.avi on a mac

So avi's don't work on the stock version of quicktime. I was forced to download a third party program, vlc. Granted, vlc is rather nifty, however I can't stand opening up vlc, I'd rather just use the default quicktime. Are there any drivers available to enable a playback within quicktime or do I have to continue my current process?

avi is a pc format and quicktimes directed towards mac so no

AVI is only a container format, just like MOV, and can have all different types of compression, including non-compressed video.
Most AVIs though are either DivX or 3ivx encoded, so all you need is install both of those codecs (check www.versiontracker.com) and you can enjoy your AVIs with Quicktime as well.

I didn't find an AVI yet that didn't open with Quicktime after installing both 3ivx- and DivX-codecs.

i agree with avalon, i downloaded the codecs and everything works perfectly

Learn Why

Learn why an .AVI file may not play as expected in QuickTime Player.

AVI stands for Audio Video Interleave. The .AVI format is what is known as a container format. It specifies a way in which a file may contain audio and video data. It does not specify how that data is encoded. The encoding of audio and video data is specified in what are known as codecs. A codec (short for COmpressor/DECompressor) tells the computer how to decode the audio and video tracks that have been encoded within the .AVI file. QuickTime Player can use numerous codecs by default. You can also add additional codecs to extend QuickTime's features using plug-ins or third-party installations.

When QuickTime opens an .AVI file, it checks to see which codecs were used to encode the audio and video tracks within it. For example, an .AVI file may contain a video track encoded in the Cinepak codec and an audio track encoded with the ALaw 2:1 codec. If both the audio and the video were compressed using a codec that QuickTime can use, the file will play normally. If the audio or video or both were created using codecs that QuickTime cannot use, you may see a message like the following:

"QuickTime is missing the software needed to perform this operation. Unfortunately, it is not available on the QuickTime server"


or

"You may experience problems playing a video track in "filename.avi" because the required compressor could not be found."

These messages are not an indication that anything is wrong with QuickTime Player.

Lists of audio and video codecs included with and supported by QuickTime are available from the QuickTime specifications page.

Using QuickTime Player, you may be able to determine which codec was used to compress an audio or video track:
QuickTime 6 and earlier

1. Open the file in QuickTime Player.
2. From the Movie menu, choose Get Movie Properties.
3. From the left pop-up menu in the Properties window, choose Sound Track or Video Track.
4. From the right pop-up menu, choose Format. The Format section shows the codec.

QuickTime 7

1. Open the file in QuickTime Player.
2. From the Window menu, choose Show Movie Info. The codec is listed next to Format.

If the .AVI file is encoded using a codec that is not included with QuickTime, you might be able to find and add that codec so QuickTime can play media encoded with it. Contact the party that publishes or distributes the codec to see if a QuickTime version is available. Many third-party QuickTime components are available on the QuickTime components page.

i really hope you didnt write that all

make vlc the default:

Gert Frobe said:

So avi's don't work on the stock version of quicktime. I was forced to download a third party program, vlc. Granted, vlc is rather nifty, however I can't stand opening up vlc, I'd rather just use the default quicktime. Are there any drivers available to enable a playback within quicktime or do I have to continue my current process?

Click to expand...

Gert,
I just downloaded vlc, because I still can't get avi's to play in quicktime, despite downloading a bunch of codecs. I noticed the following in the readme, and if nothing else has worked for you, this might be the thing to do:


To use VLC media player, you will need to open the application first and then from the "File" menu open the file or disk, you would like to view. Double-clicking a file will result in QuickTime Player trying to open it. If you prefer you can change this by selecting your file and choosing "Get Info" from the "File" menu of the Finder. In the "Open With" section you can select VLC and if you check the checkbox, then all files of the type you have selected will be opened in VLC media player if you double-click them from that moment on.

If you have Roxio Toast and install the extra apps it has the divx codec which will make nearly all .avi files play on qt with no problem with frame or sound