Convert DV-AVI to best format for viewing on WDTV, Theater+, etc.?

[CinemaMax]

I need to convert my DV-AVI files transferred from a digital camcorder to a format that is compatible with a hardware media player to display on HDTV or standard TV.
Which format (mpeg, divx, mkv, h.264 etc.) would provide the best quality for displaying on a television?

Best format (IMO) would be based on (1 is highest priority):
1. Quality
2. Ease/speed of conversion
3. Compatibility with the most hardware players
3. Software cost
4. Features that would make organizing and navigating the videos easy.
4. File size (not really important)

Unfortunately, none of the media players I have found can play a DV-AVI file. Most of the media players can play mpeg, divx, mkv, avi, xvid, wmv, and others.
This format would not be for archiving the video, only for viewing with a hardware media player.
Also, which conversion tool and settings would be most appropriate?
Thanks.

[edDV]

I need to convert my DV-AVI files transferred from a digital camcorder to a format that is compatible with a hardware media player to display on HDTV or standard TV.
Which format (mpeg, divx, mkv, h.264 etc.) would provide the best quality for displaying on a television?

Best format (IMO) would be based on (1 is highest priority):
1. Quality
2. Ease/speed of conversion
3. Compatibility with the most hardware players
3. Software cost
4. Features that would make organizing and navigating the videos easy.
4. File size (not really important)

Unfortunately, none of the media players I have found can play a DV-AVI file. Most of the media players can play mpeg, divx, mkv, avi, xvid, wmv, and others.
This format would not be for archiving the video, only for viewing with a hardware media player.
Also, which conversion tool and settings would be most appropriate?
Thanks.

Few if any of the players have opt'd for a DV decoder chip. You can play your DV-AVI directly from a computer or with the camcorder or through a Canopus ADVC-xxx type device but for everything else you will need to convert to a supported file format. DVD MPeg2 format is most universal and will work on DVD players and most players.

[CinemaMax]

I am leaning toward mpeg2 using the highest quality settings, but even that degrades the quality noticeably.
I am also looking at Divx, but I am not sure if that is best for televsion.

[edDV]

I am leaning toward mpeg2 using the highest quality settings, but even that degrades the quality noticeably.
I am also looking at Divx, but I am not sure if that is best for televsion.

MPeg2 lower field first, high bit rate.

[poisondeathray]

Do some tests to see if your media player "chokes" on higher than DVD bitrates for MPEG2. If they claim support for HDV .m2t (which is MPEG2 based), you should be able to use something in the 20-30Mbps range which would drastically reduce the quality loss compared to using DVD bitrates ~8-9Mbps from a DV source

You can use high quality free MPEG2 encoder, HCEnc

[CinemaMax]

I will try using a high bitrate mpeg2 and compare it to the original.

Thanks for the suggestion.