A new program that I tried recently is FairUse Wizard. From the first time I used it I was impressed from the easy to use interface and the very good quality of the output file. And the best of all the program is free, you can download it from here with no cost!
Now about the program itself, I think it's easier to use than DVDx, but it cannot make a DivX / DivX file from the DVD. You don't have to worry though as it includes a ripper and it will unlock and copy the DVD in your hard disk. Actually FairUse is the only program you are going to use as it includes even the codes! In the first screen you can click Options and enable the included codecs or you can leave it in the default value and use the DivX / XviD codecs that you already have in your system. The program has a few bugs (I had troubles when working with the included XviD codecs) but it works OK. Note that you may also need an ASPI layer if you have not installed one yet! Now let's start the guide!

First of all you'll need to create a new project. Just set the name of the project (1) and the folder you want to put the files into (2) and then click Next. The Batch processing (3) is useful when you want to do more than 1 encodings one after another (for example if you let your PC work when you sleep).

This screen should come up. Just select the drive you have the DVD into and click OK!

Now you have to select the main movie. You can easily find the main movie from it's length, so select the main movie (1) and the third option (2) and click Next.

The program now actually rips the DVD in your hard drive, so you'll have to wait a little (about 20mins) before you can continue. After this process you can remove the disc from your DVD drive. Make sure that you have around 10GB free before you find out that the ripping failed because you ran out of space!

Here's the nice stuff! In the Frame range (1) you can see the frames that are going to be encoded. Move the slider above the Set credits start (2) button to the point that the credits start and click the button. Put the value you'll see in the button itself in the End frame textbox of the frame. rage option (1).

In this screen I suggest you click Auto detect (1) and then select the option it suggest you (2). Then click Next.

This is the last screen with settings so be patience! The settings are pretty easy as the program makes all bitrate calculations and stuff automatically.

This is the encoding window. You may want to select Shutdown computer when done if you leave your PC and go. Low CPU temp. mode is not something you should enable except if you have an overclocked CPU and you are afraid about it. Just wait a few hours (note that the time you see is for the first pass only) and your DivX / XviD video will be ready!

Finally I can say that I was impressed by FairUse Wizard. It is a very poweful tool that creates very good quality video of while it is easy for the newbie to use. In a comparison to the other freeware program that we have in our site, DVDx, I can say that FairUse is much better, and actually it's the program I use from now on. A very good thing is that it is updated often, while DVDx's development seems to have stopped. Also FairUse is much easier to use, includes a ripper and a calculator so that you don't have to bother. It still needs 1-2 things like the ability to encode directly from the DVD or to load DVD files from the hard disk and it is going to be perfect. Are you still here?

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