Methods to Fix Unplayable AVI files on Mac. Find the Right Codec to Play the AVI File on QuickTime: Find the codec used to encode the file using QuickTime by opening the file using QuickTime and select the Show Movie Info option from the Window menu. AVI is an open file container originally developed/adopted by Microsoft who later abandoned it (about a dozen years ago) in favor of its more modern Windows Media product. The container is still supported by QTX but files are only playable if encoded with Motion JPEG video with almost any form of PCM encoded audio.

• How Can I Open An Avi File On My Mac
• Open An Avi File On Mac

AVI is one of the most used formats for videos, especially online. To enjoy using AVI files, you need to know which player(s) to use. This is the purpose of this article: to recommend to you AVI players and how to play AVI files on Mac and Windows. Also, you will be shown how to fix the issues that prevent your AVI videos from playing.

Part 1: How Can You Play AVI Files on Mac?

1. What Apps Can Play AVI Files on Mac?

It is curious to note that AVI format was created by Microsoft. However, you will discover that, with the use of certain software, you can play AVI files on Mac. Some of this software include:

• Elmedia Player: This player has been endowed with many great features. The user interface has been designed to be so simple that even new Mac users can be able to go through it without hiccups. It plays even damaged AVI files.

• VLC Media Player: VLC is another free app you can use to play AVI files on Mac. This player allows for video customization using its settings, as well as control over the process of video play. The interface is simple and easy to use.

• MPlayerX: This player combines the abilities of two open-source players namely Mplayer and FFmpeg. It optimizes the use of the storage space. MplayerX is the ideal AVI player if you like applications that let you go straight to the point when it comes to using them

• DivX Player: This player's settings are user-friendly. Its wide array of toolset makes it capable of producing exceptional video and audio playback. DivX supports the burning of media files into discs and lets you stream music, videos, and photos.

Whenever your AVI videos get corrupted, you can get the solutions to repair damaged AVI files.

2. What is the Best AVI Player for Mac?

Apple has designed QuickTime for its classic devices like Mac. Users can handle QuickTime easier than the average AVI player for Mac. It is a versatile tool that can handle different video formats, sound, and even panoramic images. QuickTime Player has an in-built advanced compression technology that works very well for HD videos; the storage space can be effectively managed and the bandwidth is less utilized. For video files in AVI format, this is good news because AVI files are known to be normally large. With the easy slider on DivX, you can playback your videos on a speed that is three times the one you would normally play.

3. How to Play AVI Files on Your Mac

1. Play AVI Files with A Smart AVI Player: This process involves adding a plugin like QuickTime's Perian, an open-source component that enables you to playback videos in formats that are naturally not compatible with Mac, formats like AVI. Download Perian and play AVI videos using the following:

1. Open the Perian disk image and double-click the Perian icon. This serves the purpose of installing and updating all of the app's components.

2. Perform a drag and drop to get the QuickTime components to your user library.

3. Restart any program that uses QuickTime. Now you can play your AVI videos without stress.

2. Play AVI Files with Media Player: With the right software, you can play AVI files on Mac. Below is how to use VLC, for example:

• Go online, download the VLC application for Mac, and properly get it installed on your system.
• Open the installed VLC and select 'File' from its main menu. Next, select 'Open File' from the menu that drops down from 'File'
• This is where you will find the file you want to play, select it.
• Select 'Open File' to start playing your AVI video file.class='img-fluid' alternatively, drag the AVI file you want to play and drop it on the VLC interface to begin playing.

Part 2: How Can You Play AVI Files on Windows

1. What Plays AVI Format on Windows?

There is an ample list of tools you can use to play AVI files on Windows; find out below:

1. SM Player: This is a popular AVI player that is not restricted by codecs. With this player, you can play not only AVI files, but MKV, MPEG-TS, M2TS, and others. It has extensive features, at the same time, it's easy to use.

2. KM Player: This player supports media files in formats such as AVI, WMV, FLV, ASF, etc. This shows how versatile the player is. It does not consume a lot of data or storage space and you can customize videos to suit your preferences when using KM player.

3. RulesPlayer: This AVI player can be used on Windows 10 and other operating systems to watch videos and listen to the audio. RulesPlayer produces videos with high quality. The audio playback is amazing and you can add any plugins you need to customize your media files here.

4. Plex: This free AVI player is capable of handling several functions because of its great features that work not only on Windows-based systems but Mac, Android, iOS, etc. You can sort all your videos according to TV shows and films. Also, you can continue from where you stopped on whichever device you use with the feature called 'Bookmark'.

You can go to this guide where we talk about the solutions to fix 'Windows Media Player Cannot Playback Video Files'. Also the tips to solve Windows 10 won't play AVI files issue.

2. Which Player is Best for AVI Files on Windows?

The VLC media player can be referred to as the most preferable player for AVI videos because of its ability to excel where other players fail. This player is free and open-source and because of its framework, VLC can play virtually any format of the media file. Its major features also include:

• Its capability in handling different video and audio streams, as well as rtmp:// protocol
• Its codecs make it possible for videos in formats as AVI, DVDs, MKV, to be played. It can also play videos in BluRay and HD
• It is flexible, open-source, lightweight and stable

3. How to Play AVI Files on Your Windows Computer

Use the following methods to successfully play AVI files on your Windows Computer:

1. Check Installed Codecs: There are pre-installed codecs in each new version of Windows, required for the playing of media files on Windows Media Player. With the steps below, you can verify the codecs on your Windows Media Player:

1. Go to 'Menu' in the Windows Media Player program. Click 'Help' and select 'About Windows Media Player'.

2. The link for 'Technical Support Information' is found at the bottom left of the window you just opened; click on it.

3. This will open the webpage containing all the required technical information. Hence, you can browse through to see all the video and audio codecs installed on your Windows Media Player.

2. Download and Install Codec: To play AVI videos effectively, you need the right codecs. You can configure Windows Media Player to make it automatically download codecs whenever it is required. Just do these:

1. Go to 'Tools > 'Options' > 'Player'.

2. Check the box that says 'Download codecs automatically'. Select 'OK'.

Part 3: Further Knowledge about AVI File Format

1. What's AVI File Format?

AVI stands for Audio Video Interleave and it was developed by Microsoft as a container in which multimedia content can be stored. The structure of the AVI file format is based on the Resource Interchange File Format (RIFF). This implies that information in files are divided into blocks and each is tagged as 'AVI'. Furthermore, the AVI file is divided into several sections.

AVI is a popular format used to play movies, video clips online, which can be streamed online. This is because AVI has proven itself to produce high-quality output. AVI supports the synchronization of audios and videos during playback. This format can be played on KM Player, VLC Media Player, and so on.

2. Common AVI Playback Problems:

When playing media files using AVI format, there are several errors that you may encounter. They are discussed below:

• Uninstalled Video Codec: This error occurs when Windows Media Player is unable to play your AVI file because it cannot find the correct codec to use. The audio may play but the video will not, an indication that the video codec required for the video to play is not installed. Also, without the necessary video codec, the media player will not be able to sync both audio and video. You may also see an error message saying the file format is invalid.
• Video File Not Playing: Sometimes when you try to play a video in the AVI file format, you may get an error message like 'Invalid File Format Error= 8004022F', 'Cannot playback the file. The format is not supported. Error= 80040265' or 'Video not available, cannot find 'VIDS: xxxx' decompressor'. This is also related to the missing codec problem. Also, if your media player tries to download the codec to play your AVI file with and doesn't find one, then you will see any of these error messages.
• Glitches in Video: If your AVI file gets interrupted when you are downloading, it could cause some errors. The file may become invalid when you try to playback. Also, this could come from corruption in the storage device used to store the media files, codec issues, and media players that are not updated.
• Video Plays but Audio does not: If you have this symptom while playing your AVI file, then it is a clear indication that there is a problem with your sound driver. If you have not updated the audio drivers of your system, you may encounter this problem.

Part 4: Ultimately Repair Not Playing AVI Videos

AVI videos can refuse to play because of one error after the other. The silver lining is that you have come to the place where you will find a solution to this problem.

1. Repair Corrupted AVI Videos with Recoverit

The number one solution for the ultimate repair of your AVI videos that have refused to play is Recoverit Video Repair. This tool repairs videos that have been corrupted during transfer, editing, conversion, or processing.

With Recoverit Video Repair, you can fix the errors in your AVI files using the 'Quick' repair mode. On the other hand, you can use the information in a sample video to repair severely corrupted videos under the 'Advance repair' mode.

This system works because the sample video is a working file made from the same device as your corrupted video, in addition to both videos being of the same format. This tool can also sync your audio and video so neither is silent nor slower than the other.

Now what is left is for you to use the steps below to repair your AVI videos so that they can be played:

Step 1: Add Your Corrupt Video File.

Click on the 'Add' button or select the 'Add video and start repairing' option on the Recoverit Video Repair interface to do this.

Step 2: Start the Repair Process

This step applies to 'Quick mode'. Recoverit Video Repair will begin a scan to repair the errors in your video files.

Step 3: Preview and Save Videos

After the video repair is completed, you will see a message prompting. Click 'OK' to preview and save the repaired AVI files.

Step 4: Add Sample Video (Advance Repair)

How Can I Open An Avi File On My Mac

Now for those badly corrupted videos that have not been fixed through quick repair, add sample video files to proceed with the advanced repair.

Step 5: Save Repaired Videos

After Recoverit Video Repair has analyzed the sample video, you can rest assured that your severely damaged videos will be fixed. All you need to do is preview the video and save it.

2. Restore System to Restore Point: You can restore your Windows to its previous restore point if the problem of videos not playing began recently. The steps below will guide you:

1. Jointly press 'Windows' key and 'X' keys on your keyboard. Then select the 'Run' option.

2. Type the following in the text box: 'rstrui.exe'. Next, select 'OK'. This action is to take you to the 'System Restore' window.

3. Choose 'Next' and from the list that will appear, click on the restore point of your choice.

4. End by selecting 'Next' > 'Finish'.

Part 5: Helpful Tips for Playing AVI Videos

When it comes to playing AVI videos, you need some tips or guidelines that will help you get the best from this format. Some of these tips are enumerated below:

• If your AVI file is having trouble playing, convert it to another media file format such as MP4 before playing the video again.
• Ensure you use the right codec to play AVI videos. It has been established that most problems that cause AVI videos not to play seem to come from the correct video codec missing.
• Choose the media player that best suits your AVI videos. A list has been provided for you to choose from in the sections above.
• Note that AVI files require bigger storage space when compared to other video formats, therefore, you need devices with big storage capacity to play AVI videos.
• If you use some codecs to compress an AVI video online, it is those same codecs that must be used to extract and play the AVI videos.

This article has succeeded in giving you a comprehensive list of players to use for AVI files, how to use them, and in case of your AVI videos not playing, how to fix them. The ultimate tool you can rely on to repair your damaged AVI video files is Recoverit Video Repair.

We'll show you how to download codec and Perian to make QuickTime play AVI on Mac, how to play AVI file on Mac with an alternative player, and how to convert AVI to Mac playable format.

I've exported some video at University in uncompressed Microsoft AVI and it doesn't play in quicktime or vlc at home on my MacBook.

My MacBook Pro won't play AVI videos. When I try to watch it, it just shows a white screen with garbled video. Anybody know what the problem is?

Why QuickTime and VLC won't play AVI on Mac? There're two main reasons. One is that the AVI uses a codec format that QuickTime/VLC can't support, the other is that your AVI file is corrupted. In this article we'll show you how to play AVI on Mac smoothly.

Table of Contents

Open An Avi File On Mac

Solution 1. Convert AVI Video to Mac Supported Formats

When Mac QuickTime can't play AVI files, you can convert AVI format to Mac supported formats, such as MOV, M4V or MP4.

MacX Video Converter Pro has proven to be great in the realm of video conversion. The software enables you to watch AVI on Mac with no formats limits by converting AVI to QuickTime supported formats like MP4, with ZERO quality loss and super faster speed.

It is fully compatible with macOS Big Sur, Catalina, and other Mac systems. Just free download it to have a try!

How to Convert AVI Files for Smooth Playback on Mac

To begin with, free download the AVI video converter on your MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, iMac, Mac mini, or Mac Pro. Install and run it.

Step 1: Click '+ Video' button to load the AVI file you want to convert for playback on Mac.

Step 2: Select an Mac compatible output format. On the Output Profile panel, you can scroll down to 'Mac General Video' and choose 'MP4 Video (H264)', 'MP4 Video (MPEG4)', 'MOV Video (H264)', or any profile you like. And, hit 'Done'.

Besides H.264 and MPEG4 video codec, it also supports converting AVI video to HEVC/H.265 codec which can release more space for your Mac's hard drive. All Macs on High Sierra and later support HEVC playback.

Step 3: Click 'Browse' button to choose a destination folder to save converted AVI files.

Step 4: Click 'RUN' button to start converting AVI file for Mac. Hardware acceleration is by default enabled to boost video conversion speed.

Besides converting AVI to Mac, MacX Video Converter Pro has many other features you'll love.

• The program is able to convert among video files, like AVI to MP4, MKV to MOV, M2TS to AVI, to name just a few.
• It allows reducing video file size by lowering resolution, bit rate, etc.
• It provides some basic editing features, like cut, crop, and merge.
• It can record screen and video.
• It allows you to download video and music from YouTube, Vimeo, Dailymotion, Metacafe, Facebook, and more 1000+ sites.

Solution 2. Watch AVI File on Mac with 3rd-party Player

When QuickTime won't play AVI on Mac, you still have many other AVI players for Mac to choose from, such as 5KPlayer. 5KPlayer works like a charm, without requiring to install codec pack.

5KPlayer is a 100% free and clean media player, enabling you to play SD HD 4K UHD AVI video on MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, iMac, etc. It supports AVI files with codecs DivX, Xvid or 3ivX etc. It delivers surprisingly great audio and image quality. With frequent update, it fully supports macOS Big Sur, Catalina, High Sierra, and earlier OS.

Now free download 5KPlayer so that you can play AVI on Mac without converting.

In fact, 5KPlayer can also play 720p/1080p/4K UHD/8K videos in MKV, M2TS, FLV, MOV, MP4, AVCHD and more, music audio in MP3, AAC, AC3, DVDs, and many more on Mac and Windows (including Win 10). Additionally, it can download video and music from YouTube, Dailymotion, Vimeo, Vevo, over 300 sites for free.

How to Use 5KPlayer to Play AVI Video on Mac

Step 1. Download and install 5KPlayer. Once done, open it.

Step 2. Load target AVI file to play. There're 3 ways to do so.

• Click 'Video' to browse and open the source AVI file on the main interface;
• Drag and drop AVI video to the main window;
• Right click AVI file, choose to open with 5KPlayer.

Solution 3. Install the Right Codec to Make QuickTime Play AVI on Mac

That QuickTime fails to play your AVI files may be because it doesn't support the AVI' codec. AVI is a container format. It can package various codecs, such as Xvid, DivX and 3ivX. So you need to know how the AVI file is coded and download the right codec for QuickTime to decode it on Mac.

To figure out the codec used to encode AVI, you can open the file with QuickTime and choose Show Movie Info from the Window menu. Then you should be able to find codec information after format properties. Next, you should check if the codec is supported by QuickTime or not. If it is an unsupportive codec, you can download the codec online.

The most popular codecs that can be installed to play AVI on Mac are:

Both add support for a variety of DivX and other formats which often carry the .avi extension. You can download and install either one codec. Once done, open QuickTime and see if it can play your AVI file on Mac now.

But this method isn't foolproof. Some users report that after installing DivX for Mac, the sound in some AVIs will sometimes be either missing or distorted.

Solution 4. Install Perian to Help QuickTime Play AVI on Mac

If you don't want to download codec but still want to use QuickTime to play AVI video, you can install Perian. This is a free and open-source QuickTime component which can bring necessary codecs or components to help QuickTime play AVI, MKV, FLV, MTS, DivX, WMA and more on Mac. Certainly even if Perian is installed, QuickTime won't play all media types.

How to Use Perian to Play AVI on Mac

Step 1. Download and install Perian from https://perian.org/. once done, it will be listed inside System Preferences.

Step 2. Right click on the AVI file and then choose QuickTime to open it.

So, above are all the ways to play AVI file on Mac. You'll surely find a workable way.