Personally, I'm using a Creative Zen.  It came bundled with some software that does the conversion for me but it doesn't convert straight from a DVD disk.  For that I have to first convert to an AVI by using some basic freeware.  Regardless, the end result is never jerky on the Zen.

Freeware-wise, the easiest way to go about this is to use Smartripper to pull the movie off of your DVD and put it on the hard drive, and then use AutoGK to convert the resulting file to an AVI.  It may even be possible to configure AutoGK to spit out the precise format that the Ipod wants, but it's not something I've looked into.

The cucusoft program cost me i think $39.95( i know what an idiot!) The feature i liked was that i could copy certain chapters rather than the whole dvd. like i have some 3 stooges dvd's and i liked certain shorts, but some i could do without. this let me copy those certain ones just with jerky playback. i tried lowering the bit rate to i think 25 and it worked for some but others it still had jerky playback and the audio was now like a second or 2 behind the video playback. i might try the Videora program and see how that does. i also tried the Handbrke software which was free but honestly it seems alot more difficult to use. I wonder why apple hasn't come up with software you can buy?
also does anyone know if once the dvd's are ripped to the hard drive are they easy to remove?

Quoting northbloke:

Quote:
Quoting brimac5477:

Quote:

also does anyone know if once the dvd's are ripped to the hard drive are they easy to remove?

Once you've converted it to whatever you need, simply delete the folder that contains the DVD files.

thanks! i'm going to give your suggestion a shot. i'm not the greatest on the computer(its more of a trial and error process with me) so it might take a while. thanks again!

I still use dvdfab and it makes very nice wma's that look great on my Zune. Even when I output to a tv from my player they look nearly dvd quality.
The program has all different kinds of outputs for probably any device you can think of.

No matter what you use, it will always start as trail and error. I learned dvdfab the hard but quick way. A few tips if you use it for Zune (not sure if this would apply to other outputs, it just might though):

Default always includes the first subtitle track, make sure to click it off as it will be "burned into" the resulting movie. Very annoying unless it's a forgein film and you need the subs.

There's a box for audio output. Go in and crank it as high as it will let you. The resulting file will be a bit bigger, but you will be able to hear it. The default audio output is sooo low it hurts, literaly. If you forget to turn the volume down and go play any normal mp3 or other movie, you'll blow your ears out. Same for turning the tv to something after watching a movie output from the device! The highest audio setting makes for decent, if not still a bit low, audio levels.