What is the best DVD player [internal] for reading/playing the most varied types of DVD's? Some have mentioned Daewoo 5800 or Sampo 631CF....what about Sony or Pioneer or...

[ As a backgrounder: I have Windows ME, Athlon 1800XP, 512mb, 100gb, Nvidia Geforce Ti - 200, SoundBlaster Live platinum 5.1, Yahama CD burner 20-10-40.]

Also, is Smart ripper/DVD2VCD, TMPGenc and VCDEasy or Nero??? the most reliable and versatile software.....and what can I download for free [and where] and what must I generally purchase?

What are the steps for saving a DVD to my hard drive and then playing the saved data on my system?

I have seen the NEWBIE manual about ripping, and unless someone has some helpful hints, I will have to digest the information in the manual before I get started.

Thanks