Matt, the LoC "interpretation" of the DMCA rules are not applicable here. The laws, as backed up by case-law/precedent, allow fair-use. Ripping your own legally purchased DVDs is non-commercial fair-use.

Maybe you're confusing this with selling ripping software - that's commercial and where some companies have gotten themselves in hot water.

It's also possible to copy DVD movies to HDD without removing the protection, so as long as you have something suitable to do that and to play them back, you can be even more at peace than the rest of us.

Also, with regards to downloading, has anyone in the US ever been prosecuted for that yet? As far as I know, while illegal, defendants have only ever been charged with distribution/uploading. It's an easier case to make because there's no fair-use scenario that covers distribution.

Anyway, I don't buy media from Apple for a number of reasons, and they don't center around only being able to play the content back on Apple hardware.

The music while now DRM free, isn't at a high enough quality for me. And the price is too high. The same pretty much goes for movies and TV shows. It's also the same reason I don't buy download-only media from anyone else either.