Catalog/index CDs using their label barcodes

Question

I have some boxes and crates full of CDs that I would like to catalog. I don't want to rip them or otherwise use their contents, just catalog them. Most of them have a bar code on the jewel case. I have no idea what information this bar code contains but imagine it may well be at least the title of the album and possibly the songs on the CD.

I'm wondering whether there is a smartphone app which would allow me to scan these bar codes and so generate a catalog of the CDs with the songs they contain.

Answer 1

Thank you both for your input. In the meantime I have stumbled on what seems to be an excellent solution.

www.collectorz.com is a facility for cataloguing CDs, books, music, and videos. It offers an Android scanning app called CLZ Music which I have tried out with my Samsung tablet. You point the crosshairs of the CLZ Music scanner at the barcode on the CD jewel case and - bingo ! - it identifies the CD, looks it up in their database, and lists it on the CD on the tablet with its contents/music. It can sync the CD info with their cloud database so that it is available on one's other devices (e.g. PC).

Disclaimer: This is unsolicited. I have no financial connection to Collectorz.com nor am I in any way beholden to them.

Answer 2

What the barcode of CDs offers is exactly the same EAN (European Article Number) as can be found in the digits below. This is a valid unique identification, but useless without a huge article database. (You may search for it in the online shop of your choice, however.)

Already existing CD databases (as cddb, freedb) use the table of contents of the CD itself instead, which is not easily accessible from a smartphone hardware.

Answer 3

This french app (link Google Play)/(link iTunes) (maybe you can find the equivalent in your country) allows people to sell their second hand CDs. The app will scan the bar code, identify the disc (artist, name of the album) and offer you a price.

Maybe you are not interested in actually selling them, but the app will still help you to identify your CDs.

Answer 4

A barcode itself is a graphical form of the string of numbers below the stripes.
You can plug a USB barcode scanner into a pc or mac and open a new text document. No need for barcode software. As soon as you scan the barcode, that string of numbers will show in your text document. It is basically a text file of the string of numbers.

Think of it as a serial number or article number. You can scan the string of numbers into any text block where you have your cursor. For barcode lookup or query to work, you would need to link that string of numbers to any other record or database. An example would be to scan your identity number in barcode format and get a program to show your Age, Birthplace, Gender etc.

In a retail setting that string of numbers are linked to a company product database containing all the product details and pricing. So, when you scan the barcode the software looks up article number for the product in the product database and shows the description and price and brings that information onto the sale. In a basic spreadsheet you can scan in a barcode and get the program to show the results frame any cell or combination of cells that you chose.

In the case of a Media Library like Media Monkey you could set up your music database first and then scan your barcode into any of the data tag fields to be embedded with your files.

The problem is to find a media library that has a barcode entry field.