1) copying the dvd is pretty fast, some minutes. but encoding it to mpeg (by ffmpegx) is a long process, takes some hours.
2) quality depends upon user settings, you can increase or decrease as per your liking/time you have.
Thanx for the link especially for the ffmpegx, it is not just for video stuff but is for audio as well which makes it for useful due to the nature of my work.