dvd to laptop in what format to watch on tv

hello i have just bought a laptop with a HDMI connection and i want to put some of my movie dvd`s to it to play on my t.v. and i know avi files will probably work,but when i try wondershare video converter it takes about 2 hrs,does anyone know of a better program to use and would my t.v. recognze an iso file,my t.v. is a Panasonic 37" plasma Viera and my laptop uses windows 7,i thought i maybe could use iso image burner?
thank you.

If you are just trying to watch movies on your laptop and want to see them on the TV I would suggest VLC follow the link VLC media player - Open Source Multimedia Framework and Player . If you are trying to convert your dvd's then here are some cool software tools that will help you out. Codecs - Video software and downloads - VideoHelp.com

Hope this helps.

thank you i am going to try XviD