Transferring DVD +R's to .avi files

Does anyone know how I can transfer DVD sets I own to .avi files so when I travel and bring along my computer I can get a whole season on one DVD? I hear .avi files are small. I want to do this to 456 episodes of Dark Shadows that I own--are there any free programs that transfer files ripped by DVD Shrink to .avi files so then I could put many episodes onto a DVD rather then only 5 or 6 episodes? I am rather familiar with many programs--Shrink, DVD Fab Decrypter, VOBBlanker--are there any like VOBBlanker (that I have used to change DVDs from PAL to NTSC on discs I buy from Britain) that would be as easy to use?

 

Too self important to answer (and my original answer probably wasn't good enough for you anyway)...so figure it out yourself.
http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_jump.cfm/740167/4502552

 

Got it! Had a friend list the same question and got 3 program suggestions; a guy on here sent me his copy of "DVD to AVI Converter," and it works great, and takes a bit, but doesn't take an inordinate amount of time. I got an entire season of Seinfeld from the library on only one DVD +R, and it looks great on my 16" laptop--thanks guys!