Member Avatar for mm4c3k

Hello!

I use a Mac; however, I downloaded an avi file that uses the Indeo 4 (IV41) codec which is unavailable for Macs.

Do you know of a software program that can convert the file (re-encode? if that's the proper term...) to another codec that will allow me to view the file?

Thank you in advance for any suggestions!

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by joeedel89

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OP reported an AVI that uses Indeo 4 (IV41), a legacy Intel codec not included in modern macOS. If the playback options already suggested by and do not work, the most reliable, long-term fix is to transcode the file to a modern codec/container (for example H.264 in MP4 or MOV) so it plays natively on macOS.

Use ffmpeg to inspect and transcode. First confirm the video codec reported inside the file:

ffprobe -v error -select_streams v:0 -show_entries stream=codec_name,codec_long_name,width,height -of default=noprint_wrappers=1 input.avi

If the codec is Indeo (IV41) and ffmpeg can decode it, this command converts to a broadly compatible MP4 (H.264 + AAC):

ffmpeg -i input.avi -c:v libx264 -crf 20 -preset medium -pix_fmt yuv420p -c:a aac -b:a 128k output.mp4

Notes on flags: -crf controls quality (lower = better; 18–23 is common), -preset trades encoding speed for efficiency, and -pix_fmt yuv420p improves compatibility with players. If the audio is already compatible, use -c:a copy to avoid re-encoding.

On macOS install ffmpeg quickly with Homebrew (brew install ffmpeg) or use an official prebuilt binary. For batch conversion in a folder:

for f in *.avi; do ffmpeg -i "$f" -c:v libx264 -crf 20 -preset medium -pix_fmt yuv420p -c:a aac -b:a 128k "${f%.*}.mp4"; done

Troubleshooting: keep the original file backed up. If ffmpeg refuses to decode the file, it may be a damaged or nonstandard wrapper; a fallback is to use a Windows environment with legacy codecs to decode/re-export, but avoid untrusted codec installers. Re-encoding will incur some quality loss—adjust -crf and bitrates to meet your quality vs. size needs.

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Member Avatar for kudresov

Try using VLC player, it supports most of the known format, I have encountered very few video files which it couldn't play. So give it a try ;)

Member Avatar for joeedel89

Hello,
A quick google search turned up this; if VLC player doesn't work you may want to try mplayer.

Thanks,
Joe

Quick Solution:
Windows Users:
1. Type iv5setup.exe or iv5play.exe in your favorite search engine (we have one copy mirrored here)
2. Purchase it from Ligos ($15)
3. Play the file with QuickTime Player prior to version 7.5.5 *
QuickTime 7.5.0 (Windows XP, Vista)
QuickTime 7.1.6 (Windows 2000)
QuickTime 6.5.2 (Windows 98, Me)
QuickTime 5.0.2 (Windows 95)
* Additional plugins may be needed for Indeo 4 or 5 playback - see at the end of this post.
Mac Users: Use MPlayer OS X http://mplayerosx.sourceforge.net/
may also need the binary codecs package http://www.mplayerhq.hu/design7/dload.html#binary_codecs
For older versions of Mac OS (9 and below), see next post.

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