Roxio Popcorn (Mac) Description:

Roxio Popcorn (Mac) review:
5 stars (Meet my expectation) - Popcorn has done everything I expected it to do. It's as simple as it gets and almost all my dvd's have worked. A couple haven't but that's not because of popcorn. I would recommned this over any other DVD compressor/burner.
5 stars (Great product!) - Roxio products have worked extremely well for me and this is no exception. Has copied DVDs flawlessly thus far. I don't even notice a drop in quality due to its compression. Just a great product.
5 stars (Says What It Does, Does What It Says) - Ok, so you have read other reviews, but notice there is one thing lacking - the real world. Well, here is what is : no computer and software is perfect. Popcorn does come very close in my book, because it does exactly what it says. The use of Mac-the-Ripper and Popcorn = copies of DVDs. C'mon, people, maintain a perspective here - that is NOT a license to rip off what you haven't paid for. That is wrong, no matter what justification you want to use.



Having said that, for those who want to make LEGAL back-up copies of the DVDs you have bought and paid for, I don't know of a better way to do so. However, there are missing elements in the equation, and that would be time and space. If you do not have the proper combination of computer and blank DVD, it will take you about 1 1/2 hours to make a copy. I have a iMac G5 2 GHz, and the compression alone took 1/2 hour, but I was also using my computer to check e-mail and the like. Here is the minimum to get in the door according to Roxio :



PowerPC G3 or faster processor (G4 or G5 processor recommended)

Mac OS X v10.2.8 or later

200 MB of free hard drive space to install

Up to 15 GB of temporary free disk space may be required while using the software

DVD recorder

Blank recordable DVD discs



So, copying is not going to be a fast process, but you also must make sure you have about 20 GB of free space on a hard drive connnected to your computer to make sure Popcorn has enough "leg room" to get the job done. That is not to say that Popcorn will take the space away forever, but it does need "scratch space" to write temp files as part of the compression process. If I remember 15 GB is what Popcorn requires as an absolute minimum, but play it safe and just leave the 20 GB free and you will be fine.



Aside from that, go nuts. The interface is minimal and if you can't hack it then get your kidlings to help you. It really isn't that tough. Pick the source, and pick full disk or movie only then hit the big button on the bottom right. That's pretty much it. This assumes also that you have already MTR'd the DVD, and you are copying the Video_TS folder.



Will Popcorn work perfectly for you? Who knows! Computers are built and programs are written by humans. If you have done all the required maintenance on your computer, have the latest OS software, I don't see where there would be a problem. Popcorn is that rare breed of software which works exactly as promised, so if your computer is up to the task, then buy it and go nuts