How to Easily Convert AVI to MP4 on Your Mac: A Step-by-Step Guide

If you‘ve ever tried to play an AVI video file on your Mac, you may have been frustrated to discover that QuickTime, Apple‘s default media player, doesn‘t support the AVI format. AVI, which stands for Audio Video Interleave, used to be a popular format for videos but has largely been replaced by more modern container formats like MP4 in recent years.

So what do you do if you have an important AVI video that you need to watch on your Mac? Don‘t worry – converting AVI to MP4 is actually a pretty straightforward process, and there are several great tools available to help you do it quickly and easily. In this guide, we‘ll walk you through everything you need to know to convert your AVI files to MP4 on a Mac.

Why Convert AVI to MP4?

Before we dive into the how-to, let‘s take a moment to understand the key differences between AVI and MP4 and why you might want to convert from one to the other.

AVI is an older multimedia container format that was introduced by Microsoft in 1992. It can contain both audio and video data, but the actual audio/video format and codec are not defined, meaning an AVI file can use any compression scheme or codec. This is why AVI files can sometimes be tricky to play on certain devices and platforms.

MP4, on the other hand, is a more modern container format that was released in 2001. It‘s based on Apple‘s QuickTime .MOV format but is more compatible and widely supported. MP4 uses specific codecs like H.264 for video compression and AAC for audio.

The key advantages of MP4 over AVI are:

• Wider compatibility – MP4 is supported by most media players, devices, and platforms while support for AVI is more limited
• More efficient compression – MP4 videos are generally smaller in file size compared to AVI while maintaining good video quality
• Support for online streaming – MP4 is the preferred format for uploading videos to share online

So if you have an AVI video that you want to be able to play on your Mac, iOS device, smart TV, or other platforms that don‘t support AVI, converting it to MP4 is usually the way to go. You‘ll get a video that‘s compatible with QuickTime and takes up less storage space.

How to Convert AVI to MP4 on Mac: 4 Methods

Now that we know why converting AVI to MP4 is useful, let‘s look at a few different ways you can easily convert your videos on a Mac. We‘ll cover 4 popular methods:

1. Using Permute media converter
2. Using HandBrake open source video transcoder
3. Using VLC Media Player
4. Using an online video converter

Method 1: Convert AVI to MP4 with Permute

Permute is a powerful and user-friendly media converter for Mac that supports converting between a wide range of audio, video, and image formats. To use it to convert AVI to MP4:

1. Download and install Permute on your Mac from the developer‘s website or the Mac App Store
2. Launch Permute and drag your AVI video file into the Permute window
3. Click the Format menu in the upper right and choose MP4 as the output format
4. Click the Start button to begin the conversion
5. Once complete, your converted MP4 video will be saved in the same folder as the original AVI file

That‘s it! Permute makes it very simple to convert videos with just a few clicks. The conversion is also very fast on modern Macs. The main downside is that Permute is not free – a license costs $15. But it does offer a 15-day free trial so you can test it out first.

Method 2: Convert AVI to MP4 with HandBrake

HandBrake is a popular open source video transcoding tool that‘s completely free. While it‘s a bit more technical and complex than Permute, it offers a lot of control over advanced encoding settings. Here‘s how to use HandBrake to convert AVI to MP4:

1. Download the latest version of HandBrake for Mac from the official site and install it
2. Open HandBrake and click the Open Source button to load your AVI video
3. In the Destination section, choose where you want to save the converted MP4
4. In the Output Settings, set the Container to MP4
5. Choose a Preset that fits your needs (e.g. Fast 1080p30) or adjust the encoding settings manually if desired
6. Click Start Encode to convert the video
7. Wait for the encoding to finish – the time required depends on your settings and video length/size

HandBrake takes a bit more setup compared to Permute, but it‘s a powerful and 100% free solution once you get the hang of it. It‘s a great choice if you want more advanced options or need to convert a large number of videos and don‘t want to pay for a converter app.

Method 3: Convert AVI to MP4 with VLC

Did you know that in addition to being a great free media player, VLC can also convert between various video and audio formats? Here‘s how to convert AVI to MP4 using VLC on a Mac:

1. Install the latest version of VLC media player on your Mac if you don‘t already have it
2. Open VLC and go to the File menu > Open File to load your AVI video
3. From the File menu, choose Convert/Save
4. In the Convert & Stream window, choose the MP4 profile and click Browse to set a destination to save the MP4 file
5. Click Start to begin converting the video to MP4
6. You can monitor the conversion progress in the timeline at the bottom of the VLC window

The main downside of using VLC to convert videos is that the output profiles are limited and there aren‘t many options to tweak the encoding settings. But if you already have VLC installed, it works in a pinch to quickly convert an AVI to MP4 for better compatibility.

Method 4: Convert AVI to MP4 with an Online Converter

If you‘d rather not install any extra software, you can use a web-based video converter to convert your AVI video online. There are many websites that offer free video conversion. One of the more reputable ones is CloudConvert. To use it:

1. Go to cloudconvert.com in a web browser
2. Click Select File and choose your AVI video file to upload
3. Set the Convert To format to MP4
4. Click the Convert button and wait for the conversion to complete
5. Download the converted MP4 file to your Mac

The main advantage of online converters is that they‘re convenient and don‘t require installing anything. However, there are a few things to keep in mind:

• You have to upload your video file, so this isn‘t ideal for very large files or slow/limited internet connections
• There may be limits on file size (e.g. CloudConvert limits to 1GB for free accounts)
• You‘re uploading your video to a third-party site, so for sensitive videos it‘s better to convert locally
• Quality options and settings are usually limited compared to offline converter tools

But for quick and easy AVI to MP4 conversions, online tools can work well. CloudConvert is one of the better ones, but there are many other sites like Online-Convert.com, Zamzar, and AVI2MP4 that offer similar functionality.

Tips for Converting AVI to MP4

Whichever method you choose, here are a few tips to keep in mind when converting your AVI videos to MP4:

• For best results, start with a good quality AVI file – the conversion won‘t improve a low-quality or corrupted video file
• For most videos, choosing an MP4 preset that uses the H.264 video codec and AAC audio will provide a good balance of compatibility and compression
• If file size is a concern, you can reduce the video bitrate or resolution to make the converted MP4 file smaller, but this may degrade quality
• If you run into errors during conversion, check that your AVI file is valid and not corrupted, and try a different converter tool

The Bottom Line

While AVI used to be a common video format, these days MP4 is much more widely supported and is a better choice for videos you want to play on a Mac or share online. Luckily, converting AVI files to MP4 on a Mac is fairly straightforward with tools like Permute, HandBrake, VLC or an online converter.

For fast and easy conversions with a nice interface, Permute is a great choice, though it does cost $15 for a license. HandBrake is a more advanced option that offers a lot of control and customization for free. VLC works for simple conversions if you already have it installed. And online converters like CloudConvert can do the job for small files when you‘re in a pinch.

No matter which method you choose, in a few simple steps you can easily convert your old AVI videos to MP4 to make them compatible with QuickTime and other modern Mac apps and devices. So dig up those old AVI files and give them new life as MP4s!