Enjoy AVI video clips on your computer with native Windows Media Player software or a third-party application.
If you've downloaded a movie, TV show or video clip to your computer, it's probably in AVI (Audio Visual Interleaves) format. The AVI video encoding format is widely used and all Windows-based computers ship with Windows Media Player software that can view video files with the ".avi" file extension. You should be able to open any AVI file with Windows Media Player, but you might first need to make it the default program for opening AVI files on your computer.
Double-Click to Open an AVI File
The quickest method for opening an AVI file is to double-click the file. This automatically opens the file in the program that the computer has assigned to open that file type. Locate the AVI file that you want to open. You will usually find it in the "Video" or "Downloads" library folders. Double-click the file. This should automatically open the AVI file in Windows Media Player.
Drag and Drop to Open an AVI File
An alternative method for opening an AVI file is to drag it from its location on the computer to the Windows Media Player screen. This should automatically open and play the AVI file in Windows Media Player. Open the AVI file location folder and then launch Windows Media Player from the computer's desktop screen or desktop taskbar. Click the file and drag it to the Windows Media Player screen.
Change Default Program Settings to Open an AVI File
Sometimes installing new software on a computer can alter the default program settings. If you can't open an AVI file with Windows Media Player, you'll need to change the computer's default program settings to make Windows Media Player the default software for AVI files. You can complete this straightforward process by accessing the "Default Programs" option from the Start menu. Click "Set Your Default Programs" in this section and select "Windows Media Player" from the list of available programs. Add AVI files to the list of default programs automatically opened by Windows Media Player by clicking the check box beside "AVI" in the list of file types under "Choose Defaults for This Program."
Use Third-Party Software to Open an AVI File
Multimedia entertainment is an important part of home computing. You can download a range of free and paid third-party software that will also open and play AVI files. The free Media Jukebox software that you might use to synchronize an MP3 music player or portable video player with your computer can also open AVI files. Third-party applications such as the free VLC Media Player can also handle video clips in the AVI format.
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