Last night I had a clip from an iMovie to convert to SVCD using a G3 processor. Not so simple.

Quicktime Pro attempted to record a few minutes from my Canon camcorder, but couldn't. Oddly, an old version of iVCD (3.0.8) had no problem converting an iMovie in DV format to MPEG and SVCD, whereas Quicktime Pro couldn't recognize the DV format!

The criticisms I read that the 'demo' version leaves green ads all over the screen are valid only in that this should be clearly stated in the documentation. My 5-minute clip took 2 hours to create; but this did not overheat the processor, and nothing could be simpler. Note that creating a DVD with a G3 processor would take days, if possible.

However, overwriting the screen with an ad allows the application to be fully functional and therefore fully evaluated. The best aspect is the interface, which is so simple that the lack of a help file didn't bother me. SVCDs are likely attractive to owners of G3 Macs, which can not write DVDs. This will always be slow on a G3. My G4 writes full DVDs in minutes, not hours.

One can conclude, then, that the SVCD is still a viable option for recordings of blurry television shows, for blank CD media is less expensive. This application should prove simple and fast in creating these on a G4 Mac. I only wish I could afford the price. (Having more knowledge than money, I'll likely use a GNU/Linux program recompiled for the Mac. However, were I a normal person, I should not hesitate to purchase iVCD.)