Best of the New Programs? Where to Start?!?

[Rainstorm]

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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If this info is outdated, and better picture/sound quality options are available (keep in mind I use WIN XP), please let me know where I can find explicit instructions to rip the best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. I know there are several all-in-one ripping software options now availible - are any of them worth the hype? What is the best-of-the-best of both the FREE and PAY options (especially free)?

[Tbear]

It all depends on what you want to do?

Divx
VCD
SVCD
CVD
DVD

Do you want to play it on computer only or do you want to paly on standalone DVD and computer?

[Rainstorm]

Well...........I am not sure. I am interested in being able to play my movies on a DVD player ONLY if I don't have to sacrifice quality or always split movies into 2 CDs. If it is possible to play them on a standalone DVD player AND record movies on 1 CD with quality equal to DivX, I am game.

It seems to me that all the VCD files I downloaded are fuzzy looking, while I have some DivX files that are virtually indistinguishable from DVD. Is this a fair assessment in your eyes?

Really, I cannot say more about what I am looking for as I do not know even what is availible. I can say that I would be grateful for any up-to-date info on my options that is availible in the form of tutorials or articles (do you know of any good ones?). I often find the back-n-forth in forums over my head, overwhelming, and (often) more confusing than helpful for someone of my level of understanding.

Much obliged, jedi.

[D_Knife]

It seems to me that all the VCD files I downloaded are fuzzy looking, while I have some DivX files that are virtually indistinguishable from DVD.

Just be aware that a lot of VCD's out there are created by people that either
a don't use a decent mpeg encoder
b use a decent mpeg encoder but don't know how to get the best from it
c don't have a damm clue about creating video
d more than one of the above

DivX on the other hand seems to create a uniform job even for non-video people. If you look hard enough you WILL find some very nice MPEG1 ( VCD ) videos out there.

Try one of each and see for yourself

[Tbear]

Well, if you don't know for sure what you want todo. Then the best thing to do is start reading the what is and the how to, to your left.

Quality is in the eye of the beholder.