Many people complain that when they convert DVD to video and watch it on laptop or PC the quality get bad. Why this happens?
An ordinary DVD movie is often 7-8 GB in size, if we convert them to ordinary video formats the size would be hundreds of MB, so We have to face this problem that the code compress process would destroy most of unimportant data and the video quality get bad. How do we resolve this issue?
We can decrease the damage by converting DVD to MKV and other HD video formats. These HD videos are often bigger than standard video and keep high quality.

OK, let's discuss it in details:
1. What's MKV HD video?
2. How to convert DVD to MKV to keep the high quality?
3. How to play MKV HD video on Windows media player?

Part 1: What's MKV HD video?

An MKV HD video file is a Matroska file, the Matroska Multimedia Container is an open standard free Container format . It is similar in conception to other containers like AVI, MP4 or ASF, but is entirely open in specification, And the size is often much more bigger than common video for the HD code methods.


Part 2: How to convert DVD to MKV HD video to keep the high quaity?

Here I listed a few good DVD to MKV converters I found on google, They all have good output quality, can input DVD disk, DVD folder, IFO, ISO and support MKV HD video, but you can select a better one with special feature for your needs.

Aimersoft DVD ripper
http://www.aimersoft.com/dvd-ripper.html#114

This DVD to MKV converter has been upgrade recently and added MT2S, TS, TP, TRP and MKV HD video formats into its output formats.



Important features:
1. Convert DVD to MKV, MP4, WMV, AVI, FLV, MOV, 3GP, 3GPP, MPG, RMVB, Xvid, ASF, WMA, M4A, MP3, AAC, OGG, MKA, AC3, WAV. ( Available for iPod, iPhone, PSP, Zune, etc)
2. Editing function: video cropping, trimming and effect adjusting;
3. Subtitle and Audio track select.
4. Chapters and Clips selecting, so you can choose any part of the DVD to convert and "merge into on file".
5. Conversion speed: 58 minutes. (DVD: Kungfu Panda).


HQ DVD To MKV Converter
http://www.mkvconverter.com/HQ-DVD-to-MKV-Concerter.html

This is a specialized DVD to MKV converter, the output format includes only MKV, a DVD to MKV converter for the people who have owned other DVD converters but not include MKV video in their outputs and the price is cheaper than other comprehensive DVD rippers.



Important features:
1. Convert DVD to MKV only.
2. Subtitle and Audio track select.
3. Conversion speed: 1 hour 18 minutes (DVD: Kungfu Panda)

Avaide dvd ripper
http://www.avaide.com/dvd-to-mkv-convert.html



Important features:
1. Convert DVD to MKV, AVI, WMV, MP4, FLV, MOV, MPG, 3GP, MP3, AAC, OGG, WMA for iPod, PSP, Zune, etc.
2. Chapters selecting; Time trimming to select any part of the DVD.
3. Conversion speed: 1 hour 37 minutes. (DVD: Kungfu Panda)


In summarize, if you already got one comprehensive DVD converter but doesn't support MKV format, HQ DVD to MKV converter ($19.95) can help you save more $; Aimersoft DVD ripper ($35) has the fastest conversion speed and more editing function for users; Of cause, if you don't care too much about these two features and want to spend less dollars Avaide dvd ripper ($29.95) is also a good choice for the same good output quality.
OK, choose one to convert DVD to MKV HD video, then I will tell you how to play MKV in Windows Media Player.

Part 3: How to play MKV on Windows media player?

Many people who download a HD video file with the extension MKV will often try to play it back with video player software they have installed on their systems. Most of the time this doesn't work.
As it is based on DirectShow Windows Media Player will play back MKV HD video files perfectly if you have the proper codecs and filters installed. A great help here is the Matroska Pack. This pack is an ideal solution for new users as it installs pretty much all you will need to play MKV HD video files.

You can get more details and download the Matraoka Pack from its official site:
http://www.matroska.org/

Finally, I'm not a expert in digital area, so some resources in this article were collected from other professional site such as Wikipedia.com and afterdawn.com.
Any valuable advices would be great. Enjoy ;)