.avi files
.avi file
Audio Video Interleave
Microsoft's 1992 video container, still common in old archives and camcorder footage.
What opens a .avi file
- Windows
- VLC, Media Player (built in), MPC-HC
- macOS
- VLC, IINA
- Linux
- VLC, mpv, Videos / Totem (built in)
What a .avi file is
AVI was introduced with Video for Windows and is a simple container that can hold nearly any codec. It has no proper support for modern features like variable frame rate, subtitles or files over 4 GB without extensions, which is why it has been replaced by MP4 and MKV. Old AVI files sometimes use codecs Windows no longer ships, so VLC — which carries its own decoders — is the reliable way to play one.
Converting it
A .avi file is commonly converted to .mp4, .mkv, .mov, .webm or .gif. It is a binary format, so a text editor will show unreadable characters rather than its contents.
Details
- Extension
- .avi
- Full name
- Audio Video Interleave
- Category
- Video
- MIME type
- video/x-msvideo
- Created by
- Microsoft
- Format
- Binary
Common questions
- How do I open a .avi file?
- On Windows use VLC; on macOS use VLC; on Linux use VLC. Microsoft's 1992 video container, still common in old archives and camcorder footage.
- What is a .avi file?
- Audio Video Interleave. AVI was introduced with Video for Windows and is a simple container that can hold nearly any codec. It has no proper support for modern features like variable frame rate, subtitles or files over 4 GB without extensions, which is why it has been replaced by MP4 and MKV.
- Can I convert a .avi file?
- Yes. It is usually converted to .mp4, .mkv, .mov, .webm or .gif, either by exporting from one of the programs listed above or with a format converter.
Related pages
- .mp4 — MPEG-4 Part 14 Video The default video container for phones, cameras, streaming and everything else.
- .mov — QuickTime Movie Apple's video container — what an iPhone records and what Final Cut works in.
- .mkv — Matroska Video An open container that holds any codec plus multiple audio tracks and subtitles.
- .srt — SubRip Subtitle The plain-text subtitle format almost every player understands.
- .webm — WebM Video A royalty-free video container built for the web, based on Matroska.
- .ts — MPEG Transport Stream The broadcast and streaming video segment format — also, confusingly, the TypeSc
- .wmv — Windows Media Video Microsoft's legacy video format from the Windows XP era.
- .mpg — MPEG-1 / MPEG-2 Video The original MPEG video file, from Video CDs, DVDs and old digital cameras.
- .m4v — iTunes Video Apple's MP4 variant, used for films and TV episodes bought from iTunes.
- .vtt — WebVTT Caption The W3C caption format HTML5 video uses, essentially SRT with a header and styli
- .swf — Shockwave Flash Movie A Flash animation or game — the plugin that ran these was killed off at the end
- .mts — AVCHD Video The clip format written by Sony, Panasonic and Canon camcorders.
Sources
- Media Types Registry — IANA
- Official vendor product documentation — At One Place