iMovie for Windows > Video Editor > iMovie Formats > Edit AVI Files on Mac and Windows

Need to Open and Edit AVI Video Files?

Download AVI Video Editor to play and edit AVI files with no hassles.

Compatible with AVI and many more video and audio format.
Includes all basic video editing tools like cut, trim, rotate, crop, etc.
Export to AVI, MP4, MOV, WMV, RMVB, ASF, 3GP, FLV, MPG, WebM, MKV, etc.
No credit card needed.

What's a AVI File?

AVI (abbreviation for Audio Video Interleaved) is a file format used in audio and video capture, editing, playback and other applications, based on RIFF which is is a multimedia file storage method proposed by Microsoft. Typically, an AVI file can contain multiple types of media streams (typically one audio stream and one video stream). AVI is considered as the most commonly used file container format on the Windows operating system.

The advantages of AVI file container format is broad codec support and high image quality. However, as for codec compatibility, the most common problem while playing AVI files is that the higher version of Windows Media Player can't play AVI video encoded with early codec, or the lower version of Windows Media Player can't play AVI video encoded with the latest codecs. It often happens that the AVI video cannot be played or is playable with flaws, for example, unable to adjust the playback progress, or able to play sound but no image.

play and edit AVI files

Therefore, whether it's able to play AVI or not depends on the codec. Windows Media Player is enough to play AVI player in Windows, as long as the corresponding codec has been installed. To fix AVI playback issues, it's a good idea to install a common codec pack, for example, K-Lite Codec Pack for Windows, and Perian for Mac. Alternatively, convert AVI to MP4 for better compatibility using a good video converter. More applications can directly support AVI without installing anything. Try VLC, KMPlayer, PotPlayer, Movavi Video Editor, Wondershare Filmora, BlazeVideo Video Editor, Adobe After Effects, Adobe Premiere, etc.

How to Open AVI Files with Movavi Video Editor

Open AVI files in Windows

In the main screen, go to the Media tab on the left sidebar and click the Add Media Files button.
Go through the top menu bar File > Add Media Files, or simply press Ctrl+O.
Resize Mov Video Editor's window and then drop AVI files to the timeline.

Open AVI files on Mac

Go to the Media tab on left and click the Add Media Files button.
Go through File > Add Media Files in the top menu bar, or directly press Command+O.
Directly drop AVI files from Finder to Movavi Video Editor's timeline. No prior conversion needed.

Open AVI Video on Mac and Windows

Windows 10	Windows 8	Windows 7	Windows Vista	Windows XP
macOS Big Sur	macOS High Sierra	macOS Sierra	macOS el Capitan	Mac OS X 10.7 or higher

FAQs on AVI Playback in Windows and Mac

Question: Why QuickTime won't play .AVI files on Mac?

Answer: The codecs inside an AVI files may not be recognized correctly. Try installing Perian to play AVI files with QuickTime or converting AVI to MOV so that you can play, edit and share AVI video files on Mac without effort.

Question: Can I Edit .AVI files with iMovie on Mac?

Answer: Yes. According to iMovie compatible formats, AVI files with compatible codecs are supported. However, if your AVI contains incompatible codecs with iMovie, AVI files might also be failed when you import them to iMovie for editing. Learn more about Import AVI to iMovie.

Movavi Video Editor Opens AVI Files and More

Not only can AVI Video Editor opens AVI files but also other video formats like MOV, MP4, MPG, M4V, MKV, FLV, etc. Movavi Video Editor is an all-in-one video editing application for Mac and Windows.

AVI Video Editor Introduction