# Why can't I play AVI files? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 26, 2006, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-play-avi-files/358283 "2006-05-26T03:31:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2006, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-play-avi-files/358283/1 "2006-05-26T03:31:16Z")
I just got a new computer and transfered all my files, but I can’t play AVI files. RealPlayer just plays the sound and WMP won’t play them at all. Do I need to download a special codec? ---
**Author:** ![Mbossa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@Mbossa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mbossa)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2006, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-play-avi-files/358283/2 "2006-05-26T04:29:26Z")
Normal AVI files should play right out of the box, but DivX-encoded files often have an AVI extension and require a separate codec. You can grab the codec at [www.divx.com](http://www.divx.com) (click ‘Free Download’). Don’t listen to the hype on that site about the DivX player – I believe you can just play them in WMP once you have the codec. They might not be DivX, though – they could be needing one of those other newfangled codecs that I can’t keep up with. But DivX is worth a try, and you’ll probably need it eventually if you don’t already have it. If that doesn’t work, I think there are software packages out there that can identify the codec a particular file needs. Maybe someone else will chime in. ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2006, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-play-avi-files/358283/3 "2006-05-26T05:32:10Z")
I was having problems recently with MS Media Player not playing avi files. Someone here recommended [VLC Media Player](http://www.videolan.org/vlc/) which works quite well, no additional codecs to download… ---
**Author:** ![Mbossa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@Mbossa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mbossa)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2006, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-play-avi-files/358283/4 "2006-05-26T06:53:45Z")
I just remembered the name of a software package to figure out which codecs you need. [The rather unfortunately-named GSpot](http://www.headbands.com/gspot/). Just be glad you weren’t the one who had to google it 😉 So that’s something else to try if **Hail Ants** ’s suggestion doesn’t work for whatever reason. I’ve never used it before, though, so I can’t make any guarantees. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2006, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-play-avi-files/358283/5 "2006-05-26T18:14:17Z")
.avi is just a container file, not really an audio or video format. You can put all kinds of differently encoded audio and video into it, so if the video isn’t playing, it’s almost certainly a codec problem. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2006, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-play-avi-files/358283/6 "2006-05-26T18:28:59Z")
> [@Hail Ants](#): > > I was having problems recently with MS Media Player not playing avi files. Someone here recommended [VLC Media Player](http://www.videolan.org/vlc/) which works quite well, no additional codecs to download… VLC is a nice simple powerful program. It supports most popular formats, plus I like the keyboard shortcuts, like “f” for fullscreen toggle, Control or Alt and the left/right arrow keys for fast forward/rewind, and space for pause/resume. Plus you can customize all the controls. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2006, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-i-play-avi-files/358283/7 "2006-05-26T22:33:16Z")
Rather than download new codecs every time you come across a differently coded avi file, try downloading [ffdshow](http://sourceforge.net/projects/ffdshow). It’s a codec library that will allow you to play just about any video you’re likely to come across on the internet (except .rm and .mov, which require different software).