DVD.. few questions

[jmaverick101]

ok, im a poor college student that has a comp with a cd burner yet no dvd player on it. I was wondering is there any program that will let me rip dvd's without having a dvd drive.

2nd question-do i need a program to change avi's to mpeg1 format or can i just rename then and its done.

3rd i bought a cheap dvd player, once again i am a poor college student living off mom's and dads money, a mintek dvd 2580 and i was wondering if anyone knows if this can read burned cd's or if anyone knows how i can find out