The current codecs that you are advised to use are based on end to end system testing my me. Disc to screen performance.

There is a compromise between playback performance and image quality that has been in digital video throughout its entire history.

This can be summed up as follows:

DV-NTSC is the fastest and only codec that will give you 30fps on 4 layers at 720x480 with a single or dual scsi 10k/15k system or raptor.

DV-NTSC/PAL is a good codec. It is used in all current professional and amateur DV cameras - and is also used in professional DV-CAM.

If you dont need 4 layers at 30fps - then you can use whatever will give you what you need:
Photojpeg, mjpeg, DVCPro 50, uncompressed.
These will give you between 2 and 3 layers of playback at 30fps.