MS has hidden their bug check codes again. I can't use poorly designed and
delibrately faulty sites.

It was at
http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/ddtools/hh/ddto
ols/BCIntro_ea8b9fd0-2d81-4a04-a7ed-c1c6a80bd501.xml.asp

You got the part about AVI being a wrapper right, but you should
mention Media Player stumbles on about 60% of the file types that can
be INSIDE a AVI wrapper either refusing the play anything, only
playing the video stream or only playing the audio stream or my
personal favorite saying it can't find a codec, going out on the web
to find one, ignoring the fact it is already on the system and other
players use what it keeps getting more and more copies of. Damn funny.
Media Player, no surprise, it's a Microsoft product, has more trouble
with codecs then all the other Windows based players you can install
combined.

So called "raw" AVI is uncompressed. AVI can be uncompressed or
compressed. Obviously any video saved in the uncompressed variety is
extremely large and takes tons of your hard drive space to store.

How much space a DV-AVI takes is determined by the encoder that
compressed it. The better the encoder the smaller the file without any
loss of quality. The best encoders regardless what file type are
hardware based and accordingly expensive, very expensive for good
ones, thousands of dollars, but they are also faster the software
encoders. Good software encoders do allow multiple recompression
passes WITHOUT the usual deteration seen if you were to do the same to
say a .jpeg image file.

The question I didn't see anybody ask the original OP was HOW is his
video being imported into his computer? The most common way is via
firewire, assuming a digital camera. Other methods may work, but are
far inferior for a host of reasons. If the video in imported via
firewire then you need to make sure that the application doing the
importing BESIDES Windows "sees" the import device. To ensure this
most applications, at least the better ones demand a OHCI Compliant
IEEE 1394/DV device which not all digital cameras are, as far as their
ability to output a compliant signal. If not, you run into all kinds
of issues, like dropped frames, out of synch, etc.. Such a compressed
AVI-DV file generated by a video camera is next to useless and will be
a real pain to edit or do anything with regardless what video editing
software you try to use.

For most, if using a video camera (digital) and avoiding the crude and
next to useless composite cable method if supported by your camera and
selecting digital out, assuming your camera supports that, then you
need a analog to digital converter between the camera and computer
unless you want to tie up your camera assuming it has a build-in A/D
converter.

The typical configuration is to have a firewire cable coming from the
computer to a A/D converter, then from it to the digital device, ie
the camera. Newer methods may support a digital signal directly via
some video cards or other means.  Mickey Mouse methods like cable
break out boxes that just plug into your video card and split out to
either composite or S-Video are basically junk and all but destroy the
video quality coming out of your camera or VCR and should be avoided
like the plague.  Why is explained in detail on may web pages.