Quality of DVDR files relative to AVI files?

[mgdpublic]

If I have the opportunity to get a file in DVDR format vs. AVI format, which should I expect would be better quality. DVDR is usually a lot bigger, but I don't mind waiting for better quality. I'm guessing the answer is that "it depends," but is there a general rule of thumb to tell? Thanks.

[kirky99]

I think the best answer you can expect is "it depends".

Depends on the resolution of each, depends on the bitrate, depends on the codec used, depends on the audio format.

It just depends...

For portability, I would say converting everything to DVD (MPEG2) would be your best option. If you want to ratain the best quality ad don't mind only being able to play it on your PC, an AVI using the XVID codec might be your best option. I've been impressed with some XVID format movies that I've seen.