Expert’s Rating
Pros
Cons
Our Verdict
Roxio ’s Popcorn 3 practice the same core engine and many of the same interface techniques acquire by its big brother , Toast Titanium ( ) , the 800 - pound Gorilla gorilla of CD and DVD combustion software for the Mac . At $ 50 , Zea mays everta costs $ 30 less than Toast does , and it supply to a more specific audience : those users who simply desire to transform video so that it works on dissimilar devices , rather than those who need all the heavyweight capabilities of the heftier Toast product .
If you have a personal media instrumentalist like an Archos handheld twist , picture iPod , Sony PlayStation Portable ( PSP ) , multimedia system - equal to BlackBerry smartphone , or one of the infinite other devices that can play video , chances are you ’ve try a way to exchange the video you already own to something that can work on these gizmo . There certainly are enough solutions out there , browse from freeware products like Handbrake ( ) to the $ 23 VisualHub ( ) . Popcorn fits the bill for people who feel more easy grease one’s palms a commercial software .
Popcorn have some of the same interface elements you may find in Toast Titanium , and it apply the same effect video transformation engine found in Toast , too . What ’s missing , of course , are the disc burning capableness . What Roxio has fill in instead is a wide kitchen stove of preset output options — for the Apple TV , for example , or for the Xbox 360 , PlayStation 3 , PSP , iPhone , or other gadget . And , like Toast 8 Titanium , Popcorn 3 adds support for TiVo — if you have aTiVo digital video recorder(DVR ) , you could use its networking feature article to post shows over to your Mac and have them ripped to different formats using Toast . It ’s a supremely easy - to - manipulation and — thanks to some clever mechanisation support — commodious solvent . you could have Zea mays everta grab the late episode ofHeroesas before long as your TiVo records it . For example , you’re able to have it rip overnight , and it will be waiting for you in iTunes the next meter you sync your iPod . That elbow room , you could watch it on your iPod when on the manner to work or during your next business concern misstep .
Popcorn 3’s easy-to-use interface makes converting videos to different formats a snap.
Popcorn 3 ’s easy - to - use interface makes converting videos to different formats a snap .
The program ’s video conversion character has been meliorate in this discharge . You do n’t get results quite as dark or artifact - ridden as those I saw in Popcorn 2 ( ) , although I did experience one or two stalled conversions . ( Oddly , when I go back and taste to change over them again , the videos work fine . ) There ’s also a build - in Media Drawer that makes finding movie on your Mac a shot . And , thanks to a long - standing close relationship between Roxio and Elgato , Popcorn 3 work on great with TV recorded using Elgato ’s EyeTV 2 ( ) DVR software . Also dovetail with Elgato , Popcorn 3 has support for Elgato ’s H.264 Turbo , a USB equipment that act as a video recording coprocessor , lowering your own CPU ’s loading when it ’s convert video ( and , in the face of dull Macs , speeding up the process too ) .
What Popcorn does n’t allow you to do is to pull depicted object from a written matter - protect videodisk , such as a moving-picture show you might rent from Blockbuster or leverage from Best Buy . That ’s a Digital Millennium Copyright Act no - no , and while there are way around such copy protection , you wo n’t get any assist from Roxio . It is worth note , though , that you could pull any unprotected VIDEO_TS folder with Popcorn . Popcorn also wo n’t work with the copy - protected telecasting you ’ve bought from the iTunes Store , for what it ’s worth .
If you ’ve ripped various VIDEO_TS leaflet to your operose effort , Popcorn 3 also include a passel feature , which lets you exchange all of them together and burn up them onto a exclusive recordable DVD for backup . you could make custom DVD menus and use your own pictures as the backcloth epitome . you could even make Director ’s Cut compilations , scratch the supernumerary stuff from DVDs you ’ve ripped , like language tracks , special feature you do n’t care about , and more .
A version ofDisc Cover , from BeLight Software , is also let in ( marked as RE , for Roxio Edition ) . This get you produce your own record covers and disc label artwork .
Macworld’s buying advice
Popcorn 3 is a solid upgrade to an already utile diligence for Mac flick enthusiasts attend to get the most out of their video amusement . TivoToGo support , EyeTV and H.264 Turbo support , batch features , and Director ’s swing capableness only rub the surface of this herculean television conversion putz .
[ fourth-year news program editor Peter Cohen keeps his finger on the pulse of Mac gaming in Macworld ’s Game Room . ]
