I stumbled across this and thought folks might be interested in it.

 I’ve done this successfully with short clips – I don’t know how to sew together multiple .vob files to make a single, seamless movie or show.  There are programs listed at www.doom9.org (look in “VOB Tools”) that say they can do this – I haven’t tried.  Three or four minutes on a one-inch screen is about as much as I can take. 

You’ll need to download and install two programs (tiny downloads, easy to install):

DVD Decrypter, at www.doom9.org – look in downloads, under “Descrambling/Ripping.”

ChopperXP, same as above, under “VOB Tools” (you might have to click “show all VOB tools”).   When this program installs, it’ll ask you if you want to associate .vob files.  Click yes – it won’t effect your regular player, and it makes navigating a lot easier. 

1)  Use DVD Decrypter to rip the movie to your hard drive: 

Put the DVD in your drive, and open DVD Decrypter.   You should see a bunch of files highlighted in the box on the right side, including several huge .VOB files.  From the main menu, hit “File/Decrypt.”  The program does the rest.  When it’s done, open My Computer and find the new folder on your root directory, named after the movie you just ripped (it might read DVD_VIDEO, or some such).  Inside this folder, there’ll be another called VIDEO_TS, and this contains your unencrypted .VOB files.  (A full DVD movie takes up 8 gigs on your hard drive – make sure you have enough room.) 

2)  Use ChopperXP to cut your clip: 

If you associated .VOB files to ChopperXP, just click on the first large .VOB file in the folder, and the program will open the and load the file.  Click the Play button, and use the slider to see if the clip you want is in this file.  If it’s not, browse the other .VOB’s until you find it.  When the clip you want is about to start, click the “Mark In” button to mark the beginning of the clip, then the “Mark Out” button to mark the end of the clip.  Then click “File/Save vob as,” choose a file name and location, and hit “Save” in the dialog box.  Play the new file, either in Chopper or in your regular player, to make sure you have the clip you want. 

Two notes:  if an audio commentary, rather than the main audio track, shows up in Chopper, don’t worry.  I don’t know why it does this, but the main audio turns up in the finished product.  Also, on about a third of my tries, the program buggered up the mark in/mark out points.  If this happens, toggle the button called “Display realtime output.”  In this mode, the video won’t play, but you can use the slider to mark the exact start and stop points of your clip. 

3)  Use Sansa Media Converter to put the clip on your player:

Plug the player into the computer’s USB port.  Open Sansa Media Converter, and drag’n’drop the .VOB files into the main window.  Click the “Convert” button, and you’re DONE, baby!