A simple question, but I'm wondering what other people are doing out there.

By the way, I'm not interested in illegal commercial DVD ripping, rather I'm getting DVD video content that I need to use in other projects or simply copy to a new DVD with redesigned menus, etc.

My current solution is using Handbrake to rip the DVD, which converts it to MP4 (or MKV, whatever that is). Unfortunately, I have Adobe Encore, but can't for the life of me figure out how to use it, so I end up just burning the DVD's using Windows DVD maker. The program does not recognize the MP4 format (DVDs use MPEG2, if I am correct), so I must transcode the MP4 to MPEG2, first.

I feel like this is resulting is the file being re-encoded 3 times, once from the DVD to Handbrake (MPEG2 to MPEG4), then from Handbrake to Media Encoder (MPEG4 to MPEG2), then possibly again from Media Encoder to Windows DVD maker (maybe not, as this is MPEG2 to the DVD).

I have a DVD recorder at home. When simply copying the files from the (open) DVD, there are timecode breaks and my editing system can't handle it. To solve it, I now grab the file using MPEG Streamclip. It copies the file, is able to fix the timecode problems, and lets me save the file without re-encoding. From there, I can edit the video.

FWIW, I'm a Seahawks fan. I record key plays on the DVD recorder, put them on the computer, and can then jog and shuttle using a ShuttlePro controller. I don't post the clips on YouTube or anything. I just analyze the plays and execution. If only I could get the NFL's all 22 video and the eye in the sky cam! The TV angles are great for following the ball and showing progress, but not so great for analysis. :)

But I digress. Check out MPEG Streamlip.