Movie Info: AVIs on MACs
November 2007
What are AVI files?
AVI is not a true file "format" it is a "container format". Inside the file can be about anything, meaning it can contain video audio compressed using many different combinations of codecs. So while MP3 and JPG can only contain a certain kind of compression (MPEG Audio Layer 3 and JPEG), AVI can contain many different kinds of compression (eg. DivX video + WMA audio or Indeo video + PCM audio), as long as a codec is available for encoding/decoding. AVI all look the same on the "outside", but on the "inside", they may be completely different. Almost all tools on this site are not just DivX tools, but also AVI tools, so will probably work with other codecs.
There is no such thing as a "normal" AVI file, but the closest you can get is probably an AVI file that contains no compression. AVI files has been around since the time of Windows 3.1, so by no means is it a new thing, and is probably the most common video format around (although its popularity wavered a few years ago, but has since come back with a vengeance due to the emergence of DivX). AVI files may also have limits under Windows 95/98, and for more information, please read this article. Note that AVI files without file limits (other than the Windows Fat32 file limit) are usually referred to as OpenDML AVI files.
The easiest way to play AVI files on my Mac?
The first time you encounter an .AVI, QuickTime may open the file, but all you see is a blank or sickly green screen, no audio, and an error message. This means that you lack the necessary codecs/decoders for proper playback.
Almost all files you will encounter have a video track in some flavor of DivX with an audio track encoded as VBR mp3, or lately, ac3. While QT can play an .AVI with a CBR mp3 audio track, a VBR-encoded track will play with a great deal of stuttering or drop out completely after a few seconds.
Some older files may have been encoded with MP42 or MP43, two of Microsoft's earlier entries into the mpeg-4 field. Decoders available here (missing link).
Still older files may have been encoded with one of the Indeo codecs, none of which have been ported to OS X. If you wish to view such a file, download the full set of Indeo codecs and install in QT in OS 8/9. Regarding Indeo compression, there is a QT decoder for Indeo 263 (I263) that has worked for me in OS 9 and lower. The author says he doesn't know if it works in OS X and I have not tried it there either, but here is the link for the decoder.
Here are the most common solutions:
Use an alternative player, such as VideoLAN Client (aka VLC) or MPlayer, both UNIX players now ported to OS X. If a file does not play properly in one of these players, then your chances are slim of ever getting the file to play on a Mac.
Download DivX Doctor II, the 3ivx codec, and the .wma decoder and install as directed. Use DivX Doctor to convert the .AVI into a .MOV. Note: DivX Doctor is extremely intolerant of errors and sometimes creates a .mov file with bad synchronization.
Purchase the trial or pro version of the DivX 5 package, which contains an MP3 decoder for AVI's to play natively in QT. The free version does not contain the MP3 encoder and allows you only to encode a DivX video track in a .MOV
Note: If 3ivx and DivX 5's video codec are installed at the same time, 3ivx will take precedence, though the mp3 component will work flawlessly. If you wish DivX 5 to decode the video track, then remove the 3ivx component from the QuickTime library folder and restart QuickTime.
Quicktime adheres to the AVI standard. The problem is that AVI files with VBR MP3 audio tracks are not supported (it's a hack to the AVI format), so you get no sound or very stuttering sound when you try to play it. DivX Doctor works by correcting the audio information and sticking it in a Quicktime movie file with the video. Thanks danslagle.com
What are AVI files?
AVI is not a true file "format" it is a "container format". Inside the file can be about anything, meaning it can contain video audio compressed using many different combinations of codecs. So while MP3 and JPG can only contain a certain kind of compression (MPEG Audio Layer 3 and JPEG), AVI can contain many different kinds of compression (eg. DivX video + WMA audio or Indeo video + PCM audio), as long as a codec is available for encoding/decoding. AVI all look the same on the "outside", but on the "inside", they may be completely different. Almost all tools on this site are not just DivX tools, but also AVI tools, so will probably work with other codecs.
There is no such thing as a "normal" AVI file, but the closest you can get is probably an AVI file that contains no compression. AVI files has been around since the time of Windows 3.1, so by no means is it a new thing, and is probably the most common video format around (although its popularity wavered a few years ago, but has since come back with a vengeance due to the emergence of DivX). AVI files may also have limits under Windows 95/98, and for more information, please read this article. Note that AVI files without file limits (other than the Windows Fat32 file limit) are usually referred to as OpenDML AVI files.
The easiest way to play AVI files on my Mac?
The first time you encounter an .AVI, QuickTime may open the file, but all you see is a blank or sickly green screen, no audio, and an error message. This means that you lack the necessary codecs/decoders for proper playback.
Almost all files you will encounter have a video track in some flavor of DivX with an audio track encoded as VBR mp3, or lately, ac3. While QT can play an .AVI with a CBR mp3 audio track, a VBR-encoded track will play with a great deal of stuttering or drop out completely after a few seconds.
Some older files may have been encoded with MP42 or MP43, two of Microsoft's earlier entries into the mpeg-4 field. Decoders available here (missing link).
Still older files may have been encoded with one of the Indeo codecs, none of which have been ported to OS X. If you wish to view such a file, download the full set of Indeo codecs and install in QT in OS 8/9. Regarding Indeo compression, there is a QT decoder for Indeo 263 (I263) that has worked for me in OS 9 and lower. The author says he doesn't know if it works in OS X and I have not tried it there either, but here is the link for the decoder.
Here are the most common solutions:
Use an alternative player, such as VideoLAN Client (aka VLC) or MPlayer, both UNIX players now ported to OS X. If a file does not play properly in one of these players, then your chances are slim of ever getting the file to play on a Mac.
Download DivX Doctor II, the 3ivx codec, and the .wma decoder and install as directed. Use DivX Doctor to convert the .AVI into a .MOV. Note: DivX Doctor is extremely intolerant of errors and sometimes creates a .mov file with bad synchronization.
Purchase the trial or pro version of the DivX 5 package, which contains an MP3 decoder for AVI's to play natively in QT. The free version does not contain the MP3 encoder and allows you only to encode a DivX video track in a .MOV
Note: If 3ivx and DivX 5's video codec are installed at the same time, 3ivx will take precedence, though the mp3 component will work flawlessly. If you wish DivX 5 to decode the video track, then remove the 3ivx component from the QuickTime library folder and restart QuickTime.
Quicktime adheres to the AVI standard. The problem is that AVI files with VBR MP3 audio tracks are not supported (it's a hack to the AVI format), so you get no sound or very stuttering sound when you try to play it. DivX Doctor works by correcting the audio information and sticking it in a Quicktime movie file with the video. Thanks danslagle.com
posted by arkietechs at 8:00 AM
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