1) Remove
Region Protection...
Install this program first... it will remove the copy protection and macrovision while you decrypt... (and will also allow you to watch region protected discs in the future)...
http://www.dvd43.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DVD43
2) To
make a backup of a DVD to another DVD...
DVD Decrypter can rip the DVD to your hard drive or make an ISO image...
http://www.mrbass.org/dvdrip/
(Note: DVD Decrypter removes the CSS encryption on the DVD)
If DVDDecrypter has problems with a newer DVD install DVD43 (above).
If you have ripped the DVD files to your hard drive, you can then use DVD shrink to make the image smaller and turn it into an ISO file that I can fit onto one DVD... Note: you have to select ISO image as the target file from the drop down menu.
http://www.mrbass.org/dvdshrink/
Once you have the ISO image you can use this program to burn it back to a DVD...
http://www.imgburn.com/
3) To Rip a
DVD to an AVI or DivX (XviD) file...
The free version of this program
Fair Use Wizard can rip any DVD to a 700 Mb AVI (XVid) File... with just one click...
http://www.fairusewizard.com/
but.... I find I get a much better quality rip, when I follow these steps...
i) Use DVD Decrypter to rip the DVD to your Hard Drive.
ii) Use DVD Shrink to make an ISO image of the DVD, but turn the compression off completely, in other words, the ISO image will be an exact image of the DVD. Also enable the two extra read options in DVD Shrink to get a better quality image, it is slower, but it pays off. Put that image on a different drive to the one you are going to rip to.
iii) Now use Fair Use Wizard to rip from that unencrypted image in your hard disk. You will get a very high quality rip with no artifacts and no "streaking".
Compare that to a rip straight from the DVD and you will see what I mean. Of course the quality of your DVD drive and speed of your processor is also a factor. 3.0 Ghz strongly recommended!
Here is a guide for Fair Use Wizard... if you need one...
http://www.mediafire.com/?uluiwhkxetc