Ripping DVD Movies to iPod Video

Alright, I bought a 60 gig iPod Video yesterday, and I wanna put a few of my favorite movies on it. The question is: What's the best way to do that?

I'm mostly interested in ripping my DVDs to my computer, and then converting them to .m4v files or the best kind of video filetype that iPod videos support.

I don't really know if there is an efficient utility for ripping movies straight to an iPod video capable file type, but that's why I'm asking.

(Also, to be honest, I don't have much experience ripping DVDs to my computer, because I never really had the need until now, so any tips on that would be greatly appreciated as well.)

EDIT: CRAP - Multiple windows open leads me to posting my thread in the wrong forum. Please move this to Help Desk. The report button is gone.

How ya doing, buddy?