Apple apps such as QuickTime Player, Photos, and Keynote work with many kinds of audio and video formats. Some apps prefer specific formats, but QuickTime movie files (.mov), most MPEG files (.mp4, .m4v, .m4a, .mp3, .mpg), some AVI and WAV files, and many other formats usually work in most apps without additional software.
Older or specialized media formats might not work in your app, because the format requires software designed to support it. If that happens, your app won't open the file or won't play back its audio or video.
How to search for an app that works with your file
Another convenient way you can try is to play AVI files with an AVI player for Mac. Apeaksoft Blu-ray Player is the top choice for many users. Besides playing AVI files, it can also play common video and audio formats like MP4, M4V, TS, MTS, MXF, WMV, MKV, AVI, MP3. And here are the best 2 ways to play AVI movies on QuickTime on Mac (including Mountain Lion). Solution 1: Play AVI in QuickTime by converting AVI to QuickTime supported formats The best way to play AVI video clips on QuickTime player is to change AVI to QuickTime highly compatible video formats like MOV, MP4 and M4V. AVI is nothing but Audio Video Interleave, which was developed by Microsoft. Though AVI videos can be streamed on Mac, not all of its files are supported in Mac’s free version of QuickTime. It is recommended for Mac users to enable Mac OS X to play all AVI audio and video files.
You might already have an app that supports the format of your file. If you don't know which of your installed apps to try, your Mac might be able to suggest one:
- This wikiHow teaches you how to convert an AVI video file to an MP4 on Mac. Both AVI and MP4 are video file formats. MP4 is a little more universal than AVI. There are a number of free apps that can convert AVI to MP4.
- To enable you play AVI files with QuickTime on Mac, we have listed 3 free methods, have a reference at them one by one. Method one: Use VLC The best and also the simplest way to play AVI files on Mac is to download and install the free and open source cross-platform multimedia player VLC media player for Mac OS X. Method two: Install Perian.
Macos Play Avi Converter
- Control-click (or right-click) the file in the Finder.
- From the shortcut menu that opens, choose Open With. You should see a submenu listing all of the other installed apps that your Mac thinks might be able to open the file.
If none of your installed apps can open the file, search the Internet or Mac App Store for apps that can play or convert the file:
- Include the name of the media format in your search. To find the format, select the file and press Command-I to open an Info window. The format might appear after the label Kind, such as ”Kind: Matroska Video File.”
- Include the filename extension in your search. The extension is the letters shown at the end of the file's name, such as .avi,.wmv, or .mkv.
Learn more
- QuickTime Player (version 10.0 and later) in OS X Mavericks through macOS Mojave converts legacy media files that use certain older or third-party compression formats.
- Learn about incompatible media in Final Cut Pro and iMovie.
Can QuickTime play AVI movies? My QuickTime won't play AVI files, what should I do? There is no video playback of my AVI files on QuickTime?...... Millions of problems about the AVI playback with QuickTime have aroused on the Internet. Then, how to play AVI in QuickTime smoothly without any nuisance? Let's find it out together.
Well, in fact, QuickTime can play some AVI files. The premise is that the video and audio of the files must be compressed by a codec that QuickTime can recognize. If your AVI videos don't meet the conditions, you'll be able to play AVI files on QuickTime. And the truth is, playing AVI videos with QuickTime player is a bigger issue on Lion and Mountain Lion since QuickTime X has a worse support for AVI videos than the previous version.
It's quite frustrating that you can't play AVI on Mac with QuickTime player? Upset? No, you don't need to! Though QuickTime has some problems in playing AVI movies, there are some ways to fix the issue. And here are the best 2 ways to play AVI movies on QuickTime on Mac (including Mountain Lion).
Solution 1: Play AVI in QuickTime by converting AVI to QuickTime supported formats
The best way to play AVI video clips on QuickTime player is to change AVI to QuickTime highly compatible video formats like MOV, MP4 and M4V. In this way, you can not only watch AVI in QuickTime, but also transfer them to iPhone, iPad, iPod and more for playback on the go. To convert AVI movies for play with QuickTime, Aimersoft Video Converter for Mac is highly recommended. With it, you can fast finish the conversion and then play your AVI files on QuickTime without any troubles! This app also serves as a perfect AVI player for Mac. Download it and you'll see the main interface as below:
Simply drag and drop your AVI videos to the program, then select MOV from the format list as the output file format. Finally, click Convert to start converting AVI to MOV for QuickTime player. After the conversion, you can add the converted media files to QuickTime for playback without any hassles.
Solution 2: Play AVI in QuickTime with QuickTime components
Macbook Play Avi Movie
Note: This method sometimes doesn't work.
The other way to play AVI clips on QuickTime is to install some components (http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3526). For playing AVI files, you can install Perian so as to make QuickTime support AVI.
However, Perian doesn't work on Lion or Mountain Lion. That means, if you want to play AVI movies in QuickTime with the help of Perian on Lion and Mountain Lion, you'll need to downgrade your Mac to the previous version. Some users find they can still play AVI with QuickTime on Lion and Mountain Lion with QuickTime X 10/QuickTime 7. And here is the way:
For QuickTime X 10: Please uninstall the components like DivX, Flip4Mac and Perian one by one. Then restart your Mac and reinstall Flip4Mac and Perian. After that, add your AVI files to QuickTime to see whether the problem has been fixed. If not, please go to MacintoshHD/Library/QuickTime to find all the extra codecs and delete XviD or 3ivX. Then the AVI files should be playable in QuickTime.
For QuickTime 7: QuickTime 7 supports AVI files better than the latest version. You can install QuickTime 7 to see whether you have to luck.
Solution 3: Play AVI in QuickTime? No! Turn to AVI players for Mac
Since QuickTime has such a bad support for AVI videos, why not turn to some AVI players for Mac to play AVI on Mac? Great free AVI players include VLC Media Player and Mplayer.
Macos Play Avi Download
However, you can only play AVI files on Mac with these players but can’t do anything else with your AVI movies on Mac, say, edit them in iMovie, transfer them to iTunes, etc. If you want to do more with your AVI videos, you'd better turn to Solution 1. By changing AVI format to QuickTime MOV, you've definitely made AVI a format that is highly friendly on your Mac.