DV to DivX process?

[rubic42]

Most of my experimenting has been with MPEG, but I'd like to know what other people do to convert DV to DivX. Is there a best, easiest program or procedure to use? One codec may be better for DivX than another?

One specific question I have is whether it's a good idea to separate fields and make a 60 fps DivX from 29.97 fps NTSC interlaced source...

[theReal]

I use avisynth/VDub to convert DV avi to Divx. I find the Divx5.02 codec is pretty good for it because b-frames reduce the size a bit (and DV needs very high bitrates to look good!) plus the Divx5 pre-processing filters are nice and fast filters. I haven't tried Xvid, but it could be good (b-frames). Nandub SBC also looks good, but it has no b-frame support and that makes bigger files (no good if you're already at 2500 minimum with b-frames...)
However I avoid to do much filtering because I like to preserve the highest possible visual quality.
For resizing, I use Precise Bilinear in VDub (it makes the most compressible video with still good quality).

Deinterlacing, well, I can't really decide between Tom's MoComp, Smartdeinterlace and 50fps with Deinterlace Smooth.
50/60fps is really good for high motion scenes, but it gets really big. Tom's MoComp seems to result in pretty good compressibility when you set it to blend.