iShell for Mac

Quick overview

iShell is a powerful disc-authoring environment designed for building DVDs and CDs from the ground up. It functions as a project manager that accepts a wide range of media — text, images, video and more — letting you assemble interactive discs using customizable behaviors and commands.

Interfaces and working modes

You control projects and trigger actions through several distinct working views. The application exposes different perspectives to arrange and test your content:

• Timeline view
• Test mode
• Layout editor
• Outline view

Each view focuses on a different stage of production, from visual arrangement to sequencing and debugging.

Documentation and reliability

Documentation is limited. There is a short crash-course PDF that explains the basics, but the program provides little in-app guidance, so you must learn much of the workflow yourself. In our experience the software was unstable: it repeatedly froze while attempting to work on newly created projects, which prevented thorough testing.

Who should consider it

If you already have experience with multimedia authoring tools such as Flash or Director MX, iShell can be worthwhile. Advanced users can extend the environment with plugins and custom commands to build highly tailored CDs and DVDs — provided they are willing to invest time learning the tool and coping with its rough edges.

Bottom line

iShell offers deep customization and flexible project management for disc creation, but weak integrated help and stability issues make it a better fit for experienced multimedia developers than for beginners.