Optimal Video: Pixel Resolution, Bit Rate, Format? Sony Vegas Movie Studio

[DLCPhoto]

I have been playing around with Video that originates in my Sony SR11 High Definition Camcorder. I use Sony Vegas Movie Studio 9.0b Platinum ProPack to edit these files. I can convert well to HD Format for YouTube, and it looks/works great there. I'm now trying to find the optimal way of getting these videos on my TP2.

I have CorePlayer (in addition to Windows Media Player) for playback.

I have been trying all kinds of formats (wmv, mp4, mpg, avi), various resolutions (320x480, 480x680, 480x800, 288x640), and a variety of BitRates (128 kbps, 1 Mbps, up to 5 Mbps). Obviously there are a heck of a lot of permutations and combinations, and I could spend weeks trying them all. (And then add in the various playback options within CorePlayer!!).

I saw the post here recommending settings for CorePlayer:

mp4 using H.264, 288x640, 1.6 Mbps

I tried this and it works pretty well, except I'm definitely having dropped frames - not a huge number, not noticeable. I dropped the BitRate down to 1.0 Mbps, and dropped frames are nominal, and it looks pretty good.

(I'm a bit confused why that 288x640 resolution plays beautifully full screen on my TP2, whereas when I view it on my Desktop, it's almost square in aspect ratio, but whatever...)

What are people here finding to give them the best playback in terms of quality, smoothness, and smallest/most efficient file sizes? Sony Vegas Movie Studio gives me a plethora of options, so there should be some set of variables that might even work better than my current 'best.'

Thanks!