Roxio Popcorn 3 provides Mac users with a one-stop solution to backup your DVDs, create custom videos as well as helping you to convert and transfer your video files to portable devices such as the Sony PSP, Apple iPod, handheld devices and mobile phones.

You can make backup copies of your unprotected DVDs. Popcorn 3 will not let you make copies of protected DVDs. Supported video sources include:  DVD discs, disc image files, and VIDEO_TS folders. It can also accept video files such as QuickTime, MPEG1, MPEG2, MPEG4, AVI, DivX and VOB. You can convert video for your Video iPod, Sony PSP, 3GP Phone, DivX device, MPEG-4 Player and a H.264 Player to name but a few. Once you have selected your output device, video quality, video source and output destination, you are then ready to export. Just click on the big red button in the lower right hand corner of the application window to begin the process.

You can customise all of the settings for video quality etc., before transferring any files. However, I would strongly recommend that you leave everything as ‘standard’ default, at least until you get comfortable with all the settings. After all, if you don’t like what you end up with, you can always ‘throw it away’ and start again.

As a simple try out of Popcorn 3, and to get the feel of how the software performed, I transferred some footage from my DV camera and saved it on the hard drive. I then selected this video file as the video source. The file appeared in the content area. I then selected the Player tab at the top of the application window and clicked on the type of device I wanted to output my video to. I chose my Video iPod. Popcorn 3 converted the file to the proper format. It exported the file directly to my iPod. The whole process was so quick and easy I had to check to make sure it had done the job.

The quality of the Standard settings was good enough for this purpose, and no tweaking was necessary. Roxio provides a vast range of exporting and image manipulation options for all devices, so customising should never be a problem for even the most meticulous of editors. 

The DVD compression feature is very helpful, and works extremely well. You can fit a double sided DVD onto a blank single layer 4.7 gigabyte DVD disc. You can even choose which elements from the DVD you want to compress, or even the entire DVD. Popcorn 3 provides a preview button where the program will launch its own built-in DVD player so you can watch the selected video to make sure it’s the one you really want. Popcorn 3 can compress multiple files at one time. So, once you have selected the files you want compressing, you can leave it whilst you get on with other things.

I found Roxio Popcorn 3 to be a first class compression and conversion software package. It can handle all of the most popular video formats, as well as unprotected DVDs. The default settings work very well for those who just want to get the job done. And, of course, Roxio has built Popcorn 3 on its Award-winning Toast burning technology, which supports all commercial DVD formats and ensures high quality copies

Roxio has listened carefully to is Popcorn 2 customers, and has made several improvements, and added many new features, to Popcorn 3.

NEW Batch Fit-to-DVD lets you queue multiple DVD-Video folders for dual-layer to single-layer conversion
 
NEW Create compilation DVDs with 4 hours of your own video and television shows
 
NEW VIDEO_TS Compilation merges multiple Video folders on a single DVD
 
NEW Create custom DVD menus and even use your own picture as the background
 
NEW Insert bookmarks to quickly search through video on your iPhone and iPod without the need for rewind or fast forward
 
NEW Convert video for Apple TV with Dolby Surround (Pro Logic II) support
 
NEW Batch DVD-Video conversion allows you to queue multiple DVD-Video folders for conversion
 
NEW Pause CPU-intensive video conversions to regain control of your Mac and resume when convenient
 
NEW Media Browser provides quick access to Movies folder, EyeTV recordings, and Spotlight search
 
NEW Preview video quality for your selected encoding settings in just seconds
 
NEW Quickly create personalised disc labels for printing or LightScribe laser etching
 
NEW Turbo charge your H.264 encoding with Elgato's Turbo.264 video encoding hardware

IMPROVED Choose from nearly any video source - QuickTime, DivX, AVI, VOB, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, EyeTV recordings, and more
 
IMPROVED Convert DVDs, television recordings, and other video files for Apple TV, iPhone, and iPod
 
IMPROVED Broad device support includes DVD and video conversion for playback on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PSP, BlackBerry devices, Palm Treo, and more.
 
IMPROVED Save disc space - convert video into compressed formats - DivX, MPEG4, H.264
 
You can also save time and compress multiple video files all at once, as well as
automatically add converted video files to iTunes for syncing with your Apple TV, iPhone, or iPod. WOW!!

System Requirements
Macintosh computer with PowerPC G4, G5, or Intel® processor
Mac OS X v10.4.10 or higher
300 MB of free disk space to install
Up to 15 GB of temporary free disk space during usage
QuickTime 7.1.6 or higher

Optional:
DVD burner and recording media
Apple TV, Video iPod, or iPhone
BlackBerry device with MPEG-4 video support
Palm Treo 680, 700p, or 755p with video support
Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, or PSP
EyeTV video recorder or Turbo.264 video encoder hardware

Supported Formats

Input formats:
DVD Disc, disc image file, or VIDEO_TS Folder
All QuickTime video formats, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, AVI, DivX, VOB, and EyeTV

Output formats:
DVD disc or disc image file
MPEG-4, H.264, or DivX files

DVD formats:
Single and multiple movies and extras
Multi-channel Dolby® Digital audio
Multi-language audio
NTSC and PAL video
16:9 widescreen and 4:3 fullscreen aspect ratios