I finally backed up a few shows to DVD. Using the steps from my previous post I was able to sync up the audio and video, and successfully convert the mpeg files to the mpeg2 dvd format.
I converted them to a really low-bitrate (I think it was around 2000kbits/sec) so I could fit more shows on there. I don't really care about the quality of shows like that, and it's really not that bad at 2000kbits/sec... It's worse than cable, but it's very watchable, with no distortion during movement. Using this smaller bitrate on a single layer DVD I was able to fit around 4.5 hours of TV.