Optimal settings when converting HD mp4/mkv file to avi(divx/xvid) or wmv?

When video is converted some quality will be lost. Whether or not you can notice it is another question. If you need to keep the quality at its highest, put bitrate and frequency settings at the highest number. The others can be kept at the original file settings. However, be prepared for the converted file to be much bigger than the original.

Two good free converters that I use are Super v2010 & Any Video Converter.

http://www.filehippo.com/download_super/
http://www.filehippo.com/download_any_video_converter/