Yeah MeGUI seems pretty comprehensive- if you want to start right now

grab it from doom9, then toss the contents of this zip file into your system, system32 and megui/tools/enc_aacplus/ folders

To rip DVD's you must:
1) use your favorite ripper (mine is DVD decrypter) and decrypt it to a folder
2) create a d2v file in MeGUI (pretty much just a file joining the VOB's)
3) create an AVS file in MeGUI (this is where you set cropping, noise filtering, rezising etc)
4) select your audio track and [after you set up your profile] hit 1-click

sounds annoying but it's fairly automated if you just remember what step goes next-

I prefer doing things this way because I can select a bunch of bitrate/filesize components, say for fitting 3 movies on a DVD or having a set rate; you can also set the AVS file to resize the movie to the exact resolution of the screen (this saves a lot of quality for portable devices)

AVI's on the other hand just start at the AVS stage... allows you to crop out anything that shouldn't be there such as black bars and whatnot

I'm running an encode right now using my laptop as a space heater of sorts h:

if and when I get the video running on my PS3 I'll post up a more detailed run-through