need some codec info

I was ripping a dvd last night, when a guy watching me commented on me being out of date when I was using divx 5.02

I've been out of the codec loop for a few months, so if someone could lend me a hand I'd really appreciate it.

When I rip episodes approx 23 minutes long, I get some artifacts and they come out in the 120 meg area. But some episodes I've seen that are the same time and size look very close to dvd quality, with not artifacts or anything.

Here's my goal:
23 minute episode ~ 120ish meg .avi file
Standard movie 2h ~ 700ish meg .avi file

Thanks in advance for any help

It's all good ^_^