Alternative to WMM

[MyVeryOwnSelf]

I tried editing some home movies from a DVD using WMM. Since WMM couldn't
accept MPEG-2 files, I used AVI. However, the AVIs have degraded quality:
there are some transient splotches and motion artifacts. I've seen web
postings that talk about converting MPEG-2 to other formats, but it seems
likely they'd have problems too.

Does anybody have a sure-fire straightforward way to use WMM and preserve
the video quality? I have WMM v2.1.4046.0.

Otherwise, is there a low-cost alternative to WMM that will preserve the
video quality? Pinnacle, maybe?

Thanks.

 

[PapaJohn]

I'm happy with the quality preservation I get when converting DVDs to DV-AVI
files using the steps I have on my website's Import Movie Source Files >
Video > Discs page.

 

[MyVeryOwnSelf]

I'm happy with the quality preservation I get when converting DVDs to

DV-AVI files using the steps I have on my website's Import Movie
Source Files > Video > Discs page.

Thanks for the information. For my cautious tastes, though, it seems
complicated and involves installing some potentially disruptive software.

Does anybody have a different approach to suggest?