I got tired of keeping my DVD collection and digital library separate

Hey everyone! For years I bounced around different tools for organizing my collection and I eventually had 3 or 4 different tools for my physical collection; movies, music, e-books, and comics running for my one library, and that wasn't even considering my digital collection. Well we've been working on a solution for a while, and I'm excited to finally share that the first public release is available.

Like i said the whole thing started with something that always bothered me about managing my own media collection. I love collecting physical releases and filling my shelves. Having a movie on the shelf, finding a particular edition, finding an older DVD at the thrift store or upgrading to a new 4K edition is part of the fun. I also have a pretty decent media server and digital library, and while there are plenty of tools for managing either side, I always felt like I was maintaining two versions of the same collection. My collection tracker knew which discs I owned. My media server knew which files I had. My storage software knew where everything was. None of them really understood the collection as a whole.

So I started building Blank Box as a home for everything. There's a larger mission behind us and the larger we grow the more we can provide. I know there's a new version of something like this popping up often but we took the time to get this right and create tools that people will actually use.

What makes Blank Box different is what happens after you've cataloged something.

Say you own Alien on DVD, have a 4K SteelBook and also have a digital version on your media server. Blank Box can keep track of those individual physical editions while connecting them to the same movie and your available digital files. You can see what you own, what you can play, where your files are stored and whether they're backed up, all within the same library. We've also built in barcode scanning, physical-release tracking, local media imports, direct playback, Plex and Jellyfin integration, collection completion and want lists.

Our offline metadata packs are another big part of the project. Blank Box uses hand assembled downloadable local metadata packs rather than requiring a third-party service every time you want to browse your collection. It can also use artwork and metadata you already have. We're expanding that same approach across movies, TV, music, books, comics, games and other parts of a collection. The goal isn't to turn physical media into something digital (yet) or replace the experience of collecting. It's to make everything you own easier to manage and enjoy, whether it's on a shelf or a hard drive.

And for anyone who already has a carefully organized Plex or Jellyfin setup, you DO NOT have to abandon it. Blank Box is designed to work with existing libraries, not make you start over. It's free to self-host, and we've just made the first major software release available. We're still building out the broader vision, but I'm really happy with how far the project has come and excited to finally get it into more people's hands.

I'd love to hear what people in Physical Media Matters think, especially people with larger collections, unusual editions or a mix of physical and digital media. What do you use to manage your collection now? And is there anything you wish your current setup could do that it doesn't?

You can check it out at https://blankbox.org