Problems with codecs are (well, my experience)
-DivX installs Google toolbar silently, thereof is considered spyware by a lot of people an not installed (eg. me).
-XviD is nice, but after the installation my Indeo codecs didn't work anymore, so I had to remove it. Maybe other people did so as well.
-WMF is windows format, includes the WMF security hole we have seen recently. It includes many codecs (like Avi), so when you see "wmf" you still don' tknow if the machine will play it. Fact is, windows media player offers to donload and install a missing codec whenever neccessary, but then often fails to do so, so the user ends with something new installed, but still no movie playing.
-MOV is a good codec container and supports some of the latest tech, unfortunately intalling Quicktime for Windows is required, and that is considered as Spytool if not Spam by a lot of people. Furthermore, the install frequently fails on som older machines like Win98.
-RM RealMedia. it's a good codec, but like many other products, the install sucks and the player is full of ads and hooks somewhere in the autostart, well, really unfriendly imho, a lot of people used to deinstall it.
-Mpeg Movies: while Windows supports Mpg1 be default (tho not so clean implementations may crash some machines), even in Win98, Mpeg2 is not natively supported by Win98, and it even knows some variants that are not compatible to one another, against the guildlines of the DVD lobby. Mpeg4 is copyright by Windows and is used inside ASF and WMF, where there are multiple versions of it. So, see WMF rating.
All older codecs like Indeo, RLE, Cinepak etc. are (sorry) obsolete crap.
Now here's what I would do, 2 ways to go and both are pretty clever: Use MOV or RM, but add a download for the alternative Quicktime Codec, or the alternative Realmedia Codec for downloading! So people without the codec can install it without the original Quicktime, or without the Original Realplayer install. Those alternative Codecs are only about 2 megabytes to download and they install quick and easy. After installing the alternative Realmedia Codec you'll be able to play RM Movies in the systems MPlayer.
At the other hand, offering MOV will be very Mac-User friendly, while the alternative Codec also allows all Windows users to join the party. (Tho imho RM is about 2 times better in compression than MOV).
I guess you'll find the mentioned alternative codecs here:
http://www.free-codecs.com/
-DivX installs Google toolbar silently, thereof is considered spyware by a lot of people an not installed (eg. me).
-XviD is nice, but after the installation my Indeo codecs didn't work anymore, so I had to remove it. Maybe other people did so as well.
-WMF is windows format, includes the WMF security hole we have seen recently. It includes many codecs (like Avi), so when you see "wmf" you still don' tknow if the machine will play it. Fact is, windows media player offers to donload and install a missing codec whenever neccessary, but then often fails to do so, so the user ends with something new installed, but still no movie playing.
-MOV is a good codec container and supports some of the latest tech, unfortunately intalling Quicktime for Windows is required, and that is considered as Spytool if not Spam by a lot of people. Furthermore, the install frequently fails on som older machines like Win98.
-RM RealMedia. it's a good codec, but like many other products, the install sucks and the player is full of ads and hooks somewhere in the autostart, well, really unfriendly imho, a lot of people used to deinstall it.
-Mpeg Movies: while Windows supports Mpg1 be default (tho not so clean implementations may crash some machines), even in Win98, Mpeg2 is not natively supported by Win98, and it even knows some variants that are not compatible to one another, against the guildlines of the DVD lobby. Mpeg4 is copyright by Windows and is used inside ASF and WMF, where there are multiple versions of it. So, see WMF rating.
All older codecs like Indeo, RLE, Cinepak etc. are (sorry) obsolete crap.
Now here's what I would do, 2 ways to go and both are pretty clever: Use MOV or RM, but add a download for the alternative Quicktime Codec, or the alternative Realmedia Codec for downloading! So people without the codec can install it without the original Quicktime, or without the Original Realplayer install. Those alternative Codecs are only about 2 megabytes to download and they install quick and easy. After installing the alternative Realmedia Codec you'll be able to play RM Movies in the systems MPlayer.
At the other hand, offering MOV will be very Mac-User friendly, while the alternative Codec also allows all Windows users to join the party. (Tho imho RM is about 2 times better in compression than MOV).
I guess you'll find the mentioned alternative codecs here:
http://www.free-codecs.com/