Last Updated: 22 Jun, 2026
TL;DR – AVI (Audio Video Interleave) is Microsoft’s first “digital video” container, born with Windows 95. It’s a simple RIFF‑based file that interleaves compressed video and audio chunks so a player can read them in lock‑step. The format is still understood by Windows Media Player and a host of open‑source tools, but it lacks modern features like HDR, 10‑bit color, and robust streaming metadata. If you ever need to dig into legacy footage, understand the chunk layout, FourCC codes, and the OpenDML extensions that lift the 2 GB ceiling – that’s the meat of AVI.