DVDx is one of the most popular DVD backup software world wide. Based on well known open source libraries, DVDx converts DVD movies in high qulaity (S)Video CD, DivX or Windows Media files. I used to used it years ago to make a copy of my own DVD disc. I would have to make a vcd because blank dvd discs were not easy to obtain.
Now days you can simply convert a dvd movie without even ripping it to your computer first. You can convert it on the fly and make the movie under 1GB and still have great quality. You can actually make them smaller, depending on what video codec and audio codec you use.
DVDx produces high quality MPEG and AVI movies. I find the best combination for a great output file is the free codecs divx and lame mp3 encoder.
Although DVDX is a free program and does not break any copyright laws, it is still your responsibility to make sure it is legal to copy a movie n your country.