M4V to AVI Converter

What happens when you convert M4V to AVI

• The video is re-encoded to MPEG-4 Part 2 video with MP3 audio.
• Re-encoding in a browser is slow: expect several times the video's length for HD footage on a laptop, and longer on a phone. Short and low-resolution clips finish much sooner.

How to convert M4V to AVI online

1. Press "Choose M4V files" and select one or more files, or drag them onto the box. You can add files of any size your device can hold in memory.
2. Adjust the settings if you need to: resolution and quality control the size of the result. The defaults suit most people.
3. Press "Convert to AVI". The first audio or video conversion downloads the converter engine, about 32 MB, which your browser then keeps for next time.
4. Save each AVI with its download button. Close the tab and every trace of the files is gone from memory.

Why convert M4V to AVI?

M4V files usually come from iTunes films and TV shows and HandBrake exports. People convert them to AVI because AVI is still the format some older editors, set-top players and industrial software insist on.

In short, M4V is good at what it was made for, and AVI is the more practical choice when the file has to play, upload or edit somewhere else. M4V plays in Safari; Chrome plays unprotected M4V files, while AVI does not play in browsers; plays in VLC and Windows players.

How to convert M4V to AVI on Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android

On Windows

Open this page in Chrome, Edge or Firefox, drag your M4V files in from File Explorer, and press Convert. Each AVI is saved to your Downloads folder. If you prefer a desktop program, VLC can also convert M4V to AVI: choose Media, then Convert / Save.

On a Mac

Safari, Chrome and Firefox all work. Drag the M4V files from Finder onto the drop zone and the AVI files land in Downloads.

On iPhone and iPad

Open the page in Safari and tap Choose M4V files. You can pick from Photos or from the Files app. The converted AVI appears in Files, in the Downloads folder; to put it in your photo library, open it there, tap Share and choose Save Video.

On Android

Open the page in Chrome, tap Choose M4V files and pick them from Files or your gallery. The AVI is saved to the Download folder, where any file manager can find it. Keep the screen on while a long video converts, because Android may pause a tab in the background.

Best settings for M4V to AVI

AVI is written as MPEG-4 Part 2 video with MP3 audio. The Resolution setting is the one to reach for: 1080p keeps full HD detail, 720p is plenty for phones and laptops and roughly halves the size, and 480p suits email and old devices.

The quality levels map to the H.264 CRF scale where the target uses H.264, and to fixed high-quality settings for older codecs such as MPEG-2, MPEG-4 Part 2, WMV and Theora. Re-encoding always costs a little detail, so convert from the best copy of the M4V you have.

M4V vs AVI: the differences

About M4V and AVI files

What is an M4V file?

M4V is nearly identical to MP4. Files bought from iTunes carry FairPlay copy protection, which no converter can legally remove; unprotected M4V files convert freely.

What is an AVI file?

AVI dates from Windows 3.1 and predates the codecs most people use today. It is still readable by almost every desktop editor, which is why some older software asks for it.

M4V to AVI not working? Common problems

• The conversion is slow. Audio and container changes take seconds, but re-encoding video runs on your own processor. Lower the resolution to 720p, close other tabs, and keep the device plugged in.
• The tab stops or reloads on a very large file. Browsers limit how much memory one tab can use, around 2 GB and less on phones. Split long recordings or convert them on a computer.
• The M4V will not convert at all. Files bought from iTunes and commercial DVD or Blu-ray discs are copy protected, and no legitimate converter can read them. Home-made files convert normally.

Convert M4V to AVI with ffmpeg

This converter runs ffmpeg inside your browser. If you would rather use the ffmpeg command line on your own computer, this command produces an equivalent AVI with the same kind of settings:

ffmpeg -i input.m4v -c:v mpeg4 -q:v 4 -vtag xvid -c:a libmp3lame -b:a 192k output.avi

Replace input.m4v with the name of your file. For a whole folder of M4V files, run the command in a loop, or drop them all on the converter above, which processes them one after another.