is it the codecs or the software?

[syxx2001]

im playing a avi file and i dunno if its the codecs im using or the software. im using WMP. i dont know what else to say.

the stuff is all choppy and slow. the sound is out of sync by like 5 seconds because the video is playing in slow motion.

[spectroelectro]

I've encountered your problem, and i can be tricky to figure out whether it's the encoding or the playback.
Rule of thumb: try multiple DV playback software. If you get identical problems in playback with each, then it's definitely an encoding problem. If your problem changes or goes away on differen playback software, it's probably an encoding problem.
Different software platforms that will play back AVI include:
[1] Core Media Player
[2] WinDVD (yes, it will play AVIs)
[3] PowerDVD (optimized to play MPEG-2s but it will play AVIs too)
[4} The venerable Windows Media player.
Alos -- see if youcan burn a short segment of your AVI on CD-R or DVD-R and play it back on someone else's faster computer. It could just be the spee dof your computer. My old P3 450 wouldn't play back DVDs worth spit. Unless you're runnig an Athlon or P4 at 1 Ghz at least, you will probably get herky-jerky playback.