You are 100000 bazillion times correct regarding Apple because by following their method, you are guaranteed to lose quality, which is the point of the exercise. But you will notice that they did not allow direct digital conversions. Regardless, I agree with you. I was being devils avocado (Tracy Jordon - 30 Rock) for a moment.
Haha, okay.
I'm not 100% sure on the quality of M4V Converter but it looked close if not the same as the source. I'm assuming quality isn't people's number 1 concern or else they wouldn't buy videos on iTunes.