i'm a newbie about to purchase the a04(just from what i've read) i've looked over the ripping section and looked through the forum, and its a bit confusing. i want to backup my dvd collection (mainly because i just broke three brand new dvds) with the original menus and chapters select. once again i've read the section in ripping about keeping menus, but im still confused. can anyone simplify it for me. i'm not to familar with the terms frequently used(authoring?,vobs?).any help would greatly be appreciated, so thank you in advance. oooh, i almost forgot which is the best ripping program, and do i need and authoring program, what is firewire and should i have it? Damn i'm lost. again i thank you for any help