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Provides: DVD copy/back-up

Format: Download or CD

Developer: Roxio

Minimum Requirements: PowerPC G4 or Intel processor, Mac OS X v10.4.10, 300MB free disk space, up to 15GB temporary free disk space during usage, QuickTime v7.1.6

Processor Compatibility: Universal

Retail Price: New: $49.99

Availability: Out now

Version Reviewed: 3.0.2

The weird thing about the era of modern computing is that it's giving rise to a speakeasy mentality where everybody knows what the laws are, and it's remarkably easy to break the laws, but everybody is very careful to pretend that they're obeying the laws in public.

Take, for example, Roxio's Popcorn 3, which is a program for copying DVDs and converting them so they can be used on iPods, PSPs, and AppleTV. It does not, however, copy DVDs that are encrypted. This, of course, makes the program pointless, since if all you're doing is copying DVDs that were never encrypted, why do you need a program to copy them for you? You'd just use Apple's Disk Utility.

Roxio makes no mention of why you'd need a program that doesn't copy protected disks. They certainly make no mention of Mac The Ripper, which is a jim-dandy little piece of freeware that rips protected disks into unprotected forms. I mean, if you had a program like this, suddenly Popcorn 3 makes sense. Yes, indeed, if you had a program like Mac The Ripper, freely available on the internet, Popcorn 3 becomes really, really useful.

Because not only does Popcorn 3 copy unencrypted DVDs and Video_TS folders onto popular video devices like the iPod, Xbox, and PS3, it also can make copies of them onto other DVDs for backups. And not only that, it can compress double-layer DVDs to fit on a regular-sized DVD (with compression, obviously). It can also convert video from El Gato's EyeTV and the ever-popular TiVo (with TiVo to Go)—though I didn't test either of those features, as I don't use those services.

Popcorn 3 is not without its other charms. You can also use it to create compilation DVDs of images or video files, so if you've got a bunch of little movies you've taken with your digital camera, you can dump them into Popcorn 3 and create a quickie DVD version, along with a prefab Scene Selection screen. It doesn't give you the complexity of iDVD, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. It supports all Quicktime formats, MPEG-1, 2, and 4, AVI, DivX, VOB, EyeTV Recordings, and TiVoToGo transfers, and can output to DVD, MPEG-4, and DivX.

The interface is a gem; you select the option you want on the left-hand menu, drag and drop your files onto the big honkin' screen area, hit burn, and forget about it. There are other programs available, many of them Open Source, which can do what Popcorn 3 does, but Popcorn 3 takes the work out of it, making sure you have all the components downloaded and in their proper locations. Like all good Mac applications, it "Just Works." Minor annoyance; it puts a "Toast Now" option in the Finder's contextual menu that doesn't seem to do anything.

The transfers themselves went smoothly for me on a 2GHz Intel iMac. The copying takes a while (esp. with compression), but it's a lot of data.

So, if you happen to have a lot of unencrypted materials lying around in Video_TS folders that you need to duplicate—because really, who doesn't want to whip out their iPod on a long plane ride and watch the home movies given to them on a DVD by a friend—here's the program for you.

And when you buy the program, tell 'em Macky sent ya.

Strengths: Simple, elegant, nice interface. Supports multiple formats.
Weaknesses: Doesn't copy encrypted DVDs.

Bill's been using Macs since the late 80s. When he's not making smartass remarks to amuse Kirk Hiner, he enjoys fighting for the user.