Comment K3b (Score 1) 501
K3b is a KDE based DVD/CD burning app, but it also has the ability to rip dvd's to AVI.
I've been using it for along time to rip all my dvd's to AVI, and from there I can use other apps to convert the AVI to what ever format I want. Though usually I just stored the AVI on an external Disk for backup purposes.