Codecs:
  VP3 - free codec using DCT/IDCT. http://www.vp3.com/support/faq/index.shtml
  theora - free codec for Ogg container, derived from VP3.
  dirac - free codec from the BBC http://www.bbc.co.uk/rd/projects/dirac/overview.shtml and http://developers.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=04/10/07/1449244&tid=156&tid=97&tid=8
  DivX - an mpeg4 codec based on that used in asf files, only used for files. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DivX
  wmv - Windows Media Video. a codec used inside a streaming format, usually asf. has rights management.

File Formats:
  mov - quicktime format. basis for mpeg4. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QuickTime#QuickTime_and_MPEG-4 . often uses the proprietary Sorenson video codec.
  avi -  Audio Video Interleave. a file format that might contain content in many different encodings.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AVI
  asf - Advanced Streaming Format. not a codec, but a container format (alternatives are QuickTime and Ogg). might contain wma or wmv. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ASF
  rm - Real Media

Disk formats:
  VCD - Video CD. mpeg1 352x288. (only VHS-level quality). 60-70 minutes of video on a CD. a nominally 700 MB CD-ROM will hold 800 MB of MPEG1 video
  SVCD - Super Video CD. mpeg2 480x576. 30-40 minutes of video on a CD. 120 minutes video on a DVD-ROM.
  DVD - mpeg2 720x576.

Streaming Protocols:

FAQs:
  http://www.mindspring.com/~erica/stream.html