Top 5 Apps to Open AVI on Mac

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Elmedia 4.8 Rank based on 463+ users, Reviews(367)
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When you’re about to sit down and watch your favorite movie or TV show, you need to know you can rely on the player installed on your computer. Not having the proper software to play AVI files on Mac can lead to a disappointing experience. Since all devices produced by Apple arrive with QuickTime as the default media player, you will have difficulties playing AVI videos since QuickTime doesn’t support certain codecs. In this situation, you need to make sure you find the best third-party video player available on the market. We’ve gathered the top 5 media players out there to help you find the best AVI viewer Mac users can wish for.

Table of contents:

  1. Elmedia
  2. JustPlay
  3. VLC
  4. 5K Player
  5. Cisdem
  6. What to look for at an AVI video Mac-friendly Player
  7. An in-depth breakdown to help you find the best AVI player for Mac
  8. What is an AVI File?
  9. FAQ

Best AVI player for Mac - choose from the list

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1. Elmedia Player
Requirements: OS X 10.9+. 55.34MB free space. Version 7.12(2164). (24 Jun, 2020). 4.8 Rank based on 463+ users, Reviews(367)
Category: MultimediaApplication
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Elmedia Player sits on the top of our list for various reasons. First of all, it can handle a huge range of formats without needing extra codecs or any add-ons. You will be able to play AVI, WMV, FLV, MKV, DAT, MOV and many more video formats used for various media files available online.

Best avi player for mac

You will love the friendly user interface that Elmedia Player offers. It makes everything easy and intuitive even if you don’t have extensive experience operating a Mac. Furthermore, the settings Elmedia Player offers so that you can tweak the video and have the best experience ever, are excellent. Capable of dealing with very high resolutions, Elmedia Player will always play any video smoothly, without buffering or any other issues.

Top features of Elmedia AVI Player

  1. Full support for many video and audio formats.
  2. Great-looking, intuitive interface.
  3. Support for external audio tracks.
  4. Ability to download videos in AVI and many other formats from the internet - Elmedia Player PRO.

Pros

  • Delivers the perfect watching experience.
  • Excellent user interface.
  • Longest list of supported formats.
  • AirPlay-ready.

Cons

  • Needs quite a lot of system resources.
  • Only available for Mac.

Advanced features of Elmedia Player

If you were impressed by what Elmedia can offer in its free version, take a look at what’s available if you upgrade to Elmedia Player PRO.

The PRO version of the Elmedia Player adds features like being able to download AVI files from multiple websites, stream any video played in Elmedia to a wide list of devices, including Apple TV, Smart TV, Chromecast or any AirPlay or DLNA-certified device. On top of that, Elmedia Player PRO can act as the receiver if you use another device to stream to your Mac. You get to control the video settings like contrast, saturation, brightness and take unlimited screenshots of the video you are playing to generate a preview in images.

Mac avi player

2. JustPlay

How to play avi files on mac

JustPlay is a small app that packs quite a punch when talking about playing video files. It can handle AVI files with ease, offering you the possibility to play Ultra HD resolutions, 8K included. Its interface is smooth and you can easily find your way around the app even if it’s the first time you’re seeing it. It comes with a hardware-accelerated decoding function that makes the app capable of playing even the largest .avi files easily while also giving you full control over audio sync, playback speed or subtitles.

Of course, the functions list offered by JustPlay can go on. And we need to mention the automatic deinterlacing feature so that you will never have to see the horizontal artifacts that can be sometimes visible on objects that move fast.


Key features of JustPlay

  1. It can handle AVI files smoothly and at top quality.
  2. Multiple settings for the playback process.
  3. Resolutions of up to 8K supported.
  4. Allows you to easily manage volume.

Pros

  • Plays audio and video files without extra plugins or codecs.
  • The hardware-accelerated decoding for smooth playback.
  • 8K, 4K and HD resolutions fully supported.

Cons

  • Doesn’t support download or video editing.
  • Only available as a paid software.

3. VLC Media Player

Avi player for mac

Another perfect answer for all those that wonder how to open AVI on Mac comes from VLC Media Player. Not only that VLC is extremely versatile, being capable of dealing with a long list of formats with ease, but it’s also an all-in-one tool for opening the less-used formats. Thanks to its V10-bit codec VLC handles every video you throw at it without needing extra plugins or codecs. The downside, however, comes from VLC not being capable of playing Blu-ray videos. And if you’re fine with that, there’s something else that might bug you about VLC. The audio can lag a lot sometimes, ruining the entire experience. However, if they could deal with the audio issue, VLC could move up in our rankings.


Key features of VLC

  1. VLC is a very capable media player for AVI files on Mac.
  2. Available on other operating systems as well.
  3. Can handle multiple formats without codecs or plugins.
  4. Support embedded subtitles.
  5. Video streaming to other devices.

Pros

  • Available on macOS, Windows, Android, Linux and iOS.
  • Doesn’t require too many system resources.
  • Free version available.
  • Hotkey support for fast operation.

Cons

  • Audio can get delayed on certain videos.
  • Doesn’t deliver graphic media library support.
  • The UI could receive an update as it looks outdated.

4. 5KPlayer

Avi mac

Another suggestion for an app that will enable you to view AVI files on Mac without a problem comes from 5KPlayer. Just like the other software we presented so far, 5KPlayer can handle many video formats without needing any codecs or plugins. The list offers but is not limited to AVI, MOP4, MKV, WMV, FLV, MOV, WMA, H.265, or 3GP. So, if you want to watch AVI on your Mac, you can rely on the 5KPlayer to deliver a smooth experience.

Capable of handling high resolutions of 4K or 8K, this player also plays audio files. It offers support for AirPlay and also allows users to download video and audio files from multiple websites. It doesn’t look like this app has any evident glitches or issues, however, it can sometimes take a long time to process a video before playback.


Key features of 5KPlayer

  1. Support high-quality videos and offers outstanding playback for AVI files.
  2. Built-in video search so you rapidly find the video you want to play.
  3. AirPlay support so you can easily stream media to Apple devices.
  4. Comes with a built-in radio player as well.
  5. It offers streaming from online video sharing sites directly.

Pros

  • Capable of playing a plenty of DVD files.
  • Delivers 3D functionality.
  • Ultra HD playback supported.
  • Fine-tune the audio and video with the multiple settings offered.

Cons

  • Downloading video files is time-consuming.
  • No subtitle customization available.
  • Needs plenty of resources, mainly CPU.
  • The UI can seem complicated to new users.

5. Cisdem

Mac avi player

Last on our list but not least, Cisdem is another AVI viewer Mac users can rely on when they look for a remarkable video-watching experience. Compared to VLC, it is a lot easier on the system resources and its user interface is a lot more appealing. The formats it supports is just as wide as with the other software suggestions we offered in this article, making Cisdem a great solution for those wondering how to view AVI on Mac.

Resolutions can go as high as 5K and even at high resolution, this player does a great job at synchronizing the audio to video. Since it can also be used to download YouTube videos, it’s an awesome solution to take care of many of your needs.


Cisdem key features

  1. Capable of dealing with .avi files and other 50 formats as well.
  2. Can handle 1080p / 4K / 5K videos without buffering or crashing.
  3. Automatically loads subtitles.
  4. 100% free without annoying ads or unwanted software.
  5. Full control over playback with screenshot availability.

Pros

  • Can handle more than 50 formats.
  • Subtitles are loaded automatically.
  • No ads during playback.
  • No extra plug-ins or codecs needed.

Cons

  • Won’t run efficiently on older laptops, like dual-cores.
  • Can take some time to load the video before playback.

Now that you have a clear idea on what are the best apps, you will no longer have to ask yourself how to watch AVI files on Mac. Test each suggestion and find the one that provides the best service for you. We will go on with giving you some more info about how to choose an awesome AVI player for Mac.

An in-depth breakdown to help you find the best AVI player for Mac

This chart provides you with an at-a-glance analysis of the best AVI players for Mac, comparing general info as well as in-depth technical capabilities.

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Top features
VideoDuke
Elmedia
JustPlay
VLC
5KPlayer
Cisdem
Open AVI on Mac as well as other video formats
Open AVI on Mac as well as other video formats
yes (AVI, FLV, SWF, MP4, WMV, MOV, DAT, M4V, MPG, DivX, MKV, etc.)  
yes (MP4, AVI, MOV, SWF, DAT, MKV, etc.)  
yes (MKV, MP4, VOB, WMV, MPG AVI, etc.)  
yes (MKV, M2TS, MP4, AVI, WMV, FLV, etc.)  
yes (MKV, AVI, FLV, AVCHD, WMV, etc.)  
Supports for many popular audio formats
Supports for many popular audio formats
yes (MP3, WMA, AC2, MKA, OGG, FLAC, AAC, etc.)  
yes (FLAC, AAC, MP3, WMA, etc.)  
yes (AAC, AC-3, FLAC, MP3, ALAC, etc.)  
yes (MP3, AAC, AC3, WMA, FLAC, ALAC, etc.)  
yes (MP3, OGG, ACC, WMA, AIFF, etc.)  
Allows local AVI streaming to TV
Allows local AVI streaming to TV
yes (PRO)  
no  
yes  
yes  
no  
Supports Playlist Creation
Supports Playlist Creation
yes  
yes  
yes  
yes  
no  
Includes Video Tuner
Includes Video Tuner
yes (PRO)  
yes  
yes  
yes  
no  
Supports video format conversions
Supports video format conversions
no  
no  
yes  
no  
yes (PRO)  
Includes enhancement and light editing of video files: flip, rotate, mirror, etc
Includes enhancement and light editing of video files: flip, rotate, mirror, etc
yes  
yes  
yes  
yes  
no  
Included Audio Equalizer
Included Audio Equalizer
yes  
yes  
yes  
no  
no  
Allows playback adjustment for audio/video delay
Allows playback adjustment for audio/video delay
yes  
yes  
yes  
yes  
no  
Integrated subtitle support
Integrated subtitle support
yes  
yes  
yes  
yes  
yes  
Allows subtitle playback acceleration/deceleration (Subtitle sync)
Allows subtitle playback acceleration/deceleration (Subtitle sync)
yes  
yes  
yes  
no  
no  
Allows searching for subtitles online
Allows searching for subtitles online
yes  
yes  
add-on  
no  
no  
Picture-in-picture capability
Picture-in-picture capability
yes  
yes  
yes  
yes  
no  
Allows hardware acceleration
Allows hardware acceleration
yes  
yes  
yes  
yes  
no  
Allows you to record your desktop
Allows you to record your desktop
no  
no  
yes  
no  
no  
Features browser extension option to allow media to play directly from the Internet
Features browser extension option to allow media to play directly from the Internet
no  
no  
yes  
no  
no  
No-cost option
Free option
yes
no
yes
yes
yes

What to look for at an AVI video Mac-friendly Player

  1. The first thing you should do is make sure it can handle multiple formats like AVI, MP4, WMV, MOV, SWF, FLV, 3GP, MFK, MPEG and many more.
  2. Support for the latest macOS versions is mandatory.
  3. The player should offer top-quality performance at super-high resolutions - 4K / 8K.
  4. Simple and intuitive user interface with features that are easy to access.
  5. Playlist support is always a plus. Finding that player to enable you to create and edit a playlist will make it easier to watch all your favorite movies.
  6. You should not get any ads or pop-ups when you’re playing the videos.

More about AVI files

How to play avi files on mac

The full name for AVI files is Audio Video Interleaved and it was introduced by Microsoft all the way back in 1992. Such a file can contain both video and audio, and it does a great job at synchronizing the two. It is one of the most popular video formats out there for movies and other long files thanks to its limited compression and good quality. Even more than that, being developed by Microsoft, it is used in Windows Media Player which helped make it very popular back in the days when Windows boomed on the market.

FAQ

Below we have compiled the most frequently asked questions regarding AVI files playback. Feel free to send us any other questions that you may need answers to by writing in our comments section.

Indeed, a Mac can play AVI files through its native video player - QuickTime. However, you should know that some codecs are not supported by this player. To avoid getting an AVI video with a codec that is not supported by QuickTime, install Elmedia Player on your Mac. It will play hundreds of formats without needing extra codecs or plugins, delivering you an awesome watching experience.

The best option to watch AVI files is through Elmedia Player. This all-in-one app will make it so easy to open any type of file that you will never need another app again. Here’s how you can open .avi files with Elmedia:

  • Drag and drop the video file straight into the Elmedia window or on its icon in the Dock.
  • Locate the video file, right-click on it and then select Elmedia Player from the list of options you get when clicking "Open With".
  • From inside Elmedia, access the File Menu and then click Open.

There’s only one answer to this question: Elmedia Video Player PRO. Elmedia Player PRO is versatile and it plays AVI files on Mac without needing codec packs or any other additional software. On top of that, this software enables you to download AVI files from the internet, stream them towards Apple TV,Chromecast , Smart TV, or any DLNA-certified and AirPlay device. Elmedia Player PRO is capable of receiving video when streaming from another device, making it a multi-channel streaming software. The infinite settings you can play with regarding the video attributes, audio, subtitles, and playback make Elmedia Player the best solution for playing videos and do many more.

Elmedia Player
Requirements: OS X 10.9+ , 55.34MB free space
Version 7.12(2164) (24 Jun, 2020) Release notes
Category: MultimediaApplication
Free website version
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