What is AVI file? How to open AVI file?

The file has an extension of .avi (Audio Video Interleave) which is a commonly used video format, containing both audio and video.

What is AVI file?

First developed by Microsoft in 1992, AVI is the standard video format for Windows devices. This file is saved in multimedia container format, storing audio and video using codecs like DivX and XviD.

AVI files do not compress or compress less frequently when storing files so it takes up more space than other video file formats like MPEG and MOV. AVI files are usually larger in size, about 2 to 3GB per minute of video. However, the advantage of this file type is that it does not lose quality over time, no matter how many times you open or save the file. In addition, this also allows playback without codecs.

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How to open AVI file

AVI is a proprietary Microsoft file format, so if you plan to open it on a non-Windows system, you need third-party software.

If you are a Windows user, just double click on the file it will open in Windows Media Player.

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If you can't open it, you can right-click the file and point to the Open With menu, then click Windows Media Player or another video-enabled application if you have it installed.

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If using macOS or Linux, you cannot open AVI files as easily as on Windows because these platforms do not have an integrated application that supports AVI. Therefore, you need to install a third-party application such as VLC Player. This is a fast, open source, free video player and supports multiple platforms such as Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and iOS. VLC also supports a lot of video file formats and can play videos at high speed.

See more:

1. What is MP4 file? How to open MP4 file?
2. What is an MP3 file? What software do you listen to MP3 music on your computer?
3. 5 best video conversion software available today