Confusing Codecs Question

[ahhaa]

I hope this is the right spot for this Q...

I have some work in progress on Avid Free 1.6, which outputs in AVI with the following codecs:

Cinepak Codec by Radius Version 1.10.0.6 (92-95)
Microsoft Video 1 w/variable Temporal Quality compression slider & data rate Version 1
Intel Indeo Video 4.3 (94-97) w/Quick Compress, Scalability, Bidirectional Prediction, Transparency, Quality, Access Key, and Viewport size settings.
Full Frames (Uncompressed)

Also there are settings for custom width & height (size to fit and Crop/Pad) which I'd like to use to trim off the squirrely bottom of my transferred VHS (sorta making a fake letterbox shape).
And there are settings for frames per second, RGB/601 File Field order (Odd/Even/Single)

My chances of getting all these settings right is pretty slim without some advice. I am salvaging old public access work from the '80s from VHS masters, some to rearchive on DVD, a few to upload to Google Video, which wants MPEG & audio just so or they recode.

I don't know from up about codecs yet; am thinking the Intel or Full Frame seem best; but all are kinda old.

Anybody got 'starter' suggestions? thanks much!

[celtic_druid]

Looks like it is using VfW codecs. If so then you can install more like a lossless or DV codec.

[DarrellS]

Codecs in my arsenal are XviD, DivX 3.11, Intel I262, Indeo 5.10, Huffy, Lagarith and WindowsMedia 9. I just uninstalled the Panasonic DV codec because it was causing error messages in Virtualdub which is my AVI editor of choice.

If you're going to convert to mpeg you'll need to at least get the free version of TMPGEnc.

[ahhaa]

Thanks guys! I dl'd a bunch of codecs today, and after reading their descriptions, am more confused than ever.
One place had the Indeo for free, anothe wants to charge for it.
Some are only for reading files, I guess, and others for specialty uses- I'd like to think my work would upload OK, & play in any machine, but that doesn't seem possible, or have I got it wrong, except for WMV? The one WMV I uploaded to Google looks horrible, tho the audio is OK...and WMV take days to verify; gotta get this AVID > MPEG working!:]
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2237725606463375487

[pijetro]

Perhaps you'd be better off finding an Avid users' forum...
I don't know if Avid uses it's own proprietary codec or not..If it does, then it's not a big deal. So long as your editing is done within Avid only..

Upon completion of your masterpiece 8) , choose your target audience, and then select the proper codec for output..
You have two, perhaps three separate needs (as per your posting), and they all require different methods..
On a side note, WMV tends to be for internet, or computer playback..It's not for editing..
Quicktime and RealMedia are also favourites.
DV is the preferred codec for editing with most NLE's. Many dedicated capture cards for this. (perhaps AVID?).
Mpeg2 is the output compression for DVD's...

Take it from there..