Tristan Louis has done a nice job comparing the various video capabilities of Yahoo, MSN, etc. portal services. He reviews what kinds of content is available, what the downloads cost, and what works with what kinds of players. As he says, “If only Apple, Microsoft, and possibly Google, could sit down and agree on a standard way to handle [DRM], it would make everyone’s life easier.” Amen!

While you are looking at this, you might also want to take a gander at Jerrod Hefford’s iLounge guide to iPod video formats and resolutions. He also has tutorials on how to get from a DVD or other video source to your video iPod for Mac users. And here is one for Windows’s usersThis stuff is still far too hard for civilians.