Tony;

I use a program called DVDShrink. It will copy a DVD to your harddrive. It will also allow you to decide what level of compression you want. I use it to transfer my DVD's to my fileserver. I use no compression and end up with an exact copy for viewing through my HTPC via 100Mb lan. The media remains in it's original file structure (VOB's). There are a number of players out there that will handle this type of media. One free one is called zoomplayer. Your best bet is to visit http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=26 you will find more than you want to know there.