You're here because you have a file that has a file extension ending in .avi. Files with the file extension .avi can only be launched by certain applications. It's possible that .avi files are data files rather than documents or media, which means they're not meant to be viewed at all.
what is a .avi file?
Also known as Audio Video Interleave files, these .avi files are compressed multimedia content comprised of video data with audio that have been encoded using various codecs. Developed by Microsoft, the AVI file format implements lighter video data compression standards into its encoding specifications than MOV and MPEG files. There are many applications for both Microsoft Windows and Mac platforms that are embedded with support for opening and viewing the content of these AVI files. There are also Linux programs that can be used to open these AVI files. Some video editing applications can also be used to create videos in the AVI file format, and these programs are integrated with a set of features for editing the video and audio content stored in these .avi files.
how to open a .avi file?
Launch a .avi file, or any other file on your PC, by double-clicking it. If your file associations are set up correctly, the application that's meant to open your .avi file will open it. It's possible you may need to download or purchase the correct application. It's also possible that you have the correct application on your PC, but .avi files aren't yet associated with it. In this case, when you try to open a .avi file, you can tell Windows which application is the correct one for that file. From then on, opening a .avi file will open the correct application. Click here to fix .avi file association errors
applications that open a .avi file
Microsoft Windows Media Player
Microsoft Windows Media Player
Windows Media Player Playlist (WPL) is a computer file format that keeps multimedia playlists for video and audio collections. It is an owned file format utilized in Microsoft Windows Media Player versions 9 to 12. The fundamentals of WPL files are represented in XML format. These .WPL files can be accessed and utilized by the Nullsoft Winamp Media Player 5.6 application version as well as the Roxio Creator 2012 program. WPL files are also known as Windows Media Player playlist files, which are indicated by the Microsoft Windows Media Player or the other media players with support for WPL files as reference data when users open these playlist files and begin to access the content stored in it. The top-level aspect specifies that the file's elements go after the Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language (SMIL) structure. The information contained in these WPL files are directory locations to the video files and audio content chose by the creator of the .WPL file, this enables the media player application to quickly and easily find and play the video and audio content from their directory locations.
VideoLan VLC Media player is a multi-media player software that is considered to be an open source and cross platform multimedia player with framework. Thus, a product that can play most of the standard files of multimedia plus CDs, DVDs and VCDs. It also plays different streaming protocols, supported applications or devices and webcams. There is also the ability to play audios of various codecs even if there are no codec packs included: MPEG-2, WebM, MP3, WMV and MKV. This software works on most Windows computers, Mac OS X PCs, Linux and well as Unix. In addition, there is descryption for DVD which is executed via the libdvdcss library. It also has playback control support for all computers compatible with it using libcdio or libvcdinfo. On Mac computers, this media player can grab audios and videos from EyeTV applications and other devices that capture EyeTV data. On GNU and Linux, it supports encoding cards that are compatible with V4L2 and MPEG-2 which are Visiontech Kfir and Hauppage WinTV-PVR 250-350.
Quicktime Player is a multimedia player that was developed by Apple and is integrated into Mac OS X and apple iTunes. Quicktime player is compatible with windows operating systems as well, namely Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7. This program is a standalone application in Windows platforms. Quicktime Player supports these video file formats: Quicktime Movie; AVI; MPEG; DV; 3GPP; and 3GPP2. Here The audio file formats supported by Quicktime Player include: Itunes audio; SD2, WAV; AMR; SND; CORE AUDIO; MP3; AU; and AIFF. Users can add some components to enable Quicktime player to support other file formats, such as Flash video, ASF, DivX Media format, OGG and Matroska. This application can be downloaded for free, but if users require comprehensive video editing features like converting files to other format, then it is recommended to upgrade their subscription to Quicktime Player Pro. This is packed with H.264 technology that consumes less storage space and bandwidth but plays high resolution videos.
Apple iTunes is a software categorized as a media player computer application for playing, downloading, organizing and saving various files, which are digital audios and videos. There is also a feature that enables content managements from iPod models, iPad Touch, iPhone, and iPad. This software can be connected to iTunes Store so a user can download or buy music, videos, audio books, ringtones or even games for iPod in just a click of a button. In fact, it allows the download of various applications via the App Store for some Apple devices, which are iPod Touch, iPhone and iPad. The downside of this is that it does not enable music transfer from one device to another unit. This program is compatible for Apple’s Mac OS X version 10.6.8 and other later versions, but also works for current Windows OS such as Windows 7, Windows XP and Windows Vista, then for the upcoming Windows 8.
Zune is a digital media store developed by Microsoft. Provided are portable media players, a music subscription service known as a "Zune Music Pass", digital media player software for Windows, music and video streaming services via the Zune Software for the Xbox 360 game console. Also included are music, TV and movie sales, and media software for Windows Phones. Zune and the ZPL file format were created by Microsoft. These files have playlists of songs or videos that are saved by Zune to administer and arrange such playlists by libraries, genres or favorites. The Zune software is used to transfer multimedia files to and from various devices, such as XBox, PCs, Windows Phones and Zune Player. By default, the Zune playlist is not compatible with other media players. This means ZPL files must first be converted to M3U, PLS or WPL file formats with the use of a Zune Playlist Converter to make it work.
Be careful not to rename the extension on .avi files, or any other files. This will not change the file type. Only special conversion software can change a file from one file type to another.
what is a file extension?
A file extension is the set of three or four characters at the end of a filename; in this case, .avi. File extensions tell you what type of file it is, and tell Windows what programs can open it. Windows often associates a default program to each file extension, so that when you double-click the file, the program launches automatically. When that program is no longer on your PC, you can sometimes get an error when you try to open the associated file.
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