So... for the benefit of the confused... what makes 'real' popcorn different from 'fake' or 'un-real' popcorn?
Do you mean stove-popped as opposed to microwave popcorn?
I use the Orville Redenbacher sweet & salty microwave one.
I guess it just comes down to eating processed vs. non processed foods. I find microwave popcorn really salty - and expensive.
We somehow acquired along the way, a special butter dish for the popcorn popper. It hooks over the edge of the pot and has holes in the bottom so it melts gradually over the popcorn as it pops. It works almost as well to just put the butter directly in the pot but I have found that it should go in after the popcorn starts to pop otherwise it tends to burn a bit.
If you use a conventional pot, just keep shaking the pot once the popcorn starts popping and when the popping slows down, stop and take it off the heat. Don't wait until every kernel pops or you'll burn the popcorn. Usually, it will continue popping a bit after you take it off the heat.
I've only used my good pots (before I got my special popcorn pot) and never had any problems with burning.
If you want to make the salty-sweet popcorn, put in a tablespoon of maple syrup (or brown sugar) into the oil at the beginning (don't forget the salt but use less than you normally would). It does make a mess of the pot though but nothing too terrible.
