I just built a new quad core computer and want to start converting my dvds to avi. I was wondering is AutoGK still the best avi converter out there? I know they haven't put out a new version in years, so I would think there would be something better out there.
They just came out with a new version yesterday. http://www.autogk.me.uk/ IT's been updated to the latest version of xvid and avisynth. Check it out !
I've been using the free "fairuse wizard lite" for 2 years, it's been quite reliable. If your DVD files are in ISO format, then this program can convert them to xvid or h264. I can batch convert 3 or 4 ISO's at a time, it take about 1.5 hours per conversion on my phenom quad 9750.
In terms of simplicity and best bang for the effort, I would still rank AutoGK at the top. Especially with the new updates coming out. Fairuse Wizard Lite is ok, but it limits you so much on the available options compared to the full version that it is a little frustrating to me. Especially not being able to encode to any size but 700mb, just my opinion though as it does do a pretty good job within that range from what I have seen, plus h264 is the "future", maybe? Another is MeGUI. I have recently started to toy with it but for me it has a huge learning curve so I can't comment too much on it, other than the fact that you can encode your video and audio just about any way you wish.