general codec question abt compatability

[verydoomed]

Sorry if this Q is in the wrong place.
I'm confused abt using codecs. if I use a newer type of codec to compress an avi file, if its not an older and very common codec installed on most peoples computers does that mean the file will most likely not play if I send it to a family member or friend. They are not into computers and their machines will be very standard. Also when burning a video file to a cdr or making DVD. Again will my DVD player be able to play it? or should i stick to older and common codecs. If so which ones, any hints!!
Thanks and have patience with me if this is the wrong area for this post.

[dat720]

Thats a very open question.

A standard installation of windows cannot play xvid/divx movies without adding either the required codecs (through ffdshow or something like it) or alternate software like VLC or mplayer.

If you want to send video clips to people and are not sure if they will have the required software, use Windows Movie Maker to encode the video, a standard install will playback WMV's just fine, thanks to Windows Media Player.

As for the DVD Player it depends on your player and weather it supports xvid/divx (refer to the manual or manufacturers website). If it does you should be able to drop a AVI on a CDR in data mode and playback in the standalone DVD Player, assuming the AVI has been done in a compatible manner.
If it does NOT support xvid/divx your movies will have to be encoded with 1 of 3 standards, VCD SVCD or DVD, if you want good quality ignore VCD and SVCD.

The Answers to your questions depend on a lot of variables, so you may want to be more speciffic.