whats the best video format

[executioneer]

the best QUALITY format is uncompressed avi/VOB.
mpeg-2 is great quality, and a lot of newer dvd players will play dvds encoded with it.
mpeg-1 is shitty, but hey you can fit like 4 hours on a single layer single sided dvd and you can still play it on a dvd player a lot of the time

variable-bit-rate xvid is better quality and a lot better compression than mpeg-1 but you have to play them on a computer since there aren't any standalone players that are compatible with it. Yet. Probably won't be either.