either donate money via PayPal or you can contribute data to the DVD information web service. Over time you get access to the advanced features and all other users of MyMovies profit from your contribution to the meta data web service.

You also can publish your DVD collection online, protected with a password if you like.