Father’s Day

First off, Father’s Day is Sunday (June 20th).  While it may seem like you still have plenty of time, you really don’t.  Save yourself the headache of going to the mall or running all over town looking for that perfect parent-pleasing gift and simply order something online. Many online retailers have made it easy for you to browse their selection of gifts for dad and we’ve got the rundown on what sites to visit:

Amazon.com is offering FREE two-day shipping to help you out, if you are willing to start your trial of Amazon Prime.  I am a member and I can assure you that this is one of the best “clubs” you will ever join.

Amazon has put together a Father’s Day page, to help you figure out what to get dad and they are giving away 5 LG 55-inch High-Def TVs and Blu-Ray players in their LG Infinia Father’s Day Sweepstakes.  If nothing else, sign your dad up for the contest and maybe he’ll win.

Amazon Prit is a No-Brainer for Online Shoppers

Target.com has put together a Father’s Day Gift Page of their own and they are offering FREE SHIPPING on over 100,000 items on their site.

Buy.com has an entire section dedicated to Dads and Grads.  There is no mention of FREE shipping here, but Buy.com has great deals and you can often find coupon codes that will knock $5 and $10 off of your order.  A quick Google search for “Buy.com coupon code” will do the trick.

Toy Story 3

Pixar is releasing Toy Story 3 on Friday at a theater near you.  Why pay for tickets when you can get FREE tickets for buying things that you and your family might already use.  We covered these items in our full article, but here is a CliffsNotes version of the same deals.

Buy Toy Story 1 and 2 – You don’t need a Blu-Ray player to get the most out of this deal.  Buy both Toy Story and Toy Story 2 Special Edition Blu-Rays and get 1 ticket for each to see Toy Story 3 for FREE.  These special edition copies come with BOTH a Blu-Ray copy and a DVD copy, so you can still benefit from this deal if you are still watching regular DVD’s at your house.  When the time comes to upgrade to a Blu-Ray player, you’ll already have 2 great movies to get you started.

Amazon.com has the best deal for these special edition copies.  You can get both films** for $41.98 and earn yourself $8 in Amazon Video on Demand credits in the process. ** You’ll need to scroll down to the “Best Value” section to take advantage of this special offer.

Energizer Batteries – Buy a few packs of batteries (something you need anyway) and get FREE tickets to Toy Story 3.  Just make sure that the batteries are Energizer MAX in AA or AAA and have the Toy Story 3 offer sticker attached.  I saw these packages (on sale) at Target just yesterday in the toy section.

Kellogg’s Cereal – You would need to buy quite a few boxes to make this deal worthwhile, but for cereal fans out there this might not be any trouble at all.  There are 14 different cereals available as part of this deal and you’ll need 6 points (1 point per box) to get a FREE ticket.  Check your pantry, stock up for the next few months or raid the shelves of your friend’s and family to get the points you need.

** If you have Kellogg’s Cereal codes and don’t plan on using them, make a donation to the Wish Upon a Hero web site and help those in need by providing them with your codes.  There are currently 14 different requests for children and families that would like to see the movie this weekend. “This is a one of a kind service designed to connect those in need with people that can truly change their lives.”

Below is a list of ways to obtain your FREE tickets to see Toy Story 3.  Before we get started, there are a few things you need to know about the options listed:

1. These offers are not from JumpstartMyPC and we in no way guarantee the tickets, offers or programs.
2. You are going to need a printer, or at least access to one, to print out the FREE tickets.
3. You must take advantage of these offers and print the tickets quickly (most expire at the end of August).

Offer 1: Buy the Original Movies

If you already own Toy Story 1 and 2 (Blu-Ray), then go check your cases for the “Magic Codes” that might be included.  According to the official Toy Story 3 Movie Ticket Offer page, the discs must have been purchased between 3/23/10 and 7/31/10, but I received my copies at Christmas and both copies came with the FREE movie ticket offer and a code.

If you don’t own the first 2 parts of the Toy Story Trilogy (on Blu-Ray), then there is no better time to buy them.  Run out to Best Buy, Target or purchase them online from Amazon.com and have your codes well before Friday.  Here are some prices we dug up from around the web:

• Amazon.com = $41.98 for both movies! – Purchasing both movies (Toy Story and Toy Story 2 Special Edition) from Amazon gets you a hefty discount.  $41.98 (and it looks like shipping is FREE) buys both movies, which include the following:
  • Blu-ray copy of the movie
  • DVD copy of the movie
  • FREE Movie ticket offer
  • Disney Movie Rewards points (earn points with Blu-rays & DVDs then use them for rewards from Disney)
  • BONUS: Amazon is going to also give you $4 worth of eligible movies and TV shows from Amazon Video On Demand for each purchase.  Buy both and you get an extra $8 to rent or buy movies and/or TV shows from Amazon.
• Target = $29.99 each – Target will cost you more than Amazon.com, but you would have the discs in hand today.  These are the same 2-Disc Special Edition copies from Amazon.com, which include the Blu-Ray and DVD copy, but you pay more and you don’t get the $4 in bonus cash.
• Best Buy = $29.99 each - Best Buy is matching the Target pricing on this one.  Same edition, same discs, same price.  You can earn some RewadZone points with this purchase, but that is still a high price to pay when Amazon can have it at your door by Wednesday for much cheaper.

Offer 2: Energizer Battery Purchase

Who doesn’t need batteries?  Whether it’s the remote control, the kids’ toys or hurricane season, you need to stock up.  Energizer is offering FREE movie tickets for Toy Story 3 or any Disney/Touchstone movie with the purchase of certain Energizer MAX packages:

• Energizer MAX AA-10, AA/AAA-12 – 1 offer code each
• Energizer MAX AA-20 – 2 offer codes each

** Note that it takes multiple codes to equal a free ticket, but 2 codes will get you $6 off of your ticket price.

You’ll need to make sure these battery packages have the ToyStory 3 logo on the package, so ordering online might not be the safest bet.  Here are a few local prices, to give you an idea on what you’ll be spending:

• MAX AA-10 = $7.49 (Best Buy)
• MAX AAA-12 = $11.86 (Sam’s Club)
• MAX AA-20 = $12.49 (Best Buy)

Offer 3: Kellogg’s Offer

Purchasing specially-marked Kellogg’s cereals can earn you points that you can redeem for great stuff, including movie tickets, inspired by Toy Story 3. There are about 14 different cereals that will earn you 1 point each and 6 points equals a FREE movie ticket.  If you are a cereal eater, check your pantry and just purchase what you need to make up the difference in points.  Much like the other programs, you only need to enter some codes online to print your tickets.  This means that it is not too late to get the codes and get the tickets before the weekend.

If you would like to see more information on the Kellogg’s offer, simply head on over to their Free Stuff site.

Organizing this collection of digital data and keeping track of what we have becomes more and more difficult as time goes on.  Storage cabinets, boxes, shelving units, entertainment centers and other furniture options are available at every store from Walgreens to Ikea and everyone has owned a few in hopes of keeping their collection organized, accessible and visually appealing.  No matter what you have to hold your data, it is most likely a temporary solution, as you’ll soon be purchasing that latest album, movie or video game.

What do we do next?

There are several options available to the TV, movie, music and game lovers of the world, but before we jump into the details, let’s take a look at the specifics of what we need to organize:

• The discs themselves – they need a home that will protect them from the elements and their worst enemy… scratches.
• The cases and artwork – depending on who you are and how “particular” you are about your collection, you might be concerned about the packaging of these discs as well.
• The contents of your collection – no matter how you store the physical discs, you’ll need a way to store the names of all of your individual titles.  At some point, you won’t be able to remember what all you have.
• New items – no matter what solution you decide on, you’ll need to be able to easily update the collection with new physical media and keep your list of titles updated.

Digitizing Your Media

If you are a techie type and really want to get organized, you can always convert your physical collection into a digital one.  Other than a familiarity with computers, there are several hurdles to this plan-of-attack that you should consider before jumping.

1. Storage – converting DVD’s, CD’s, etc. means you’ll need space for them all.  DVD’s can go over 4GB each and Blu-Rays as much as 25GB.  Of course you can shrink those file sizes, but that comes at a price.
2. Equipment – chances are you already have a computer, but do you have one that is powerful enough to rip through DVD’s?  Do you have a Blu-Ray reader on your PC?
3. Software – there are hundreds of programs out there that will help you “backup” your collection, but they each come with a price and their own limitations.  For instance, iTunes can help you back up your music collection, but you’ll find it incredibly difficult to back up your movies, not to mention time consuming.
4. Quality – Making backup copes of your media to a hard drive or storage device means you will probably need to compress the files.  Doing so can have a negative impact on the sound and/or picture quality and chances are you didn’t buy a Blu-Ray player to watch movies at a lower quality.
5. Types of Media – Assuming you get past the other issues listed above, you’ll still have one major hurdle.  Certain media types cannot legally be “backed up” or digitized.  The biggest limitation will be games for the major consoles.
6. Time – Converting hundreds or even thousands of discs could take months.

Benefits of converting your collection include easy access, limited physical space requirements (since you can now toss or store your physical media), and minimized risk of loss.  You could even free up some valuable storage space by simply backing up those older formats, like CD and DVD.  Keep your Blu-Ray discs and games in a physical storage device until technology advancements make it a little more feasible to convert them.

Verdict: It’s just not worth the hassle.

Physical Storage with Digital Cataloging

It may seem a little dated, but storing all of these discs for easy access is the least expensive route and will save you hours and hours of your valuable time.  There are several options out there, but I am going to focus on the solution I implemented.

Part 1: Storing the Physical Media

I received a discgear storage solution for Christmas last year and, at first, thought it was something I wouldn’t use.  As it turns out, this was one of the best gifts I ever received.  My Selector 120 HD (shown below) is now home to the majority of my movie collection.

Selector 120HD

My movies are kept secure, protected from scratches and, thanks to the slide out Disc Index, I know exactly what movies I have and which slot they are located in.  Software included with the unit made it easy for me to type in the names of my movies, print out a listing and insert it in the slide-out drawer located below the discs.

My Selector 120HD - Filled With Movies

The artwork that originally came in the case for each of my movies has been added to the provided book (shown below) so that I can flip through my collection visually and decide what I want to watch.

Provided Cover Book for Selector 120HD

CONS: Although this system is great, there are some downfalls that you should be aware of before you get started:

• Size – you can only put 120 movies in the holder before you’ll need more space or another holder from discgear.
• Time – I spent about 5 hours on this project, from start to finish.  Who knew it would take that long?
• Titles – There is no database or list for entering the movie titles.  You’ll have to type them all out yourself.
• Updating – I put my movies in alphabetical order (for easy location).  That’s great until I want to add a new movie to the holder.  Then I’ll have to reprint my listing and move the covers around in the book.

Verdict: At a price tag of $69.95 (unless you catch it on sale over at QVC.com – last price was $54.75) this storage unit is well worth the price.  I would have spent so much more on software and storage if I went the digital route.  Also, the Selector 120HD is attractive (leather finish) and makes a great conversation piece.  Anyone can walk up to the holder, find a movie quickly and get the disc in hand without training or technical skills.

UPDATE (posted 3-09-2011 @ 9:30am) – QVC apparently stopped carrying the Selector 120HD, but I just located another website, with a lower price.  Check out CSN Stores, where you can pick up this unit for $47.99 + shipping (a flat $7.95).  That’s about $15 off the retail price.  If you find it cheaper, be sure to leave us all a link in the comments below.

Part 2: Digital Cataloging

Because all of my movies would not fit in the Selector 120HD and I still have another 100+, including Blu-Ray discs (kept separately), and box sets (that I wanted to keep in the box they came in), my collection is still all over the place.  I need a way to catalog my list of titles, both for easy referencing and location.  After all, once I figure out if I own the movie, where do I go to get it.

There are several software solutions online that meet these requirements, but I will be going with Movie Collector from collectorz.com.  That’s right, I WILL be going with this software.  This is something that I have been putting off and now it is time to tackle it head on.

Movie Collector from Collectorz.com

Once I have my collection of movies entered and ready to reference I’ll follow up with a review of this handy software.