# Vewing .AVI files on my computer.
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vewing-avi-files-on-my-computer/136183
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [November 10, 2002, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vewing-avi-files-on-my-computer/136183 "2002-11-10T22:17:02Z")
**Posts on this page:** 4
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@gitfiddle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gitfiddle)
#### Post date: [November 10, 2002, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vewing-avi-files-on-my-computer/136183/1 "2002-11-10T22:17:02Z")
Is there something I have to do to .AVI files before I can watch them? I have windows media player and real player, but they both only play the audio and no video whenever I click on the file. Realplayer says that it can’t play the vidoe because it’s not decompressed or something like that. Please help.
---
### Author:  [@typhoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/typhoon)
#### Post date: [November 10, 2002, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vewing-avi-files-on-my-computer/136183/2 "2002-11-10T22:35:59Z")
Possibly you need the DIVX codec.
---
### Author:  [@xash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xash)
#### Post date: [November 10, 2002, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vewing-avi-files-on-my-computer/136183/3 "2002-11-10T22:43:12Z")
What **typhoon** said.
> **[Play DivX files. Free Video Software to play, convert and cast video.](https://www.divx.com/)**
>
> Download free DivX Software to play, convert and cast video including DivX, AVI, MKV and HEVC files up to 4K. Play DivX files anywhere.
---
### Author:  [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)
#### Post date: [November 10, 2002, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vewing-avi-files-on-my-computer/136183/4 "2002-11-10T23:22:05Z")
Every video file needs certain other files on your computer so they can ‘decompress’ and be viewed. Many of the standard ones come ready installed, or are installed along with other software (like games or suchlike).
DivX, however, is still considered pretty much non-standard, and is not officially supported. Unofficially, though, it’s rampant, and used all the time.
Compressors and Decompressors, or Codecs, are needed to make a 200Mb file reduce down to a more manageable 3Mb, and are available as downloadable files all over the net.
Any video file that doesn’t play or has some glitches in can usually be rectified by looking at the file information (usually found in the menu on the media player in question) and finfing out the name or number of the codec, then searching for it in Google will eventually track down a copy of it from somewhere.
DivX, as mentioned already, is at the obvious location mentioned in xash’s post, but others aren’t likely so predictable.