Final Cut Pro - DV (PAL/NTSC, depending where you are?)
DVD Studio Pro - MPEG2 (PAL/NTSC, depending where you are?)
Best coversion tool - Discreet Cleaner 6
AVI covers alot of codecs (Windows Media, Intel, DivX), same with QuickTime (Cinepaq, Sorenson). You should avoid AVI as they are...