Editing Audio Video Interleave (section)

{{short description|File format}}
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{{Infobox file format
| name = Audio Video Interleave
| icon = 
| extension = <code>.avi</code>
| mime = video/vnd.avi<ref>{{Cite IETF |rfc=2361 |title=WAVE and AVI Codec Registries |first=Eric |last=Fleischman |publisher=[[IETF]] |date=June 1998 |access-date=2009-12-06}}</ref><br />video/avi<br />video/msvideo<br />video/x-msvideo
| type code = 'Vfw '
| uniform type = public.avi
| released = {{start date and age|1992|11|10}}
| owner = [[Microsoft]]
| type = [[Container format (digital)|Container format]]
| container for =Audio, video
| contained by = 
| extended from = [[Resource Interchange File Format]]
| extended to = 
| standard = 
| open = No
| free = Yes<ref>{{cite tech report |publisher=Library of Congress |location=Washington, D.C. |series=Sustainability of Digital Formats |type=Full draft |title=AVI (Audio Video Interleaved) File Format |date=9 March 2016 |url=https://www.loc.gov/preservation/digital/formats/fdd/fdd000059.shtml |access-date=13 December 2021}}</ref>
| url = {{URL|https://docs.microsoft.com/windows/win32/directshow/avi-file-format}}
}}

'''Audio Video Interleave''' (also '''Audio Video Interleaved''' and known by its initials and [[filename extension]] '''AVI''', usually pronounced {{IPAc-en|ˌ|eɪ|.|v|iː|ˈ|aɪ}}<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Aos6JtSx3-8C&pg=PA154|title=Lunar Meteoroid Impacts and How to Observe Them|last=Cudnik|first=Brian|publisher=[[Springer Nature|Springer]]|date=2009|access-date=2021-09-19|page=154|isbn=978-1-4419-0324-2}}</ref>) is a proprietary multimedia [[container format (computing)|container format]] and [[Microsoft Windows|Windows]] standard<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.howtogeek.com/365627/what-is-an-avi-file-and-how-do-i-open-one/|title=What Is an AVI File (and How Do I Open One)?|last=Gavin|first=Brady|work=How-To Geek|date=2018-09-12|access-date=2021-09-19}}</ref> introduced by [[Microsoft]] in November 1992 as part of its [[Video for Windows]] software. AVI [[computer file|file]]s can contain both audio and video data in an uncompressed file container that allows synchronous audio-with-video playback.<ref>{{Cite web |title=CyberLink Support Center |url=https://www.cyberlink.com/support-center/faq/content?id=1429 |access-date=2025-04-17 |website=www.cyberlink.com}}</ref>

Like the [[DVD-Video|DVD video format]], AVI files support multiple [[Streaming media|streaming]] audio and video, although these features are seldom used. Codecs popularly used for AVI include [[DivX]] and [[Xvid]], although many other codecs can also be contained in an AVI file.<ref>[https://www.lenovo.com/ca/en/glossary/audio-video-interleave/ What is audio video interleave (AVI)?]</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=AVI: Audio Video Interleave |url=https://www.videoexpertsgroup.com/glossary/avi |access-date=2025-04-17 |website=www.videoexpertsgroup.com}}</ref>

Many AVI files use the file format extensions developed by the [[Matrox]] OpenDML group in February 1996.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.loc.gov/preservation/digital/formats/fdd/fdd000442.shtml|title=AVI File Format with OpenDML Extensions, Version 1.02|date=2016-03-09|website=www.loc.gov|access-date=2019-09-01}}</ref> These files are supported by Microsoft, and are unofficially called '''AVI 2.0'''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/directshow/avi-riff-file-reference|title=AVI RIFF File Reference - Windows applications|last=stevewhims|website=docs.microsoft.com|language=en-us|access-date=2019-09-01}}</ref> In 2010 the [[Federal government of the United States|US government]]'s [[National Archives and Records Administration]] defined AVI as the official wrapper for preserving [[digital video]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.archives.gov/preservation/products/definitions/video-opt.html|title=Video Digital Product Options|website=archives.gov|access-date=2019-09-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190506092445/https://www.archives.gov/preservation/products/definitions/video-opt.html|archive-date=2019-05-06}}</ref>