video - avi

[jazzmaster44]

What application or media program I need to watch avi format video.

Thanks!!!!

 

[Elvandil]

What operating system do you have?

 

[linskyjack]

Windows media player will work fine---that is after you have compressed to that format. Avi is merely a tag----for DV. You can also watch directly from your DV camera to any television via S-video or composite connections---Let us know what you have and what you want to do with it--(ie. how you captured the avi file, is it on your hard disk or on tape etc. Usually the process is that you shoot your video with your DV camera, capture it to your hard disk via firewire (or USB if you prefer although firewire is more reliable) edit it in one of a hundred different NLE's --Windows Movie Maker is free---then render it out to the format you want--be it .wmv (windows media) .mov (quicktime) or directly back to a blank tape in your camera. You can also render it in mpeg2 for burning to a DVD.

 

[videohead]

AVI is a file container, not a format. The availability of the CODEC involved (COmpressor-DECompressor) will determine whether or not a media player can play the file. Windows Media, QuickTime, and Real are the big three for players, plenty of others tho, but you will need these three.
A common internet distributed AVI codec is the DIVX codec which is readily available for download. I would try this if the big three can't play the file you need.
DV is a codec. There are several flavors depending on the specifics of the DV devices involved.
Best,
Matthew
Active Matrix Networks, Inc
Affordable Computer Support

 

[Elvandil]

Using Real and Quicktime Alternative allows you to play Real and QT files with Windows Media Player so that you would not need all 3 players. If you install the included, optional player, you can also "play" many other formats, including Macromedia Flash "swf" files.

DivX is a good possibility if you have the player and the avi just won't play. But second to that, I've found that installing the ffdshow DirectPlay codec allows most avi's to be rendered:

http://prdownloads.sourceforge.net/ffdshow/ffdshow-20020617.exe?download

If none of this helps, use GSpot or VideoInspector to find out what codec was used to encode the sequence:

www.headbands.com/gspot
http://www.kcsoftwares.com/index.php?vtb

 

[MysticEyes]

VLC media player will handle almost everything without the need to install any codecs. It's also the basis of Google's new video viewer.

http://www.videolan.org/#NEWS5