An AVI file functions as a container rather than a codec with the name meaning Audio Video Interleave, and the real compression depends on the codecs stored inside, so two .avi files may act differently if your device can’t handle the specific codecs, which explains issues like no sound or choppy playback; it remains common in older exports, legacy archives, and DVR footage, although modern formats like MP4 or MKV usually produce smaller files.

An AVI file is a familiar video format on many PCs and typically ends in ".avi," with "Audio Video Interleave" meaning it stores picture and sound together in one package; but because AVI is a container rather than a compression method, it can hold media encoded with many different compression formats, which explains why one .avi may play fine while another has no audio or stutters if the player doesn’t support the internal codecs, and although AVI remains widespread in older downloads, archives, and camera or DVR exports, it’s generally less efficient and less compatible than newer formats like MP4 or MKV.

An AVI file is a container format rather than a codec where ".avi" marks an Audio Video Interleave file holding audio and video streams, and the codec inside—Xvid, DivX, MJPEG for video or MP3, AC3, PCM for audio—dictates how well it plays, which explains why two .avi files can behave differently if a device lacks the proper media support, highlighting that the container itself isn’t the compression method.

AVI is seen as a common video type mostly because of its long Windows heritage, having been introduced in the Video for Windows era and becoming a default video container for many years—used by cameras, screen recorders, editors, and DVR systems—leading to broad support even now; still, modern workflows typically choose MP4 or MKV for their improved playback across current devices.

When people say "AVI isn’t the compression," they mean AVI functions as an outer shell and does not compress anything by itself—the compression is handled by the codecs packed inside, which can range from DivX, Xvid, MJPEG, H.264 to MP3, AC3, PCM; this variation causes two AVIs to behave differently even if their extensions match, because a player may support AVI containers but not the specific codec combination, resulting in missing audio, failure to open, or playback working only in apps like VLC.