Ripping CDs

@linnvolk many ways to do this from simple to not... just like playing ripped music. The simplest way would be to copy a few movies onto a USB stick which you would plug into your TV or HT amp and watch on your TV. Of course you can always watch on a computer but that's not my first choice and probably not yours either, altho you could push the content from your PC to your TV via Airplay or Chromecast. 

After that, the most popular choice would be a media server like Plex. Plex will also play your music. There are free alternatives like Jellyfin. If you really want to get crazy you can put the movies and music on a NAS (Network Attached Storage) device, but that requires both a computer and a NAS and a fair amount of tech savvy. But if you can pull that off you can watch your movies and play your music from anywhere in the world where there's an internet connection. 

@gowanus, no, I did not know that, but it stands to reason.  I have much less interest in movies than in music, and do not miss the ability to watch DVDs. Except I wish I could view the original versions of the three first Star Wars movies (without the CG additions).

Out of curiosity, what would I do with the ripped DVD content?  What would I play that on/through?

I second dbPoweramp, the paid version. On the PC, a lot of folks use Exact Audio Copy (aka EAC). Having said that, ripping CDs is not for the faint of heart. There's a lot to know in terms of tagging the CDs properly, what file structure, etc. And it's 10x more complicated if you are ripping any classical music. I would suggest, before you buy anything, that you watch some tutorials on YouTube.

@linnvolk you know you can rip DVDs just the way you rip CDs before you throw them out, right? That applies to BluRays as well as DVDs. 4ks are a little more involved.