Convert .AVI into .MKV Files - Fast, Free and Secure. We also have information of .AVI and .MKV Files extensions on this page.
- Information about AVI |
File extension |
avi |
File category |
Video |
Stands for |
Audio Video Interleave |
Developer |
Microsoft |
Overview |
This file format stores both audio and video files for playback purposes. It is used to store files that are of high quality as file compression is less in this extension. Windows OS uses this as the default format to store multimedia files but other operating systems such as Linux, Unix and Mac also support this. The data in it is encoded by various codecs such as DivX and XviD. There is a variety of software that support these files. For instance- Microsoft Movies & TV, Windows Media Player and Apple QuickTime player; etc. Due to its low compression ability, it is widely used to make short movies, promos and advertisements; etc. It should be noted that AVI format result in large files that is why it is rarely used for video streaming. |
Technical description |
In AVI extension, file's data is divided into blocks or chunks as it is a sub-format of RIFF(Resource Interchange file format). An identification of each chunk is done by FourCC tag. File header and metadata of video(like height, width and frame rate) are identified by ‘hdrl tag' which is sub-chunk and it is mandatory. There is one another chunk which is also obligatory that is ‘movi tag' and it has actual audio or video data. The last sub-chunk is ‘idx1 tag' and it records the offsets of the data chunks. This ‘idx1 tag' is completely optional. There is one limitation of this format that it does not contain variable bitrate data. |
Links |
wikipedia.org |
- Information about MKV |
File extension |
mkv |
File category |
Video |
Stands for |
Matroska Multimedia Container |
Developer |
Steve Lhomme |
Overview |
An unlimited amount of data such as an infinite number of audios, videos, pictures, arbitrary files like XML and subtitle tracks can be stored in MKV files. Although, it has a similar concept that of AVI, MP4; etc., yet, there is one difference. It is an open-source software or has open specifications, whereas, others are different. Furthermore, it allows online streaming and fast seeking which are alluring features. It can be used with ease as it is highly adaptive and can accept any audio and video. |
Technical description |
Files in MKV format store each track in varied dataline. Files in this format use distinctive extensions for storing the data. The extension .MKV is used only for video files(may have subtitles and audio),.MK3D for stereoscopic video, .MKA and .MKS for audio and subtitles respectively. The codecs that are linked to this format are .SRT, Vobsub, .USF(Universal Subtitle Format) and .SSA; etc. It should be noted that not all the media players support this file format but only selective ones like VLC. Besides this, ‘Matroska' is derived from a Russian word that is ‘Matryoshka’ and it refers to a hollow Russian doll which opens to uncover another doll, this doll then again opens to reveal next doll and the process goes on. Other meanings for this word in Russia are a sailor suit and a female sailor. Technical details in depth are available only for private and commercial use. |
Links |
wikipedia.org |