Best format for uploading videos

Ok so I have a bunch of dvd’s and shows that I would like to upload and contribute to this site. My question is what is the best program/format to rip the episodes to.
Also I would like to know what settings to use and how big I should make the files to get the best quality/size ratio.
Some shows I have are Season 1 of the OC, Redwall season 1,2 and 3 which is a childerns show, and I also have some blu rays and HD DVD’s as well as a reader capable of riping HD disks.
Any help will be appreciated as I hope to start contributing to this site by ensuring that my files are the highest quality I can make them.
Answer #1
So h.264 is the solution, definitely.
h.264 encoding is supported in both, .mkv and .mp4 container
.mkv is more common among computer users, .mp4 among mobile devices users (iPhone, PSP, tablets…)
And yes, the quality provided by h.264 is great even at low bitrates