DVD file conversion question

We have a Sony Handycam that burns onto those mini-dvds. The file format on the discs are vobs. I want to combine the vobs from several discs onto one disc.

I can convert the vobs to mpegs, but I lose bits and pieces and the mpeg is generally crappy. Is there a better way to combine my mini-dvds onto 1 regular DVD without spending a fortune on software??

Some time last year I found a program that converted the vobs to AVIs for free and that worked great, but I can't for the life of me figure out what program it was. Any help is appreciated :D

For a very long time, before I bought the AVS software I use now, I used this It really is very good.

Simply stated, if you want high quality videos, you are going to need high amounts of space. Things like MPEG-2 is high quality. You might want to try converting it to the Ogg Theora format, which is described here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theora