Editing Audio Video Interleave

{{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>

==History==
Publishers faced a predicament regarding how they should distribute videos on [[CD-ROM]]s. Thirty seconds of video displayed in [[24-bit color]] and at thirty [[frame rate|frames per second]] and [[Super VGA]] resolutions could take up 680 [[megabyte]]s of space—the storage capacity of most CD-ROMs in 1992. [[Lossy compression|Lossily compressing]] the videos would save a lot of space, but not without degrading the quality of the videos. Publishers who were more concerned about video quality instead were searching for an ideal compression algorithm that would compress the video files while still preserving the quality.<ref name=Raskin-1992>{{cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=v9TVJ_G_sk8C&pg=PA345|title=27 Good Reasons To Buy A CD-ROM Player|last=Raskin|first=Robin|magazine=[[PC Magazine]]|date=1992-12-22|access-date=2021-09-19|volume=11|issue=22|pages=345–346}}</ref>

Microsoft recognized the problem and sought to develop a standard that would [[lossless compression|losslessly compress]] the video files. They also recognized that because of the hardware requirements for playing the videos in uncompressed quality, which at the time were demanding, it needed to allow users of low-end computers to play the videos in compressed quality. They developed and published the Audio Video Interleave format on November 10, 1992, as part of their Video for Windows, and included support for [[codec]]s to satisfy those users.<ref name=Raskin-1992/><ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KlEEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA3|title=Microsoft, vendors team up to air Video for Windows|last1=Damore|first1=Kelley|last2=Corcoran|first2=Cate|magazine=[[InfoWorld]]|date=1992-11-09|access-date=2021-09-19|volume=14|issue=45|page=3}}</ref><ref name=Quain-1993>{{cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LIyy_CtozLcC&pg=PA39|title=Microsoft Goes Hollywood With Video for Windows|last=Quain|first=John R.|magazine=[[PC Magazine]]|date=1993-01-12|access-date=2021-09-19|volume=12|issue=1|page=39}}</ref>

==Format==
AVI is a subformat of the [[RIFF (File format)|Resource Interchange File Format]] (RIFF), which divides a file's data into blocks, or "chunks". Each chunk is identified by a [[FourCC]] tag.<ref name=Gloe-2014>{{cite journal|title=Forensic analysis of video file formats § AVI Container format|last=Gloe|first=Thomas|journal=Digital Investigation|publisher=[[Elsevier]]|date=2014-04-16|volume=11|issue=1|doi=10.1016/j.diin.2014.03.009|issn=1742-2876|doi-access=free}}</ref>

An AVI file takes the form of a RIFF header, which is then divided into two mandatory chunks and one optional chunk. The first chunk is identified by the "hdrl" tag, which stores the information required by the codec to decompress the AVI file for viewing. The second sub-chunk is identified by the "movi" tag, containing the actual audio and visual data that make up the AVI video. The third optional chunk is identified by the "idx1" tag, which indexes the [[offset (computer science)|offsets]] of the data chunks within the file.<ref name=Gloe-2014/>

By way of the RIFF format, the audio and visual data contained in the "movi" chunk can be encoded or decoded by software called a [[codec]], which is an abbreviation for (en)coder/decoder. Upon creation of the file, the codec translates between raw data and the (compressed) data format used inside the chunk. An AVI file may carry audio and visual data inside the chunks in virtually any compression scheme, including Full Frame (Uncompressed), [[Indeo]], [[run-length encoding]], and [[Microsoft Video 1]].<ref name=Quain-1993/>

Some programs, like [[VLC media player|VLC]], complain when the "idx1" index sub-chunk is not found, as it is required for efficient moving among timestamps. They offer to "fix" the file by building an index temporarily or permanently.<ref>{{cite web |title=WindowsFAQ-1.1.x |url=https://wiki.videolan.org/WindowsFAQ-1.1.x#Can_I_fix_those_broken_AVI_files_permanently.3F |website=VideoLAN Wiki}}</ref>{{Better source needed|date=September 2021|reason=Wiki sources are unrelieble per WP:SPS.}}

==Metadata==
As a derivative of the [[Resource Interchange File Format]] (RIFF), AVI files are commonly tagged with [[metadata]] in the INFO chunk. In addition, AVI files can embed [[Extensible Metadata Platform]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J8h8VWUmDuYC&pg=PA190|title=Digital Forensics with Open Source Tools|last1=Altheide|first1=Cory|last2=Carley|first2=Harvan|publisher=[[Syngress]]|date=2011|access-date=2021-09-19|page=190|isbn=978-1-59749-586-8}}</ref> By design, any RIFF file can legally include additional chunks of data, each identified by a four-character code;<ref name=Gloe-2014/> software which does not understand that particular code should skip the chunk. As such, it is theoretically possible to expand any RIFF file format, including AVI, to support almost any conceivable metadata. Some of the limitations of AVI in modern use relate to a lack of standardization in this metadata (see Limitations below).

==Limitations==
Since its introduction in the early 90s, new computer video techniques have been introduced which the original AVI specification did not anticipate.

* The original AVI specification does not provide a standardized way to encode [[aspect ratio (image)|aspect ratio]] information, although the later OpenDML (AVI 2.0) specification does. Consequently, older players may not select the right aspect ratio automatically (though it may be possible to do so manually).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/howto/articles/PixelFrames.aspx|title=Determining the Shape of Pixels and Frames|website=[[Microsoft.com]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080113222043/http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/howto/articles/PixelFrames.aspx|archive-date=2008-01-13|date=May 2003}}</ref>
*There are several competing approaches to including a [[time code]] in AVI files, which affects usability of the format in film and television post-production, although it is widely used.<ref>{{cite mailing list |last1=Rhodes |first1=Phil |mailing-list=FFmpeg-user |title=AVI and Timecode |url=https://lists.ffmpeg.org/pipermail/ffmpeg-user/2014-December/024588.html |date=December 12, 2014}}</ref> For WAV audio files, [[Broadcast Wave Format|Broadcast Wave]] (BWF) extensions were designed to standardize post-production metadata, but an equivalent for AVI files has not emerged. Some parties are known to write BWF chunks into AVI for metadata.<ref>{{cite web |title=AVI MetaEdit - Technical Metadata |url=https://mediaarea.net/AVIMetaEdit/tech_view_help |website=mediaarea.net}}</ref>
* AVI was not intended to contain video using any compression technique that requires access to future video frame data beyond the current frame ([[B-frame]]). Approaches exist to support modern video compression techniques (such as [[MPEG-4]]) that rely on this function, although this is beyond the intent of the original specification and may cause problems with playback software which does not anticipate this use.<ref>{{cite web |title=Using B-frames |url=https://www.avidemux.org/admWiki/doku.php?id=using:b-frames |website=Avidemux}}</ref>
*AVI cannot contain some specific types of [[variable bitrate]] (VBR) data reliably (such as [[MP3]] audio at sample rates below 32&nbsp;kHz).
*Overhead for AVI files at the resolutions and frame rates normally used to encode standard definition feature films is about 5 MB per hour of video, the significance of which varies with the application.
* AVI files cannot contain attachments such as fonts and subtitles. Consequently, subtitles must be distributed in a separate file or hardcoded into the video stream.

More recent container formats (such as [[Matroska]], [[Ogg]] and [[MP4]]) solve all these problems, although software is freely available to both create and correctly replay AVI files which use the techniques described here.

==DV AVI==

DV AVI is a type of AVI file where the video has been compressed to conform with [[DV (video format)|DV]] standards. There are two types of DV-AVI files:
* Type 1: The multiplexed Audio-Video is kept in its original multiplexing and saved together into the Video section of the AVI file
** Does not waste much space (audio is saved uncompressed, but even uncompressed audio is tiny compared to the video part of DV), but Windows applications based on the [[Video for Windows|VfW]] [[Application programming interface|API]] do not support it.
* Type 2: Like type 1, but audio is also saved as an additional audio stream into the file.
** Supported by VfW applications, at the price of a small increase in file size.

Type 1 is actually the newer of the two types. Microsoft made the "type" designations, and decided to name their older VfW-compatible version "Type 2", which only furthered confusion about the two types. In the late 1990s through early 2000s, most professional-level DV software, including non-linear editing programs, only supported Type 1. One notable exception was [[Adobe Premiere]], which only supported Type 2. High-end [[FireWire]] controllers usually captured to Type 1 only, while "consumer" level controllers usually captured to Type 2 only. Software is and was available for converting Type 1 AVIs to Type 2, and vice versa, but this is a time-consuming process.

Many FireWire controllers only captured to one or the other type. However, almost all relevant software supports both Type 1 and Type 2 editing and rendering, including Adobe Premiere. Thus, many users are unaware of the fact that there are two types of DV AVI files.

==See also==
* [[Comparison of video container formats]]
* [[List of video editing software]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.jmcgowan.com/avi.html John P. McGowan's AVI Overview]
*[https://docs.microsoft.com/windows/win32/directshow/avi-file-format Microsoft's pages on the AVI file format]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070920174648/http://pvdtools.sourceforge.net/aviformat.txt PVDTools' RIFF-AVI File Format Documentation]
*[http://www.fourcc.org Dave Wilson's comprehensive list of FourCC codes]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070112225112/http://www.the-labs.com/Video/odmlff2-avidef.pdf OpenDML (AVI 2.0) format specification]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20170411001412/http://www.alexander-noe.com/video/documentation/avi.pdf AVI file format documentation] (pdf)
*[http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/dd407250%28v=vs.85%29.aspx Type 1 and 2 DV AVI files]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20171211083723/http://www.ezr8.com/avi.html AVI file Structure]

{{Compression formats}}

[[Category:Computer-related introductions in 1992]]
[[Category:Digital container formats]]
[[Category:Microsoft Windows multimedia technology]]