How to forum: Best software for copying DVD to external hard drive?

But maybe the sheer number of solutions daunted them and us today. Did you try Handbrake? It works fine for me.
Bob

@Buzz - I have pretty much the same setup that you describe: a 36in Samsung HDTV connected to an LG blu-ray player and an WDTV Live. I have converted my entire DVD movie collection and my music CD collection to digital format by "ripping" them and then converting them to formats that will store easily on and external USB-powered 1TB WD Passport drive that plugs directly into the USB port on the back of my WDTV Live. Ripping music CDs to mp3 is fairly easy and even Windows Media Player can do that, so I'll limit my remarks to DVD ripping and encoding.
Check out this guide over at AfterDawn.com:
http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_view.cfm/673257

My steps after installing each of the 3 programs I mention in the subject line above:
1. Rip original DVD to your hard drive as an ISO image using ImgBurn. AnyDVD will automatically decrypt the DVD in the background. That's all I use it for.
2. Start Handbrake and point it at the ISO image created in Step 1. I use High Profile and .mkv format with subtitles. The Handbrake help pages include all the info you need to figure it out. The WDTV Live plays .mkv files with no problems.

After using the WDTV Live for the past year or so I finally dived into using an older PC as an HTPC loaded with Windows 7 and XBMC. Totally changed the way I watch movies now, but I still rip & convert the same way.

Good luck.

I find a Free DVD to MP4 Converter on CNET Download ,I mean you can use this tool to convert your dvd to mp4 files and then put them onto your external hard drive.

http://download.cnet.com/Leawo-Free-DVD-to-MP4-Converter/3000-7970_4-10909837.html

I would just copy the DVD (make an image of it using IMGBURN). Then, to play it, I would mount it as a virtual drive (just one click if you use Visual CloneDrive).

It's fast (no conversion needed), cheap (both titles I mentioned are free downloads), you don't get any loss of quality or features and any program that can play DVD's can play the mounted image also.

Kees