[ILUG] Which Video Codec?

[James Galvin]

Hello,

I need to upload a 25 minute video (with sound) from DVD onto the web. 
It doesn't need to be streamed, so the file size isn't too important, as
long as its under 300mb(ish).
 
I have been experimenting with mencoder, trying to find the best quality
codec which won't cause problems for ordinary Windows users to
download.  I have had great results with h.264 format and others, but I
don't want users to have to download extra stuff in order to view the
movie.  So far the only instances which worked on an ordinary XP
installation have been very poor quality.  Could anybody advise on what
formats or other utilities I should try?

Thanks,
James