why ripping them? storage is cheap (a 2 TB drive will hold over 400 DVDs), save the DVDs as ISO, mount the images over your network on the HTPC connected to the TV and enjoy your DVDs in full quality.
as for the hardware. i hear good things about Acer Apire Revo series, if it's just DVDs you want to watch, these are something you should have a look at, although they're HD capable,