Apple apps such as QuickTime Player, Photos, and Keynote work with many kinds of audio and video formats. Some apps prefer specific formats, but QuickTime movie files (.mov), most MPEG files (.mp4, .m4v, .m4a, .mp3, .mpg), some AVI and WAV files, and many other formats usually work in most apps without additional software.
Older or specialized media formats might not work in your app, because the format requires software designed to support it. If that happens, your app won't open the file or won't play back its audio or video.
No, MAC OS does not support avi video format. It is always not possible to play AVI file with QuickTime player. To watch avi video on Mac computer such as iMac, MacBook Pro, Macbook air, Mac Pro, Mac mini, Macbook, you will have to convert Avi video to Mac OS supported formats, such as mp4, mov. AVI player for Mac can act as a free 4K/8K/HD video player. It enables you to play 4K/8K videos and HD videos, including 1080p/1080i/720p videos smoothly on wide screen. Most of the 4K/HD video formats are highly supported, such as MP4, H.264/MPEG-4 AVC, H.265/HEVC, TS, MKV, AVI, MOV, FLV and WebM. Play Blu-ray/DVD with the Best User Experience. Key features: 5K player can connects DVDs and interactive radio with highly evolutionary design. Supported media formats: videos in MP4, AVI, WMV, FLV, MKV, MTS/M2TS, H.265/264, VP8/9, WebM. Cisdem VideoPlayer for Mac. This is a 100% free video player that is best suited for Mac platform.
How to search for an app that works with your file
You might already have an app that supports the format of your file. If you don't know which of your installed apps to try, your Mac might be able to suggest one:
- Control-click (or right-click) the file in the Finder.
- From the shortcut menu that opens, choose Open With. You should see a submenu listing all of the other installed apps that your Mac thinks might be able to open the file.
If none of your installed apps can open the file, search the Internet or Mac App Store for apps that can play or convert the file:
- Include the name of the media format in your search. To find the format, select the file and press Command-I to open an Info window. The format might appear after the label Kind, such as ”Kind: Matroska Video File.”
- Include the filename extension in your search. The extension is the letters shown at the end of the file's name, such as .avi,.wmv, or .mkv.
Learn more
- QuickTime Player (version 10.0 and later) in OS X Mavericks through macOS Mojave converts legacy media files that use certain older or third-party compression formats.
- Learn about incompatible media in Final Cut Pro and iMovie.
Devices and Mac OS X version
VLC media player requires Mac OS X 10.7.5 or later. It runs on any Mac with a 64-bit Intel processor or an Apple Silicon chip. Previous devices are supported by older releases.
Note that the first generation of Intel-based Macs equipped with Core Solo or Core Duo processors is no longer supported. Please use version 2.0.10 linked below.
If you need help in finding the correct package matching your Mac's processor architecture, please see this official support document by Apple. You can also choose to install a Universal Binary.
Web browser plugin for Mac OS X
Support for NPAPI plugins was removed from all modern web browsers, so VLC's plugin is no longer maintained. The last version is 3.0.4 and can be found here. It will not receive any further updates.
Older versions of Mac OS X and VLC media player
We provide older releases for users who wish to deploy our software on legacy releases of Mac OS X. You can find recommendations for the respective operating system version below. Note that support ended for all releases listed below and hence they won't receive any further updates.
Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard
Use VLC 2.2.8. Get it here.
Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard
Use VLC 2.0.10. Get it for PowerPC or 32bit Intel.
Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger
Mac OS X 10.4.7 or later is required
Use VLC 0.9.10. Get it for PowerPC or Intel.
Mac OS X 10.3 Panther
QuickTime 6.5.2 or later is required
Use VLC 0.8.6i. Get it for PowerPC.
Mac OS X 10.2 Jaguar
Macbook Avi Player
Use VLC 0.8.4a. Get it for PowerPC.
Mac OS X 10.0 Cheetah and 10.1 Puma
Linux Avi Player
Use VLC 0.7.0. Get it for PowerPC.