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MOV to AVI converter

Convert MOV to AVI in your browser. No upload and no account: the file never leaves your device, so the only size limit is your device’s memory.

I want AVI
Quality

Applies only when the video has to be re-encoded. A straight copy keeps the original quality.

Advanced 2
Always re-encode Rebuilds the picture as H.264 (VP9 for WebM) even when it could be copied. Fixes files that won’t play on older TVs and PCs.

Bytes of your files sent anywhere: 0 B

Related conversions

Need it the other way round? Convert AVI to MOV

Other ways to convert MOV

Convert other formats to AVI

Read more about the MOV format and the AVI format, or see every video tool and all video conversions.

Should you convert MOV to AVI?

Usually a quick, safe conversion. AVI can carry H.264, which is what MOV files normally contain, so the video can often be copied across without re-encoding: fast, and with no loss at all.

Check that AVI is really needed: it plays in Windows Media Player and VLC; no browser or iPhone plays it, while MOV is mainly an Apple format.

MOV is Apple’s video container, usually H.264 or HEVC from an iPhone; AVI is Windows’ original video container, common for older camcorder files and downloads. Choose AVI only when an old player, TV box or piece of software insists on it.

MOV and AVI compared
Property MOV AVI
Usually contains H.264 or HEVC video with AAC audio, or ProRes from editors MPEG-4 Part 2 (DivX or Xvid) video with MP3 audio
Support Mainly an Apple format A legacy format
Plays on Apple devices and most editors; some Windows PCs, Android phones and upload forms struggle with it Windows Media Player and VLC; no browser or iPhone plays it
Best for Recording and editing video on Apple devices Old Windows software and hardware players that expect it
Introduced 1991 1992

How to convert MOV to AVI

  1. 01

    Add your MOV

    Drop your MOV video onto the box, or click to choose it. It is read from your disk and stays there.

  2. 02

    Check the settings

    The output is already set to AVI. Change the quality if you want to; the defaults suit most files.

  3. 03

    Save the AVI

    Press convert and save the AVI. Several files come back together as a ZIP.

What changes when MOV becomes AVI

Often a straight copy

When the MOV holds H.264 video, the stream is moved into the AVI container untouched, so the conversion takes seconds even for long files. If the codec inside is something AVI can’t hold, the picture is re-encoded instead and you’ll see a progress bar that takes longer.

AVI is an older format

Choose AVI only when an old player, TV box or piece of software insists on it. For sharing, uploading or playing on phones, MP4 is the better choice.

Expect a larger file

AVI generally takes more room than MOV. If the file has to fit an upload limit, check the size once it’s converted. MOV: A minute of 4K iPhone video is roughly 170–400 MB. AVI: Often two to three times the size of a modern MP4.

This page is put together from our notes on each format, choosing only what is true of MOV and AVI, so every pairing states the same facts the same way. How these pages are made.

Why it doesn’t upload

Video files are big, and uploading one just to change its container can take longer than the conversion itself. Your browser can read and write these formats, so the file never has to leave your device.

How to check for yourself

Worth knowing

  • About the MOV. A MOV from an iPhone is usually an ordinary H.264 or HEVC video that can move into MP4 without re-encoding; a MOV exported from an editor may be ProRes and ten times larger.
  • About the AVI. AVI is only a wrapper. The same extension can hide DivX, Xvid, MJPEG or uncompressed video, which is why one AVI plays and the next doesn’t.
  • MP4, MOV, MKV and WebM are handled by your browser’s own video engine, often with hardware help. AVI, WMV, FLV, MPG and the other older formats use the FFmpeg engine, a one-time 31 MB download, and are slower.

Questions

Does converting MOV to AVI lose quality?

Not when the video can be copied, which is the case for most MOV files: the stream moves into AVI untouched. If it has to be re-encoded, the default quality keeps the difference invisible.

Will a AVI play on my phone?

AVI a legacy format: Windows Media Player and VLC; no browser or iPhone plays it. VLC plays almost every AVI; Windows Media Player plays most.

Read more about this

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