Audio Video News

Scientists say the human brain can process only between five and nine things at once. To that postulate, we'd add that the human brain can catalog only 25 DVDs. Here's proof: Have you ever rented a DVD that you later realized you own? Have you ever bought a DVD and brought it home only to find it was already sitting on your shelves? Yep, us too.

The new $149 IntelliScanner Media Collector 300 is designed to help you keep track of all the DVDs, CDs, and books you own without having to do something dumb and tedious like writing them down in a spiral notebook or making a spreadsheet. Just flick the Media Collector scanner across the product's bar code, and the included software identifies your disc or book and stores its title in your computer.

The software shows you cover art and lets you search your collection by title, genre, etc. You can post a list of the software you own on the IntelliScanner website, a handy feature for friends who want to figure out what DVD or CD they should borrow from you next. You can also browse your collection through an iPhone, a feature that seemed cutesy and pointless (like so many other iPhone apps) until we realized it means you don't have to get up and go to the computer to figure out what DVD you want to play next. -Brent Butterworth