- The proplem with the most common AVI movie codecs is that they are made for the Intel Pentium CPU to take advantage of the Pentium in such a way they can not be ported over to other types of CPUs(like RISC.) Although some of my friends who buy Wintels say they have trouble with AVI files also. So even WMP for mac cant play AVI files.
- But probably you already know them, and still want to use QuickTime to record screen and audio on Mac. If so, in the article below, you’ll find a short guide to how to use this app. If you change your mind, check out the QuickTime alternative screen and audio recorder – Movavi Screen Recorder for Mac.
- QuickTime supports hardware acceleration for some profiles of H.264; however, which profiles these are is not documented and may change on different Mac models. We do our best not to interfere, and some MKV files are known to work with hardware-accelerated decoding.
Playing AVI files is one of the biggest worries for a Mac user. None of the four major Indeo codecs that are required to decode AVI files have been integrated into QuickTime. In some cases, even if the required codecs are available, the AVI video file does not play due to corruption. So, before we get to know how to play AVI files on Mac or how to fix AVI files that are not playing on Mac, let’s get a quick look at Audio Video Interleave (AVI) format.
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Quicktime Player Update For Mac
4Videosoft AVI Converter for Mac is an easy to operate Mac AVI Converter for Mac users, which helps you to convert video to AVI, HD AVI, DivX (.avi), XviD (.avi) with perfect output quality and high conversion speed.
What is an AVI file?
The full form of AVI is Audio Video Interleave. Like any video file format, AVI is a container format that defines how video data is packed into a file. Unlike other video formats, it does not predefine or specify the protocol or procedure involved while recording or creating a file. As an AVI file structure has the organizational format of streams and stream data, it is defined by two lists namely List Chunk and Index Chunk.
List Chunk: The list chunk has metadata, the size of the file, frame rates and audio/video information.
Index Chunk: Index chunk is responsible for saving the locations of data within the container.
Note: If any of these crucial chunks is missing in your AVI video file, then your AVI file will not play.
What is a Codec?
A codec that is short from for compressor and decompressor is responsible for decoding the video and audio tracks that have been encoded or packed in the .avi file.
It is to be noted that an AVI file or any video file does not come with codecs. Codecs are a part of the video player package like QuickTime.
Avi For Quicktime Mac
However, if the codec used to encode the AVI file is not available in the QuickTime player, then your AVI file will not play. Thus, you can expand the codec library of the player by downloading the specific codec required to play the AVI video file.
Problems Associated With Running AVI on Mac Using QuickTime
When an AVI file is opened using QuickTime player, it scans the file to see which codecs have been used to encode the data in the container/AVI file.
The AVI format video will play as expected if the video and audio in codec are compressed using a codec that exists in the QuickTime package. Nevertheless, problems arise while playing AVI files on Mac when the codec does not exist in the library and leads to an unplayable AVI file on Mac. The file may also refuse to play if the AVI file is corrupt. Fix corrupt AVI files on Mac before trying any workaround.
Unplayable AVI Files Return The Following Errors:
- “QuickTime is missing the software needed to perform this operation. Unfortunately, it is not available on the QuickTime server”
- 'You may experience problems playing a video track in 'file.avi' because the required compressor could not be found”
Additionally, the latest version QuickTime X does not have a few major codec’s like Indeo or native DivX support and you might end up with the question “How to play unplayable AVI file on Mac?”.
Now that you have understood the complications associated with AVI files that are unplayable on Mac, the following workarounds mentioned-below have been provided to help you fix unplayable AVI videos on Mac.
Methods to Fix Unplayable AVI files on Mac
Find the right codec to play AVI file on QuickTime:
Find the codec used to encode the file using QuickTime by opening the file using QuickTime and select Show Movie Info option from the Window menu.
The video file information is listed, and you will be able to find codec information after format properties. Check if the QuickTime version supports the codec that is listed in the video properties.
If you don’t find the codec preinstalled with QuickTime, check on the QuickTime support site if the codec is supported by the player. If you don’t find the respective codec or if it is an unsupportive codec, then your AVI video won’t play. In case it is supported then you can go ahead and install the codec after downloading it from the author or the publisher’s site.
Note: Download the codec from genuine and trusted sources to avoid compromising your system security.
Download and Install Standardized Video Encoders:
There are two major industry-standard codecs for Mac that can extend the playback capabilities. The following codecs have been referred to as the most preferred codecs that enable you to open .avi files on Mac:
- Install 3ivx D4 codec:
This codec enables greater video quality at lower file size values up to fifty percent when compared to the MPEG-4 standard designed by Apple. This decoder increases the efficiency of the video storage and transmission of files that are rendered too large.It is an integration of a huge set of video and audio codecs that allow playback of almost all the AVI files with AAC audio and video of MPEG-4.You can fix your unplayable AVI file by installing 3ivx D4 on your Mac. There is no longer a need for downloading any other components like plug-ins to play the AVI file unless a proprietary codec is used to encode the file. - Install DivX for Mac free codec to fix AVI files in Quick time:
While you can play the majority of AVI files after you install this free codec for Mac, its major disadvantage is that the audio sometimes might be distorted or only the video is played. For this reason, DivX codec for Mac is a secondary option when compared to 3ivx D4 codec.
Note: Only one among the above two codecs are to be used at once as they share the same set of library files to decode the video. Hence it is recommended to install only one codec to avoid malfunction of QuickTime player.
Use an Alternate player to Play AVI files on Mac:
VLC or Video LAN Client is a cross-platform media player that supports a wide variety of AVI video and audio codecs. Therefore, choosing VLC as an alternative media player to play the unplayable AVI file on Quick Time is one of the easiest ways.
Because of its large library of free encoding and decoding libraries, you will no longer need any additional codec download or proprietary plug-ins.
Play AVI Files By Converting Into QuickTime Supported MOV Files:
Another workaround to fix the unplayable AVI video on Mac is to convert the AVI file into a QuickTime supported file format like MOV.
Post conversion, the file is not only playable by Mac but also has improved the quality of audio and video. As most of the converters break the index of the AVI file while conversion, this method is least recommended. Lastly, if the converted video file stops playing halfway try AVI index repair on Mac.
Note: Have a copy of your AVI file before converting them to any other compatible format as your AVI file might get corrupt due to improper conversion and leads to permanent inaccessible AVI files.
AVI Still Not Playing In Mac?
If the AVI video file is unplayable even after updating the codecs or converting them to the MOV file, using a professional AVI video repair tool is suggested. Remo Repair AVI is the tool that you will be needing.
Remo Repair AVI fixes and works on a duplicate version of your original AVI file to prevent modification on the original file. The self-explanatory interface helps you to fix the video in just 3 clicks. Download the Remo Repair AVI tool now to fix your unplayable video and preview it for free before saving.
Remo Repair AVI Can Also:
- Repair AVI files that are corrupted
- Repair AVI files if their index is corrupted
- Repairs AVI files if there is no audio or playing only audio in the video file
Conclusion:
With the mentioned free workarounds or by using the above-mentioned AVI repair tool, you must have fixed your unplayable AVI videos on Mac. However, you can always make use of Remo Software’s technical assistance team as they will guide you with the repairing process of the software if needed.
As you know, Macs as well as PCs have been in tough competition for a long time now, and the outcome of which is the compatibility issues regarding both hardware and software. This post is going to bring out some ways for the easy functioning of .avi files in your Mac OS X as well as PCs.
AVI is not particularly any kind of file, it is a file format in which the video and audio are placed parallel for instant playback. Earlier, playing AVI with the help of QuickTime player was not much successful. However, QuickTime X and QuickTime 7 are compatible with AVI. However, the auto-tuning of AVI by QuickTime on Pcs or Mac will be largely dependent on the code type used by the AVI. Are you looking for ways to play all .avi files on video player like QuickTime without making use of any codec? Then, you are in the right place.
Ways to watch AVI movie files through the QuickTime player on a PC or Mac:
Following the ways you can try for watching all kinds of AVI movie files using the QuickTime player on a PC or Mac:
Method 1: Install an older edition of QuickTime 7
Each version of Mac OS X has a separate inbuilt QT structure, and each one is supportive of playing very few audio and video codecs for being compatible with that specific operating system. If you are looking for more components for plugging in, you can get many of them by thirty parties across the web for watching the AVI videos through QuickTime 7 irrespective of the video code which is being used below the container of .avi. Out of them, Perian is the universally known plugin that lets the users play a varied range of video files.
Method 2: Download a compatible media player – Elmedia to Play AVI
In case you are not willing to transform AVI file into a QuickTime file or download the older version of QuickTime 7, you can get nowa different option for making AVI play smoothly on your Mac. The option is to use anything similar to the Elmedia player.
Elmedia player is an autonomous software that can be used in MacOS. It comes with an inbuilt codec file that allows you to play a list of media file formats such as Avi, mp4, Mkv, WMV, WebM, MPEG, WebM, and need no effort for transformation from the user’s side. It offers several other features that cannot be found in QuickTime player. The features of this exceptionally good video player for Mac include adding watermark, capturing screen content, recording radio streams, etc. You can download the link Mac edition of this software from the App Store free.
Hence, it is just as simple to sort out all the QuickTime issues related to AVI by the methods mentioned above. Try these ways out and you will be able to enjoy playing all types of AVI video clips.