AVI: What is it? Explained in a simple and understandable way
If you find one or more AVI files on your computer, these can usually be opened directly. We can easily explain what this file is and which programs you can use to open the AVI files.
What are AVI files?
- The abbreviation AVI stands for "Audio Video Interleave". It is a video format, more precisely a container format.
- The container format was introduced by Microsoft in 1992 and is still widely used today. This means that AVI files can be played on almost all devices.
- Since it is a container format, an AVI file can contain several video, audio and subtitle sources, which are also encoded differently. The AVI format thus combines image, sound and subtitles in one file.
- Since the AVI format is somewhat older, it also lacks some useful functions that other video formats offer. For example, no interactive menus can be created and only comparatively poor subtitles can be generated.
Open AVI files - how it works
- Since the AVI format is a Microsoft development, AVI files are supported by every version of Windows. The pre-installed Windows Media Player can open AVI files without any problems.
- Alternatively, you can use other software. The free VLC media player can handle almost any video and audio format. Many DVD players and other multimedia devices are also compatible with the AVI format.
In the next practical tip, we will show you how to convert your AVI files to MPEG format and thus reduce the size of the videos.