To play AVI files on Macs, we need to get a clear knowledge of the AVI format and its feature, and then choose the best video player to play AVI movies smoothly.

AVI, Audio Video Interleaved, is a multimedia container format introduced by Microsoft as part of its Video for Windows software. To open AVI files, your player must support all of these codecs. But Mac's built-in video player - QuickTime is unable to recognize and play AVI files. This article would introduce the best AVI player for Mac, and show you the step-by-step guide on how to play AVI on Mac.

Hot Search: Best Video Player for Mac | 4K Player for Mac

• >> How to Play AVI on Macs with the Best Video Player
• >> How to Play AVI Files on Macs Using QuickTime
• >> Recommend More AVI Players for Mac

How to Play AVI on Mac with the Best AVI Player?

Cisdem Video Player is a 100% FREE AVI player for Mac to play video / audio files of more than 50 formats (including 4K/5K/1080p HD videos) with no codec packs needed, like WMV, AVI, ASF, 3GP, MPG, MP4, M2T, MOV, MP3, OGG, and all popular HD video formats, etc.

It offers lots personalized video playing features, like load subtitle files automatically and manually, take snapshots, De-interlacing, set soundtracks, etc. All images are displayed clearly and crisply. It lets you enjoy smooth video playing without any bugs and artifacts. Every image, every action, still or moving, is delicately displayed. In all, it is absolutely one of the best AVI players for Mac that you shouldn’t miss out.

Steps to play AVI on Mac with Cisdem Video Player

Step 1. Download and launch the freeware.

Open An Avi File On Mac

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. Sure, you can open AVI on Mac using QuickTime Player. However, a point to note. QuickTime doesn’t support all codecs so some of your AVI files might not open properly. To avoid this problem, simply install Elmedia Player and you’ll never run into that issue again. How to Convert AVI to QuickTime MOV for Playback on Mac in Steps Step 1. Import AVI to the QuickTime Converter After launching the program, open the local folder where you've saved the AVI file, then drag and drop it to the main interface of the program.

Step 2. Drag AVI movie to the software

Open the software. You can see a pretty crisp and elegant interface. Drag any format video directly from your movie folder to the app.

Step 3. Open AVI file on Mac

Click the play button, and start to watch your AVI movie imported.

If you want to watch another one when playing one movie with this video player, you can drag the second one to replace the first one and start your new watching.

Look at the toolbar on the top menu. There are many practical tools in this professional AVI player that can be used for some personalized settings.

1. In the 'Audio' or , you can choose the stereo from Mono, Stereo, Left Channel, Right Channel.

2. Use its feature of 'Subtitle' and add external subtitles in .ASS, .SRT format and in the language you are familiar with.

3. Control the 'Playback' progress, stop, step forward, step backward, take screenshots, etc.

4. Retain file open recently and playback at your will.

5. Click “Window” or the sign at right top corner of the screen to check the media info of the loaded video.

6. Click to take a snapshot of your favorite video visual image as save as wallpaper or poster.

7. This free AVI player Mac enables you to make the video screen to the biggest ratio. You can just drag its corner to the bigger screen size, or go to click 'Playback' > 'Full Screen'.

8. In-app purchase: It needs to pay $9.99 to unlock the conversion function. So you can convert AVI to MP4, M4V, MKV, iPhone, and more.

A Professional Video Converter: Easily Convert, Download & Rip Videos

Use the best AVI converter for Mac to:

• Convert videos up to 200+ formats, including AVI, MOV, M4V, FLV, MKV, etc.
• Edit AVI videos with a built-in tool, like Trim, Crop, Rotate, 3D Effects, Watermark, Subtitles, etc.
• Rip DVD movies to AVI, MP4 or other formats for playing on portable devices
• Merge all converted AVI videos into a large file
• Download online videos from 1000+ sites with the supplied media downloader

How to Play AVI Files on Macs Using QuickTime Player?

QuickTime, a popular multimedia technology with a built-in media player, lets you play and view Internet video, HD movie trailers, and personal media in a wide range of file formats. But QuickTime Player only natively plays AVI (Motion JPEG), not all .avi movies.

In this case, you can install a plug-in like Perian, which is a free open-source QuickTime component that enables your Mac to play almost any movie format including AVI files. So you can open AVI files on Mac as easily as it does the native QuickTime video format.

Note: The latest version 1.2.3 of Perian is not compatible with Mac OS X Mavericks (10.9), Mountain Lion (10.8), and Lion (10.7). Moreover, since QuickTime version 10, Perian has no longer been supported.

Steps to play AVI on Mac OS X 10.4.7 or higher via QuickTime (10 or later not included):

Step 1. Download and install Perian from https://perian.org/.

After installation, it will be listed inside System Preferences, not the Applications folder, as it's a preference pane.

Step 2. Right-click the AVI file, and open it with QuickTime Player.

To uninstall Perian, navigate to 'System Preferences', right-click on the Perian icon and simply click the Remove “Perian” Preference Pane command.

Another way is to use the 3ivx MPEG-4 codec.

Can't Open Avi File On Mac

QuickTime 6 or 7 can open 3ivx MPEG-4 encoded videos including 3ivx AVI files without installing Perian or other components.

If the above method is not compatible with your QuickTime or Mac, and you still rely on QuickTime, I advise you to convert AVI to other formats that QuickTime supported, like .mov, .mp4, .m4v, MPEG-1, 3GPP, 3GPP2, AVCHD, DV, etc.

Recommend More AVI Players for Mac

#1. VLC

VLC is a free video player for you to play AVI on Mac. It supports playing multiple media formats. You are able to add subtitles to your video files, set the audio and video’s preferences as well, and easily control the playing process. But it comes with a basic interface, less awesome video visual effect, and less intuitive.

Just launch the application and, in the resulting VLC media player window, drag in the movie you want to watch and it will start playing.

#2. Plex

Plex is an excellent AVI player for Mac that helps you play and manage AVI without glitch. This program optimizes playback of nearly any type of media file, like AVI, MP4, FLV, WMV, etc., and streams all of your media to all your devices anytime and anywhere. Meanwhile, Plex has a media server so you can save your AVI videos into the service. But the operation of it is a bit difficult for beginners who only want to play AVI files on Mac.

#3. Elmedia Player

Elmedia Player applied hardware acceleration technology capable of playing AVI in a softer manner. You can load all AVI files in a playlist, adjust their playback speed, and audio/subtitles delay. But most functions of this AVI player for Mac are not free, such as customizing video tuner/advanced streaming/audio settings, etc. and even capturing a screenshot.

Conclusion

After reading this article, you should know how to play AVI on Mac. The best free media player you can try is Cisdem Video Player. It comes with a more intuitive interface and lets you enjoy a more crisp and higher definition video visual effect. You can easily take snapshots, resume media files, and control the play process. Do you like this outstanding AVI player Mac? Come to download its free trial version and experience your AVI HD movies.

Since many people want to know how to convert AVI to MP4 for free, this post will show you several professional and convenient converters to help you quickly convert AVI to MP4, such as MiniTool Video Converter. Now, keep on your reading.

What Is AVI

What is AVI format? AVI, also known as Audio Video Interleaved, which was developed by Microsoft in November 1992. It is a file format that combines audio and video data into a file for simultaneous playback. It is mainly used as a container for TVs, movies, and other videos.

Due to its high compatibility, AVI files are supported not only on Windows systems but also on many other major platforms such as Mac, Linux, and Unix. Similarly, most media players (such as VLC players) can also recognize it.

To get more information about AVI, you can refer to this post - What Is AVI Format and What Are the Cons and Pros of It.

What Is MP4

What is MP4? MPEG-4 Part 14, so-called as MP4, is a digital multimedia container format. This file format can store audio and text. As the most popular formats, it can be played on multiple platforms, so there is no need to worry about the compatibility problem.

With the high compression used in MP4 videos, this makes the file size much smaller than other video formats. Reducing the file size does not affect the file’s quality. Almost all original quality is preserved.

If you want to get the detailed information about MP4, this post - What Is MP4 and What Are the Differences Between It and MP3.

What to do when you cannot play AVI videos on your devices? It’s recommended to convert AVI to MP4 since the MP4 file is widely supported by most of the video players. Then, let’s see how to convert AVI to MP4 on different platforms.

How to Convert AVI to MP4

1. MiniTool Video Converter
2. Format Factory
3. Wondershare UniConverter
4. VLC Media Player
5. CloudConvert
6. Zamzar
7. ConvertFiles
8. FreeConvert.com

Convert AVI to MP4 on Windows

If you are a Windows user, you can try the following converters to convert AVI to MP4.

1. MiniTool Video Converter

Whether you want to convert AVI to MP4 or convert MP4 to AVI, MiniTool Video Converter is a great choice for you. It is a comprehensive file converter, which not only allows you to accomplish your various video/audio conversion tasks but also enables you to download videos, audio tracks, playlists as well as subtitles from YouTube.

Here is how to use MiniTool Video Converter to convert AVI to MP4.

Step 1: Download and install MiniTool Video Converter on your Windows PC.

Step 2: Launch it. In the Video Convert section, click Add Files to upload the AVI file you want to convert.

Step 3: Then, go to the Convert all filesto part. Navigate to the Video tab and scroll down to choose the MP4 file format. Besides, you can choose the video quality and resolution.

Step 4: Then click the Convert button to convert AVI to MP4.

Main Features

• 100% free, no bundles, no ads, and no watermarks.
• Support 1000+ conversions between videos and audio formats.
• Optional output format and fast conversion speed.
• Make video and audio files compatible with mobile devices.

Also see: 2020 Top 4 Free Movie Video Converters for Windows 10

2. Format Factory

You can also try Format Factory to convert AVI to MP4 free. It also supporting convert MP4 to AVI. Besides, it supports you converting any video format to OGG/MP3/WMA/AAC/WAV/AMR. Format Factory provides audio and video file editing, merging, splitting, video file mixing, cropping and watermarking.

Now, let’s see how to use it to convert AVI to MP4.

Step 1: Download and install Format Factory on your computer. Then, launch it to get its main interface.

Step 2: Click Video and find the MP4 part. Then, click it as the output format.

Step 3: Choose Add File to add your AVI video file. You can click the Output Setting button to change the audio quality. After that, click the OK button to get started.

Step 4: Then, click the Start button to convert AVI to MP4.

Main Features

• Support almost all types of multimedia formats.
• Support 62 languages.
• Support reducing the size of the file.
• During the conversion process, damaged files can be repaired, so that the conversion quality is not damaged.

Cannot Open Avi File On Mac

Convert AVI to MP4 on Mac

There are 2 converters for the Mac users to convert AVI to MP4. If you are a Mac user, you can read this part.

3. Wondershare UniConverter

Wondershare UniConverter can be used to convert AVI to MP4 on Mac. It supports converting files to MP4, AVI, WMV, MOV, M4V, MKV, and so on. It also supports video Platforms, such as YouTube, Facebook, Vimeo, Instagram. However, the trial version only allows you to convert 1/3 length of the 4K video.

Then, you can know how to convert AVI to MP4 on Mac with this tool.

Step 1: Download and install Wondershare UniConverter on your Mac.

Step 2: Launch it to get the main interface. Click the Add Files button and select the Add Files option. Then, choose the AVI file that you want to convert.

Step 3: Click the drop-down menu next to the Output Format option, and then select MP4 as the output format.

Step 4: Finally, click the Convert or Start All button to start the conversion process.

Main Features

• Support converting video/audio/image to 1000+ formats.
• It can be used to burn, copy, rip, edit DVD/Blu-ray easily.
• Support downloading online videos in one click.
• It can record, transfer, fix, compress videos.

4. VLC Media Player

The next AVI to MP4 converter for you is VLC Media Player. VLC is a free, open-source, cross-platform multimedia player and framework that can play most multimedia files, as well as DVD, audio CD, VCD, and various streaming media protocols. Follow the steps below to use the converter to convert AVI to MP4.

Step 1:Download VLC Media Player and install it on your computer.

Step 2: Then launch it and navigate to Media > Convert / Save....

Step 3:Click the Add... button to import the AVI file and click Convert / Save.

Step 4: Click the Create a New Profile button. Type a profile name and select MP4/MOV. Then, click the Create button.

Step 5: Click the triangle icon to drop down the output format list and choose the MP4 option. Then, click Browse to select a destination folder and click the Start button.

Now, you can go to the destination folder to find your MP4 file.

Main Features

• It supports playing most formats without installing a codec pack.
• It can be used on all platforms - Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, Unix, iOS, Android.
• It’s free, no spyware, no ads and no user tracking.
• It can play everything.

Convert AVI to MP4 Online

If you don’t want to download software to convert AVI to MP4, you can try the online converters to do that. The following are 4 converters for you to convert AVI to MP4 online.

5. CloudConvert

CloudConvert supports more than 200 different file formats including audio, video, document, ebook, archive, image, spreadsheet, and presentation. It is trusted by many people since 2012. You can adjust most conversion types to your needs, such as setting the quality and many other options.

Here is how to use it to convert AVI to MP4.

Step 1: Go to the CloudConvert official website and click the Select File option to select your AVI file.

Step 2: Choose the MP4 option from the drop-down menu next to the Convert to option.

Step 3: Click the Convert option to start converting AVI to MP4.

6. Zamzar

The next online AVI to MP4 converter is Zamzar. It supports more than 1200 file formats and it can work with any operating system. Besides, it has a remarkable conversion speed and the uploaded file can be as large as 150 MB. Here is how to use Zamzar to convert AVI to MP4 online.

Step 1: Go to the Zamzar official website and choose Add File... to add the AVI file.

Step 2:Click Convert To to select the MP4 format and click the Convert Now option.

Step 3: Then, it will start the converting process. You just need to wait for it. After that, you can click the Download button to save the MP4 file on your PC.

7. ConvertFiles

You can also use ConvertFiles to convert AVI to MP4. It provides a wide range of options for you to convert files to WMV, WAV, MOV, MP4, MP3, AVI, ASX, AMV, and other formats as well. It is very user-friendly and flexible. But the file size can’t larger than 250 MB. Now, you can convert AVI to MP4 with ConvertFiles.

Step 1: You can click the Browse button to select the AVI file from your computer as the input format.

Step 2: Next choose a target output format as an MP4 file.

Step 3: Then click the Convert button to begin converting videos online for free. When the conversion is completed, this converter will display a message with a link to download the file.

8. FreeConvert.com

The last online converter for you to convert AVI to MP4 is FreeConvert.com. FreeConvert.com is also a good video converter. It can convert videos from different source locations like your computer, removable disk drive, Dropbox, Google Drive, and URL.

Here is a guide on how to use this tool to convert AVI to MP4.

Cannot Open Avi File On Mac

Step 1: Go to the FreeConvert.com official website.

Step 2: Click Choose Files and then select the AVI file from your computer.

Step 3: You can click Advanced Settings (optional) to change the video settings.

Step 4: Then, select MP4 as the target output video format and then click the ConvertTo MP4 button to start the converting process.

Step 5: When the video converting process ends, you need to click the Download button to download the video to your PC.

Can't Open Avi File On Mac

Bottom Line

Have you mastered how to convert AVI to MP4? Share this post with your friends if you find this article useful. Of course, if you have any questions when using the above AVI to MP4 converters, please let us know via [email protected] or share them in the comments section below.

Convert AVI to MP4 FAQ

Open Avi File On Mac

The following are the 6 best video file formats:

1. AVI and WMV
2. MOV and QT
3. MKV
4. MP4
5. AVCHD
6. FLV and SWF