See that's my problem: I looked at 'tablet encode' and realised that I first had to find/install mplayer or mencoder... and that's when I got lost. A walk-through would be nice.

DVDshrink dounds... dodgy. Should I be even googling for it? I would it land me in hell?

For a completely "simple" solution, if you aren't opposed to spending a little money there are very nice commercial offerings out there. Here's a review of a relatively inexpensive and easy-to-use one:
http://www.testfreaks.com/blog/review/winx-dvd-ripper/

The "regular" one is free but the "platinum" costs a little bit. I guess you could try the free one and upgrade if you felt a need to. There are TONS of solutions out there, of course, and this is just one that might meet your needs. Another place that sells a nice solution is "slysoft" with their "anydvd" series of apps.

Hope that helps

Depending on where you live just about any DVD ripping software could potentially land you on the FBI's 10 most wanted list, held without due-process, get thrown of bunch of "you broke" laws that don't exist, monitored by the police and your dog dognapped.

Pretty stupid =-\.

In any case... I think the easiest solution is HandBrake personally. It's an all-in-one and works on all the major operating systems. You just select your DVD drive as the source, configure your settings, and rip.

I don't have any idea how easy it is or isn't on Windows... I do know it's extremely easy on Ubuntu.

The free version of DVDFab HD Decrypter will rip the DVD to your hard drive. It's constantly updated and the free version will continue to work after the 30 day trial.

Then use Handbrake. Probably any of the ipod presets will work, but I have not experimented yet.

DVD Shrink is mostly outdated. FWIW, in the US (IANAL) ripping a DVD to your computer is considered a violation of the DMCA. Any tool that violates this may have legal problems. This is most likely why DVD Shrink is no longer updated.

Frank

You don't really need DVDFab with HandBrank Frank... at least.. not in my Linux version.

I can select my dvd device as the "Source", I don't need a file, and it will automagically pull in all the titles, ask me which ones to rip, and also includes all the subtitles, chapters, and everything else if you select a container that supports it (such as mkv, but I don't know if the n900 supports mkv.)

Which pre set do you use on handbrake. I have been using 'universal' but can't figure out how to change the output resolution to 800x480 so I have a black bar at either side of my movie.

dude use google for this ,, seriously , they are very easy to get hold of.. and you can play alot of formats on the n900. most divx or mg4 will work

or just install the Nokia Video Converter! (http://betalabs.nokia.com/betas/view...ideo-converter)

Where do I d/l that from? I can't find a link on that page.

does anyone on these forums actually know how to use a search engine?

http://handheld.softpedia.com/get/Vi...er-57667.shtml