Is the commercial source of Vitamin D3 (5000 IU with Coconut MCT Oil per capsule) an effective source for delivering bioavailable vitamin D3, and is it superior to taking the vitamin in pill form? Is the need for a special formulation of vitamin D3 for adequate bioavailability mostly hype and really a nonissue?

We can reassure you that the latter is the case. The problem with widespread vitamin D deficiency is poor diet and lack of sunlight combined. For the most part, the wide variety of vitamin D pills and capsules and that vitamin as intermixed with various nutritional supplements is bioavailable enough to serve the needs as long as the dose is high enough. In most cases, you will do just fine, particularly with several supplements each containing vitamin D so that combined together there is an ample dose delivered. There are formulation-dependent characteristics, so some will do better than others but it is not essential that a fancy delivery formulation is needed. That is more a gimmick than a strict necessity.