In your opinion, what is the best DVD extractor. Looking for the best looking extracted video.
Ability to create a variety of formats is second. But the extractor should be able rip into .mov and .avi formats.
Finally, nothing over $100. Free is great too. But I am willing to pay if it can really look a lot better than the free programs.
Please let me know which ones you think produce the best looking video.
Al

Extracting and converting are two different things. DVD video is MPEG2. Full stop. All you need to do is copy the .vob files from non-copy protected disks and change .vob to .mpeg. You'll also have to knit the multiple .vob files.

My pick for a US$100 video converter is TMPGEnc. It's high quality, bulletproof and reasonably quick. I haven't sussed out how to create DV files, but I never really want to go there.

For extracting, you can use VOP2MPG by BadgerIT Software (http://software.badgerit.com/). It is free, though it always tells you the Pro version is faster.

Extracting and converting are two different things. DVD video is MPEG2. Full stop. All you need to do is copy the .vob files from non-copy protected disks and change .vob to .mpeg. You'll also have to knit the multiple .vob files.

My pick for a US$100 video converter is TMPGEnc. It's high quality, bulletproof and reasonably quick. I haven't sussed out how to create DV files, but I never really want to go there.

DVD to AVI conversion using TmpgEnc 4.0 Xpress (http://www.videoproductions.com.au/html/dvd-to-avi.html) (you can also do quicktime or windows media or mpeg)

I guess I should have clarrified. I need to convert the various mpeg files on the DVD into .avi and/or .mov files. That's about it.
This is for a paying client, so I want the best software, within reason. Anything up to $100. I might go over a bit if produces really good stuff. So I will try out the ones you suggested. Anymore suggestions would be great. I would think other people are curious too about who extracts and converts into the highest quality with the most options.
Al

DVD to AVI conversion using TmpgEnc 4.0 Xpress (http://www.videoproductions.com.au/html/dvd-to-avi.html) (cheap for what it can do)

Try Mpeg Mediator Free-Codecs.com :: Download MPEG Mediator 1.5 : MPEG Mediator is a free MPEG-Video stream converter (http://www.free-codecs.com/download/MPEG_Mediator.htm). Free and easy to use.

Just curiosity... why would anyone convert MPEG2/DVD video to any other format nowadays, when most video editors can work with it natively??? Makes no sense.

The more you convert, the more quality you loose... Just grab the VOB files and edit away!

Of course, nobody ever wants the "second best".

Andrew