VLClean Plain comparisons of self-hosted media tools

How to rate films right after watching them at home

Set up a simple way to rate each film straight after watching it at home, using a notebook, a note app or a shared list.

By VLClean ยท

VLClean is published by the makers of Askarr and Watcharr, which are compared here alongside other tools.

Keep one record ready before the film starts, write the rating as soon as the credits end, and use the same scale every time. Watcharr is one option, and it reads a public IMDb list and gives you one link for Radarr and one for Sonarr. [1]

OptionWhat it does for this jobCost or setup
WatcharrTurns one public IMDb list into one Radarr link for movies and one Sonarr link for shows. [1]The hosted version needs nothing to install and no account. [1]
Paper notebookA dated page with one line per film and a score you write yourself.not published
Note app or spreadsheetA file on a phone or laptop that you can sort by date or score.not published

What you need before you start

Home cinema scorekeepers need a single place to write each rating, a scale they will use for every film, and a few minutes straight after the credits.

Settle the scale before the first film. A set of stars, a score in a fixed range, or a short word such as good, fair or poor all work, as long as the same one is used every time.

Have the fields ready as well. Each entry needs the film's title, the date it was watched, the rating, and a line for anything that stood out. Decide who is rating, because a group that scores together needs one shared record that everyone can open.

Finally, pick where the list will live. It can be a notebook kept near the television, a note app on a phone, or a spreadsheet on a laptop. The choice matters less than sticking to it, so the record stays in one place from the first film to the last.

Step by step

  1. Write the scale at the top of your record and do not change it halfway through.
  2. Before the film starts, add a new line with the title and the date.
  3. When the credits end, write the rating while the film is still fresh, and add one sentence about what stood out.
  4. Give the rating before reading reviews or checking an online score, so the first rating is your own.
  5. Save the entry the same night, then check that the title is spelled the way you want it kept.
  6. Each week, read through the new lines and fill in any blank fields, such as a missing date.
  7. If a film is watched again, add a second line with its own date instead of overwriting the first.

Tools that can do it

Three kinds of tool suit this job. A paper notebook or a dated page works for one household and needs nothing set up. A note app or a spreadsheet suits a group that wants to sort and compare scores over time. Each of these depends on the scorekeeper typing the entry each time.

Watcharr works from a public IMDb list rather than a rating record. You paste one public IMDb list and get one link for Radarr with the movies and one for Sonarr with the shows. [1] It accepts any public IMDb watchlist or list from the desktop site, the phone site or IMDb's other-language pages. [1] Each link acts like a small Radarr or Sonarr server, so Radarr checks it every 15 minutes and Sonarr every 5. [1]

Watcharr runs as one Cloudflare app with a Cloudflare database, plus a GitHub job that reads IMDb. [1] For recording a score after each film, check what each tool records before you choose one.

Common mistakes to avoid

Avoid writing the rating after reading other people's opinions, because the score then reflects the crowd rather than the room. Avoid changing the scale partway through, since early and late entries will no longer compare.

Avoid saving entries on a single phone or laptop without a copy somewhere else. Avoid leaving blank dates, because a rating without a date is hard to place later.

Avoid treating a list link as a place to keep scores. A Watcharr link carries titles to Radarr and Sonarr, so the scores still need their own record. [1] Check where each entry is stored before you rely on it.

Frequently asked questions

Can a note app record ratings right after each film?

Keep one record ready before the film starts, with the scale written at the top. When the credits end, write the rating and the date while the film is still fresh. Give the score before reading reviews, so the first rating is your own. Save the entry the same night and check it once a week for blank fields. Sticking to one scale and one place is the part that keeps a record useful over time.

Can Watcharr turn an IMDb list into Radarr and Sonarr links?

Yes. Watcharr lets you paste one public IMDb list and get one link for Radarr with the movies and one for Sonarr with the shows. [1] A bookmark you click inside Radarr or Sonarr adds the list for you, using that app's API key without sending it anywhere else. [1] The links are built from the IMDb list's id, so the same list always gives the same two links. [1]

Which IMDb lists can Watcharr read?

Watcharr accepts any public IMDb watchlist or list from the desktop site, the phone site or IMDb's other-language pages. [1] If you sign in, it re-reads your list about every 15 minutes and warns you when a list fails three reads in a row. [1] If a read fails, the links keep serving the last list that loaded correctly. [1] Check that your list is public before you paste it.

Can Watcharr be used on a phone?

You paste, copy and browse from any screen in the web app. [1] The one-click sticker shows on bigger screens, so use the copy and paste steps on a phone. [1] The hosted version needs nothing to install and no account. [1] Use the same list link on each device, since the same IMDb list always gives the same two links. [1]

Which licence covers the Watcharr code?

Watcharr's code is available to read under the PolyForm Noncommercial 1.0.0 licence, and older versions remain under MIT. [1] Commercial use is not licensed, and no commercial licence is for sale. [1] Read the licence text itself before you decide how to use the code.

Its code is available to read under the PolyForm Noncommercial 1.0.0 licence; older versions remain under MIT. [1]

Try Watcharr

Sources

  1. Watcharr's own description of itself (the product of this site's publisher)

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