Converting .avi to something playable

[BlondeMoment]

in/ on Quicktime.

I hope this is the right place to ask. We have surveillance cameras (critter cams, actually) that record
in .avi format. The original application recommended by the camera manufacturer (Foscam) was VLC, but it went haywire this week, so I called Apple Support to see if there was an app that would
play it. I ended up with Elmedia.
I was initially all happy because now I had actual video, but on hour 2, it apparently got stuck on one
particular file and keeps playing that one over and over.

Can anyone suggest an app that will play .avi files? I don't mind paying for it if it will just work and
be reliable.

 

[casperes1996]

in/ on Quicktime.

I hope this is the right place to ask. We have surveillance cameras (critter cams, actually) that record
in .avi format. The original application recommended by the camera manufacturer (Foscam) was VLC, but it went haywire this week, so I called Apple Support to see if there was an app that would
play it. I ended up with Elmedia.
I was initially all happy because now I had actual video, but on hour 2, it apparently got stuck on one
particular file and keeps playing that one over and over.

Can anyone suggest an app that will play .avi files? I don't mind paying for it if it will just work and
be reliable.

What about just adding .avi support to QuickTime?

https://perian.org

 

[BlondeMoment]

Thank you, casperes. It's worth a try. I'll report back.

 

[Dave Braine]

This will play, and convert, avi files:
http://www.squared5.com/svideo/mpeg-streamclip-mac.html

 

[mpainesyd]

Handbrake should allow you to convert to MP4 format, which is universally playable. However some early AVI formats (there are many implementations of AVI) were not compatible with Apple devices and cannot be converted except, sometimes, if running Windows (eg Parallels running on a Mac).
See these (ancient) tips: http://users.tpg.com.au/users/aoaug/mac_video.html#qt