I like Gknot for divx avi's. Leave your web browser open to the guide and process according to instructions, step by step, and it isn't that complicated. No more so than making a lasagna. You have to rip, according to the guide, and then proceed with entering your encoding options, according to the guide's recommendations. DVD2SVCD, on the other hand lets you pick the ripping options and encoding options at the same time. Once done selecting you push a button and walk away. It just takes longer. Athlon 1200 and 512 mb ram =12-15 hrs. GKnot about 5-6 hrs.
I think DVD2SVCD has a vcd option which is compatible with most stand alone dvd players. SVCD does not have as wide a range of compatibility but does have a better picture. There are other ways to convert an avi file to vcd but encoding straight from the dvd is the best. The only thing keeping me from backing up more dvd's is newsgroups. It appears, ahem, most of my backups are already available.