Audio/Video Interleaved Format

Writable

audio · also known as AVI (Generic)

Audio/Video Interleaved Format (AVI) is a chunk-based video format developed by Microsoft, based on the generic Resource Interchange File Format (RIFF) specification developed by Microsoft and IBM. Structurally, an AVI file is composed of a number of chunks, each comprising a four character code chunk identifier, the chunk size, and the chunk data. It comprises a RIFF header with an AVI data type identifier, followed by a series of chunks. Every file must include two List chunks. The first List chunk is the main AVI header chunk, which contain one or more Stream Header chunks, one for each data stream, describing the format of the data streams. The second LIST chunk is the ‘movi’ chunk, which contains the actual data for the audio and video data streams. Other optional chunks are also allowed. The format supports a wide variety of compressed and uncompressed video encodings, but all audio streams are stored in Microsoft’s Waveform Audio format.

Identify it

Extensions	`.avi`
MIME types	`video/avivideo/x-msvideovideo/vnd.avivideo/msvideo`
Signatures	`52494646` at byte 0 (AVI)
PRONOM	`fmt/5`
Wikidata	`Q209054`
Library of Congress	`fdd000059`
Apple UTI	`public.avi`

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Open it

FFmpegOpen sourcereads and writes · LGPL-2.1-or-later / GPL-2.0-or-later
KinoOpen sourcereads and writes · GNU General Public License, version 2.0 or later
Visualization ToolkitOpen sourcereads and writes · 3-clause BSD License
AquadOpen sourcereads · GNU General Public License
Bio-Formats LibraryOpen sourcereads · GNU General Public License
ConverseenOpen sourcereads · GNU General Public License, version 3.0
ExifToolOpen sourcereads · Artistic License / GNU General Public License, version 1.0 or later
GStreamerOpen sourcereads · GNU Library General Public License, version 2.0 or later
HandBrakeOpen sourcereads · GNU General Public License, version 2.0
HuMo-genOpen sourcereads · GNU General Public License, version 3.0
KPhotoAlbumOpen sourcereads · GNU General Public License
PhotoRecOpen sourcereads · GNU General Public License
Q1047199Open sourcereads · ImageMagick License
Q2596578Open sourcereads · GNU General Public License, version 2.0
Q3898244Open sourcereads · BSD licenses / GNU General Public License / GNU Lesser General Public License
Q50938515Open sourcereads · GNU Affero General Public License, version 3.0 or later
SWFToolsOpen sourcereads · GNU General Public License, version 2.0
VLC media playerOpen sourcereads · GNU Lesser General Public License, version 2.1 or later
xineOpen sourcereads · GNU General Public License
Adobe Encorereads and writes
Adobe Premiere 6.0reads and writes
AgfaPhoto DC-833mwrites
Anime Studio 5writes
Any Video Converterreads and writes
ArcSoft VideoImpressionreads and writes
AviUtlreads and writes
Creator NXT 2reads and writes
DaVinci Resolvewrites · freeware / proprietary license
Dubitreads and writes
ENVIreads and writes · proprietary license
Mathematicareads and writes · proprietary license
MicroDicomwrites · proprietary license
MotionArtist 4writes
Movavi Video Editorreads and writes · proprietary license
Music Creatorreads and writes
MusicMaker MXreads and writes
Picture Publisher 5reads and writes
Pinnacle Studio 17 Ultimatereads and writes
Poser 5reads and writes
ScatterShow 1.1writes

And 72 more in the JSON record.

Convert it

To	With	Fidelity	Command and losses
FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec) 1.2.1	FFmpeg	Lossless	`ffmpeg -i in.avi out.flac` Lossless for decoded audio; a lossy source stays as degraded as it was. WAV may reduce bit depth or drop metadata.
Waveform Audio	FFmpeg	Lossless	`ffmpeg -i in.avi out.wav` Lossless for decoded audio; a lossy source stays as degraded as it was. WAV may reduce bit depth or drop metadata.
Matroska 1-4	FFmpeg	Lossy	`ffmpeg -i in.avi out.mkv` Re-encoded with lossy codecs by default; try `-c copy` to remux without re-encoding when the codecs fit the container.
MPEG 1/2 Audio Layer 3	FFmpeg	Lossy	`ffmpeg -i in.avi out.mp3` Lossy re-encoding.
MPEG-4 Part 14	FFmpeg	Lossy	`ffmpeg -i in.avi out.mp4` Re-encoded with lossy codecs by default; try `-c copy` to remux without re-encoding when the codecs fit the container.
Ogg	FFmpeg	Lossy	`ffmpeg -i in.avi out.ogg` Lossy re-encoding.
WebM	FFmpeg	Lossy	`ffmpeg -i in.avi out.webm` Re-encoded with lossy codecs by default; try `-c copy` to remux without re-encoding when the codecs fit the container.

Documentation

kaitai grammar: https://github.com/kaitai-io/kaitai_struct_formats/blob/master/media/avi.ksy

Sources

From Converters (FFmpeg, ImageMagick, Pandoc, LibreOffice), Just Solve the File Format Problem (File Formats Wiki), Kaitai Struct format gallery, PRONOM, Wikidata. Updated 2026-10-24.

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