Ahead DVD Ripper is an application that allows you to convert DVD files to the AVI, DIVX, VCD, SVCD and other formats.

The interface of the program is easy to navigate through. In the first window you can select the DVD you want to rip, by using the file browser (the "drag and drop" method is not supported).

In the next step you can select the encoding mode (whole track or by chapter), output format, subtitle and audio track. If you select an audio extension for the output, the sound of the DVD file will be extracted.

Furthermore, you can edit the time of the entire track (i.e. set start and end time), as well as view the title, play time and target size for each chapter.

But you can also configure settings for each output format, including video codec, resolution, frame width and height, bitrate, and frame rate, as well as audio bitrate, quality, channel, VBR quality and mode.

In addition, you can input data in the case of the audio ripper (artist, album, year, genre), specify the output directory, as well as set video ripper options (e.g. audio/video synchronization, aspect ratio, volume), output options (e.g. split mode) and others (e.g. overwrite existing files without asking for permission). Also, you can reset to default settings.

During conversion, you can view encoded, elapsed and remaining time, as well as encoded frames, the current output file and a progress bar.

Ahead DVD Ripper uses a moderate-to-high amount of system resources, includes a well-drawn help file and is simple to use by both beginners and experienced individuals. Also, it manages to keep a good image and soung quality.

However, the trial version is severely limited and the program takes a very long while to complete a job, even in the case of small files.

All in all, Ahead DVD Ripper is a very good tool for converting DVD files to other extensions, with its only problem relying in the length of time it needs to fulfill a task.