How to Play AVI Files on iPad

May 23, 2013 10:23 AM / Posted by Ivan Cook to iPhone/iPod/iPad
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Officially, AVI files are playable on iPad, but actually it's only some less-commonly-used types.  This is a huge roadblock, as AVI is one pretty much the go-to standard-definition format for video content on the internet. In this article you'll find out: How to play AVI on iPad; what types of AVI files are compatible with iPad; and even how to play incompatible AVIs on iPad. Here we go:

Compatible AVI files with iPad: Motion JPEG (M-JPEG) up to 35 Mbps, 1280x720 pixels, 30 fps (frames per second), audio in ulaw, PCM stereo audio in .avi file extension.

So if you have other types of AVI files, you're in the right place to see how to play AVI on your iPad.

The Easiest Solution to Play AVI on iPad（iPad2, iPad4, iPad mini etc.）

If you've already tried and failed to play movies in AVI on iPad, no matter if the files are downloaded from the Internet or shared by your friends, you are highly recommended to convert AVI to iPad-friendly formats like MP4, MOV or M4V on your Mac (Mountain Lion included).

Some of the most important things to remember when converting AVI to iPad Mac are video quality and conversion speed. The problem is how to preserve the original quality of the video when you have some HD AVI movies during your AVI to iPad Mac conversion as quickly and easily as possible. One tool that meets this challenge is iSkysoft Video Converter for Mac, which lets you convert AVI to iPad on Mac OS X with zero quality loss. This Mac app is specially designed for iPad users to deal with the format incompatible problems so it provides optimized preset for iPad, which means you are only required to click your mouse once or twice to convert.  See how easy it is below:

1. Add AVI files to iPad Video Converter for Mac. You can directly drag and drop the videos on your Mac to the app. This iPad Video Converter supports batch conversion, so you can add several files at one time. It saves your time and energy.
2. Select iPad preset from format list. In the format column, choose iPad preset based on your iPad model, e.g. iPad 3, 4. This app has optimized the video settings for iPad, so you needn't to set the format, video resolution and more by yourself.

   

3. Start AVI to iPad conversion on Mac OS X (Mountain Lion included). After everything is ready, you can click the "Convert" button, leaving this app do the rest for you.

Beside converting AVI to iPad, this little cute iPad Video Converter Mac enables you to edit your videos briefly. You can trim the a large video file into several segments to get rid of the unwanted part. More, you can crop the video frame size, making it fit on your new iPad more perfectly. If you are not satisfied with your video effect, you can switch to another type of video effect, say, Old Film or Gray. Detailed info: User Guide of iPad Video Converter for Mac.

Video tutorial:

How to Play AVI Files on iPad (For Windows users)

This part is about how to play AVI files on iPad using Windows version iPad video converter software iSkysoft Video Converter Ultimate. Click the button below to download the software to your computer, install and run the program. Then convert AVI files to iPad friendly formats or files. The steps are just like the Mac software.

1. Import AVI files to the program.

There are two ways to import AVI files, click “Add Files” button on the top left corner or just drag and drop files to the window of the program.

2. Choose an output format.

This program supports almost all iPad types, such as iPad mini, iPad 4, iPad 3, iPad 2 etc. Click the format icon on the right and choose “iPad” from the “Apple” category of “Device” list.

3. Click “Convert” button to start AVI to iPad format conversion.

How to Watch AVI on iPad

After converting AVI to iPad supported file or format, add the output file to iTunes’s library and sync them to your iPad. Then you can watch on your iPad. If you've selected iPad as the output format, the converted files will be added to iTunes library automatically. Just open iTunes and make sure the files are there and then connect your iPad to your Mac and sync video to iPad as normal. You can soon play AVI video on your iPad without any hassle.

iPad AVI Playing FAQs

How do you play AVI on iPad without converting?

VLC is a cross-platform media player that can run on iPad to play AVI and other formats of video files. Once upon a time, people can get VLC media player for iPad on App Store. However, for some reason VLC media player for iPad has been removed from App Store. Now to install VLC on iPad, you have to jailbreak your iPad, which is not recommended since you'll loss warranty from Apple if you did so.

Can the default player on iPad play AVI files?

Yes, by default, iPad supports Motion JPEG (M-JPEG) encoded AVI videos (up to 1280x720, 30 fps frames rate, ulaw audio). However, for AVI files that are compressed in the above codec or the video parameters exceed the above settings, you'll be failed to play such AVI files on iPad. This feature is useful for playing AVI video on iPad that are captured with your AVI-M-JPEG camera.

Can I import and sync AVI files to iPad?

According to Apple's website, iTunes only supports video files that end in ".mov", ".m4v", or ".mp4". You have to use iTunes File Sharing (accessible in the Apps tab) to transfer AVI to third-party player (e.g. VLC) on your iPad.