avi video files in dreamweaver

Hi,
I want to play .avi files using dreamweaver. There appear to be several ways to do this (insert plugin or activex and then associate the source file) but I cant get it to work how I want. I have a few main problems:
1. Though I had it working OK before, I now only see the first fraction of a second of my AVI file before IE closes itself. I dont know what I've screwed up here so any help.....
2. When the avi file does play (did, I should say), I was getting the control buttons displayed along with the video - the buttons for play, stop, volume etc. Does anyone know how I can turn these controls off so I just see the video itself?
3. When I have sound on the avi too, I get a VERY jerky image - like the machine is struggling to keep up! Any ideas on how to sort this out but retain the quality (if a lower sample rate on sound is your first thought)?

Thanks in advance....

Mulls