Easy way to convert DVD to mp4 files on a PC?

[gwoiler]

My friend's MAC has a program that automatically converts all movie files on a DVD to MP4 and the quality is very good. What does that on a PC that is easy to use?

[Baldrick]

What mac program?
What kind of mp4 do you want? what video and audio codec? Because mp4 is a container that can store different video codecs like xvid,divx,h264/avc, etc.
Should it be playable on a portable device?

I would try Nero Recode, DVDFab, CloneDVD Mobile....but no tool automatically converts anything.

[gwoiler]

I just found out he is using handbrake. I down loaded it.

I want to rip some of my older DVD's to upload to YouTube. It is tricky to get good compression that plays back without all the artifacts. They recomment Divx, and I got a 15 day trial, but can't make it work right. Maybe I got the wrong one? And to top it off, I updated my XP Pro, and now the DVD player will not autostart and I checked everything! Used to autostart DVD movies to intervideo.... now nothing... grrrrrrr

[delius]

i use autogk dvd to avi/divx successfully http://www.autogk.me.uk/

[Baldrick]

Or fairuse wizard and you cut out what you want from the dvd and convert to avi xvid.