I ought to know this...

...but I don't

I have a DVD of various science programs recorded from TV which will only play in a DVD player or my iBook. It isn't copy protected, all of the programs are off-air recordings.

I'd like to save one of the programs to hard disk, which will have to be done on the iBook since the track locks up on my PC. But I really can't remember how to do it, and my attempts so far have failed.

I've got the Mac DVD player on here, also VLC and iMovie. Can either of them do this, or do I need additional software?

Another mac video question.

OK, so a 20-minute programme recorded at fairly low resolution saved as a 200mb vob file - what's the easiest way to convert it to something a little more compact?