Just an idea. Render your animation out as a .tga image file, then using Premier[if you have it] or download VideoMach and make an avi out of the images.

Maya's .avi render is rubbish as is ends up too big, and plays all choppy so it's best to use images as the quality is much better, and smaller size.

VideoMach is a free, [and theres no watermark] and you dont have to pay for anything if it's for personal use only. search for it at Download.com
____