Hello All,

I am a brand new user (WINDOWS XP) and I have a very simple question. I want to know what is the best (reliable software and picture/sound quality) program(s) for ripping DVDs.

If the answer depends on whether or not I am burning to one CD (vs. 2 CDs), please give info for both.

If there are any recent articles or tutorials I can be directed to, I would be very grateful because I know very little about burning DVDs. Anything that proceeds in a step-by-step fashion. Nothing haphazard, as I am new to this.

I have gotten some good info on the net, but I am not sure how recent it is and whether or not it takes newer technology into consideration. Just for comparison, I was going to follow the instructions in a tutorial at http://dooyoo.co.uk/review/388046.html that suggests using:

SMARTRIPPER
FLASK MPEG
DIVX 3.11 ALPHA CODEC
BITCALC
Radium MP3 codec
DivX Player 2.0 Alpha

If this info is outdated, and better picture/sound quality options are available (keep in mind I use WIN XP), please let me know where I can find explicit instructions to rip the best quality end product. What is the best-of-the-best of both the FREE and PAY options (especially free)?