I've just bought winxdvd DVD Ripper Platinum (from
www.winxdvd.com), currently on offer for £29 (at $ to £ conversion). I've tried numerous bits of software as I just want my DVD collection on my NAS, to watch on the big TV in the lounge via Apple TV, and via our smart TV in our bedroom that talks directly to the NAS.
I used Aimersoft, then I bought iSoft DVD ripper, and had constant problems with both. The never recorded the sound tracks properly, no amount of fiddling could save the 5.1 sound track. Both programmes were very slow to rip (pretty much real time), the file sizes produced were unfathomably random (main title only for feature film would end up between 1.5-9GB for a comparable length film), and both programmes were crashy.
Fast forward a year, and I've bought the winxdvd programme. It's very easy to use, it's producing files consistently 1.5-2GB, the 5.1 sound track is perfect and so is the picture quality. It has loads of presets built in to optimise it for the viewing media (i.e. you don't necessarily need the same thing for an ipad as you do for an HD TV, etc). It's taking around 45 minutes to rip a 2 hour film, at high quality settings, on a fairly low spec dual core Windows 7 laptop.
I will add I did loads of reading on the free software like Handbrake, but ultimately I'm not at all interested in he workings of computer programmes and other geekery, and found the process you had to go through to emulate the software I've bought tedious, convoluted and unreliable. For the sake of £29, I'm very pleased.