We'll show you how to download codec and Perian to make QuickTime play AVI on Mac, how to play AVI file on Mac with an alternative player, and how to convert AVI to Mac playable format.
I've exported some video at University in uncompressed Microsoft AVI and it doesn't play in quicktime or vlc at home on my MacBook.
My MacBook Pro won't play AVI videos. When I try to watch it, it just shows a white screen with garbled video. Anybody know what the problem is?
FreeFileConvert is the other simple MKV to AVI converter, which supports various formats of audio, video, image, and many more files. Moreover, you can import the file in three ways: add the file from your computer, paste a URL, or choose a file from cloud service. Here is the step by step guide to convert MKV to AVI with FreeFileConvert. A very easy & simple way to convert.avi files(or any file) to be able to watch on your Mac computer or other devices. A very easy & simple way to convert.avi files(or any file) to be able to.
Why QuickTime and VLC won't play AVI on Mac? There're two main reasons. One is that the AVI uses a codec format that QuickTime/VLC can't support, the other is that your AVI file is corrupted. In this article we'll show you how to play AVI on Mac smoothly.
Table of Contents
Solution 1. Convert AVI Video to Mac Supported Formats
When Mac QuickTime can't play AVI files, you can convert AVI format to Mac supported formats, such as MOV, M4V or MP4.
MacX Video Converter Pro has proven to be great in the realm of video conversion. The software enables you to watch AVI on Mac with no formats limits by converting AVI to QuickTime supported formats like MP4, with ZERO quality loss and super faster speed.
It is fully compatible with macOS Big Sur, Catalina, and other Mac systems. Just free download it to have a try!
How to Convert AVI Files for Smooth Playback on Mac
To begin with, free download the AVI video converter on your MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, iMac, Mac mini, or Mac Pro. Install and run it.
Step 1: Click '+ Video' button to load the AVI file you want to convert for playback on Mac.
Step 2: Select an Mac compatible output format. On the Output Profile panel, you can scroll down to 'Mac General Video' and choose 'MP4 Video (H264)', 'MP4 Video (MPEG4)', 'MOV Video (H264)', or any profile you like. And, hit 'Done'.
Besides H.264 and MPEG4 video codec, it also supports converting AVI video to HEVC/H.265 codec which can release more space for your Mac's hard drive. All Macs on High Sierra and later support HEVC playback.
Step 3: Click 'Browse' button to choose a destination folder to save converted AVI files.
Step 4: Click 'RUN' button to start converting AVI file for Mac. Hardware acceleration is by default enabled to boost video conversion speed.
Besides converting AVI to Mac, MacX Video Converter Pro has many other features you'll love.
- The program is able to convert among video files, like AVI to MP4, MKV to MOV, M2TS to AVI, to name just a few.
- It allows reducing video file size by lowering resolution, bit rate, etc.
- It provides some basic editing features, like cut, crop, and merge.
- It can record screen and video.
- It allows you to download video and music from YouTube, Vimeo, Dailymotion, Metacafe, Facebook, and more 1000+ sites.
Solution 2. Watch AVI File on Mac with 3rd-party Player
When QuickTime won't play AVI on Mac, you still have many other AVI players for Mac to choose from, such as 5KPlayer. 5KPlayer works like a charm, without requiring to install codec pack.
5KPlayer is a 100% free and clean media player, enabling you to play SD HD 4K UHD AVI video on MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, iMac, etc. It supports AVI files with codecs DivX, Xvid or 3ivX etc. It delivers surprisingly great audio and image quality. With frequent update, it fully supports macOS Big Sur, Catalina, High Sierra, and earlier OS.
Now free download 5KPlayer so that you can play AVI on Mac without converting.
In fact, 5KPlayer can also play 720p/1080p/4K UHD/8K videos in MKV, M2TS, FLV, MOV, MP4, AVCHD and more, music audio in MP3, AAC, AC3, DVDs, and many more on Mac and Windows (including Win 10). Additionally, it can download video and music from YouTube, Dailymotion, Vimeo, Vevo, over 300 sites for free.
How to Use 5KPlayer to Play AVI Video on Mac
Step 1. Download and install 5KPlayer. Once done, open it.
Step 2. Load target AVI file to play. There're 3 ways to do so.
- Click 'Video' to browse and open the source AVI file on the main interface;
- Drag and drop AVI video to the main window;
- Right click AVI file, choose to open with 5KPlayer.
Solution 3. Install the Right Codec to Make QuickTime Play AVI on Mac
That QuickTime fails to play your AVI files may be because it doesn't support the AVI' codec. AVI is a container format. It can package various codecs, such as Xvid, DivX and 3ivX. So you need to know how the AVI file is coded and download the right codec for QuickTime to decode it on Mac.
To figure out the codec used to encode AVI, you can open the file with QuickTime and choose Show Movie Info from the Window menu. Then you should be able to find codec information after format properties. Next, you should check if the codec is supported by QuickTime or not. If it is an unsupportive codec, you can download the codec online.
The most popular codecs that can be installed to play AVI on Mac are:
Both add support for a variety of DivX and other formats which often carry the .avi extension. You can download and install either one codec. Once done, open QuickTime and see if it can play your AVI file on Mac now.
But this method isn't foolproof. Some users report that after installing DivX for Mac, the sound in some AVIs will sometimes be either missing or distorted.
Solution 4. Install Perian to Help QuickTime Play AVI on Mac
If you don't want to download codec but still want to use QuickTime to play AVI video, you can install Perian. This is a free and open-source QuickTime component which can bring necessary codecs or components to help QuickTime play AVI, MKV, FLV, MTS, DivX, WMA and more on Mac. Certainly even if Perian is installed, QuickTime won't play all media types.
How to Use Perian to Play AVI on Mac
How Do I Open An Avi File On A Mac Drive
Step 1. Download and install Perian from https://perian.org/. once done, it will be listed inside System Preferences.
Step 2. Right click on the AVI file and then choose QuickTime to open it.
So, above are all the ways to play AVI file on Mac. You'll surely find a workable way.
Can't import AVI files to Adobe Premiere Pro due to Codec Missing? 2 Solutions.
'Just installed Premiere Pro CS6(PC)on a new machine.I can see and play the AVI files in bridge but when I try to import it says there's a file issue and won't import. Are these files I need to convert to a different format or do I need to add a specific codec to the new machine?'
'How do I fix this? I can't open the file in quicktime to at least watch the video and when I import it into Premiere, I get the error message that's saying the codec is missing.'
'an issue that's really annoying and bothers me a lot: Due to a new system setup I reinstalled Adobe Premiere and now I'm no longer able to import AVI files in Premiere anymore. These files contain screen recordings. This also means a loss of already done work for me.'
AVI file format seems one of Adobe Premiere Pro supported navtive video formats for import. But the weird thing is that Adobe Premiere Pro sometimes will reject to import some AVI files. The error message goes like, 'File format not supported', 'Unsupported format or damaged file', 'Codec missing or unavailable'. Or Premiere Pro only imports audio from AVI files for you. You can only add the AVI video to the timeline of Premiere Pro as an audio track, instead of a video track. Just sound, no video.
Why can't your AVI video files be imported into Adobe Premiere Pro?
Possible reason 1: Your AVI files are corrupted. You can check whether your AVI file can be recognized and played properly using other programs. If not, repair it using a professional video repair tool.
Possible reason 2: Broadly speaking, the major cause is that some required codec is missing so that the file format is not supported. For example, after you update to the newest version, some codec is missing. In this case, you can use Mediainfo to check the information (mainly take a look at video and Audio codec) in your AVI file and then google search to find and install the require codec to fix the problem. If you cannot find a suitable codec, transocding AVI file is the the most effective yet easiest solution recommended by us.
Analysis: Adobe Premiere Pro support AVI files, but AVI is a multimedia container format which contains various types of data encoded using one of several different codecs. A MOV file can use DivX, XviD, NewTek SHQ3 (4:2:2:4) codec, MPEG-4 AVC, MPEG-2, DV, VP8, VP9, or other video codec for compression. To import AVI files successfully, Adobe Premiere Pro needs to be compatible with the specific codecs used in the AVI files. If not, you'll experience AVI importing error. Next, let me show you how to fix 'can't import AVI to Adobe Premiere Pro' problem caused by incompatible codec.
Solution 1: Install Required Codec to Fix Can't Import AVI to Premiere Error
If the reason that your Premiere Pro can't read your AVI files is that required codec isn't installed on your laptop, you can intall the codec on it by determing what codec was used to encode the AVI video. For example, if you find out that the your AVI has a NewTek SHQ3 (4:2:2:4) codec, you are able to find the codec from Updates and Downloadsunder the section called Codecs and Utilities, install it, reboot, and boom. Then, the AVI files will be imported perfectly into Premiere Pro.
Solution 2: Transcode AVI to Premiere supported MOV H264, MP4, ProRes...
- 100% Working Solution to Fix 'Can't Import AVI File to Premiere' Error
Transcoding should be a very helpful method. If you have Adobe Media Encoder, you can use it to conduct video conversion. If you don't have that tool or can't manage to convert problematic AVI files to desired format with Media Encoder, you might as well try an easier-to-use yet powerful video converter and decoder - EaseFab Video Converter for Mac (it also has a Windows version here.). It is able to work with various AVI files, no matter what codecs are wrapped in and no matter what devices record. To solve the AVI or other incompatible issues, you're suggested to download and install EaseFab Video Converter on your PC or Mac computer first.
How Do I Open An Avi File On A Mac Laptop
EaseFab Video Converter for Mac - The One-click Way to Convert Videos for Adobe Premiere and more.
• Accepts nearly all types of videos, regardless of video formats, codecs and resolutions;
• Transcode footage to Apple ProRes, DNxHD for smooth edits in Adobe Premiere and other NLEs;
• Easy editing experience: cut, crop, merge, add effects/watermark, add subtitles, etc;
• Completes video conversion and processing in three steps.
Tutorial: How to Decode AVI to Premiere Supported Codec/Format?
Here we take EaseFab Video Converter for Mac for an example. The process of transcoding AVI files for Premiere Pro is almost the same.
Step 1. Download, install and launch EaseFab Video Converter for Mac. Click Add Video to import your AVI video. Dragging and droppping works too. (Note: batch conversion is supported, so you can several mov videos to the program to convert at a time.)
Step 2. Click 'Profile' bar and move mouse cursor to 'Editing Software' to choose a format preset that Adobe Premiere can support. Here ProRes or DNxHD 1080P (or DNxHD 720P) is recommended since the two high-quality codecs can make your editing process simpler and less resource-intensive on both Mac and Windows.
Besides the high-quality codecs, you can also choose 'MPEG-2', 'WMV' or 'MOV' as the output format. These options can preserve image quality with smaller size and they can also be imported into Adobe Premiere Pro without any trouble.
Step 3. Hit Convert and it will begin fast video decoding, conversion and processing your AVI video at one go.
How Do I Open An Avi File On A Mac
After the conversion is complete, get the resulted files via clicking the Open button and then you can import the result files to Adobe Premiere Pro CC 2020 or lower version without any trouble.
Final Words:
How Do I Open An Avi File On A Mac Free
The major cause that Adobe Premiere Pro CC fails to import AVI files is that some required codec is missing and the file format is not supported. Therefore, transocding AVI file using EaseFab Video Converter is the the most effective yet easiest solution recommended by us.
Besides converting videos, EaseFab Video Converter is also able to perform some video editing tasks, including cutting, trimming, merging, adding special effects, and more. The operation is really beginner-friendly.