HandBrake is a GPL'd multi-platform, multithreaded DVD to MPEG-4 ripper/converter.

HandBrake was originally available on the BeOS, but now has been ported over to MacOS X and to GNU/Linux.

Download notes:
* Alternatively you can download the latest windows version of this software.

Features:

• Can encode directly from DVDs (even encrypted ones) or from VIDEO_TS folders
• Supports AC3, LPCM and MPEG audio tracks
• Outputs MP4, AVI or OGM files
• Outputs AAC, MP3 or Vorbis audio
• Supports 2-pass encoding
• Supports encoding of two audio tracks
• Includes a bitrate calculator
• Supports picture deinterlacing, cropping and scaling

What's New:

• AC3 in MP4 support
• Multi-track audio support for Apple devices
• Better handling of audio discontinuities
• More flexible, "loose" anamorphic
• Variable frame rate encoding
• MP4 optimization for progressive downloads
• Dynamic range compression for encoding from AC3 audio
• Ability to encode an audio stream and pass it through at the same time
• iPhone-compatible anamorphic (pasp atom)
• Robust program and transport stream support
• Better handling of DVD read errors from invalid VOB units
• Detects and works around missing end of cell markers
• Recovers from loss of signal in a stream
• Drops subtitles less often
• Keeps chapter markers in better sync and prevents duplicates
• Better handling of B-Frames
• Tunes FIFO sizes by CPU count
• Finally squashes the bug that cut off the end of movies
• Preset changes
• Standardizes on standard out for progress and standard error for everything else.
• Correct channel counts when passing AC3 audio to Matroska
• Tag MP4 files as encoded with HandBrake
• No more merging short chapters
• Newer copies of x264,
• VBV 2-pass patch for x264
• Sets keyframes for x264 by frame rate.
• Support for >2GB MKV files in Linux
• Code audio languages in a way QuickTime understands
• Better subtitle positioning
• Fewer crashes in 2-pass encoding
• Leopard Only
• Sparkle
• Reads .eyetv files as well as .dvdmedia files
• Much better queue
• More white space
• Code restructuring
• Activity window logging, complete with a "black box recorder" for crashes
• Ability to open a single title for a DVD instead of scanning the whole thing
• Warns people when they try to queue up two files with the same name
• Maintains picture filter states between jobs
• .xib Interface Builder files SVN can track
• Switches to NSImageView for previews, so no more useless OpenGL effects
• Temporary loss of localizations for foreign languages (the old system was broken anyway)
• Separate filter settings for every queued job