Step 1: Provide your AVI files using the button above or by toss and let go.
Step 2: Click the 'Convert' button to start the conversion.
Step 3: Fetch your converted M4V files.
AVI to M4V Conversion FAQ
How do I convert AVI to M4V without re-encoding the video stream?
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When the AVI and M4V containers can both carry the same codec (H.264, H.265, VP9, AV1), the converter falls back to a remux: the elementary streams are copied byte-for-byte into the M4V container and only the wrapper changes. A remux of a 1 GB AVI into M4V typically finishes in 5-15 seconds with zero quality loss. AVI files predate modern codecs: expect MPEG-4 Part 2 (DivX/Xvid), Motion JPEG or raw uncompressed frames rather than H.264. Structurally an M4V is an MP4 — H.264 or HEVC with AAC — with optional Apple FairPlay DRM and iTunes chapter metadata.
My AVI footage shows comb lines on movement — will that carry into the M4V?
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It will unless you deinterlace, and AVI content very often is interlaced because the format comes from the broadcast and DVD era. Interlaced frames store two half-height fields captured a fiftieth of a second apart; on a progressive-scan phone or monitor that reads as horizontal combing on anything that moves. Turn on the deinterlace option and the encoder weaves the fields into whole progressive frames before writing the M4V. AVI is Microsoft’s Audio Video Interleave, introduced in 1992 on top of the RIFF chunk format — one of the oldest containers still in circulation.
My AVI recordings are split into numbered parts — does M4V have the same limit?
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No, and that is one of the better reasons to move. The AVI container has a practical single-file ceiling that long or high-bitrate recordings run straight into, which is exactly why old captures arrive as part1, part2, part3. M4V has no equivalent limit, so the pieces can be rejoined into one continuous file. AVI has no native support for modern codecs, variable frame rate, soft subtitles or files over 4 GB without hacks, and its per-chunk overhead bloats the file.
Can I add selectable subtitles once the file is M4V?
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Yes. AVI has no usable soft-subtitle track, so subtitles for AVI content had to be burned into the picture or shipped as a separate sidecar file. M4V carries subtitles as their own selectable stream, so after conversion you can attach an SRT track the viewer can switch on, switch off or restyle.
Does M4V support chapter markers that AVI did not?
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It does. M4V stores chapters as container metadata, so a long recording can be navigated by section instead of by scrubbing a progress bar. AVI has nowhere to put that information, so if the source shipped with a chapter list it was in a sidecar file — hand that to the converter and it gets written into the M4V. M4V keeps chapter markers, artwork and subtitle tracks in the shape the Apple TV app expects, which plain MP4 often loses.
Is it worth converting old AVI recordings to M4V at all?
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For anything you intend to keep, yes. AVI belongs to an earlier generation of video tooling and the software that reads it is steadily disappearing from phones, browsers and operating systems. Moving the footage to M4V now, while a clean decoder still exists, is the difference between an archive you can open in ten years and one you cannot.
Will multi-track audio survive AVI to M4V conversion?
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Yes — every audio track in the AVI (director commentary, alternate languages, descriptive audio) is preserved in the M4V when the target container supports multi-stream audio. MKV and MOV handle unlimited audio tracks; MP4 supports many but some hardware players only see track 1; WebM is capped at one Opus / Vorbis track. M4V is Apple’s variant of MP4, used by iTunes and the Apple TV app for films and TV episodes.
Are subtitle tracks preserved when converting AVI to M4V?
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Soft subtitles (selectable tracks) survive when M4V can carry them: MKV holds SRT, ASS, SSA, PGS, VobSub natively; MP4 only holds mov_text (a stripped-down format). Converting an MKV with ASS styled subs to MP4 will typically downgrade them to mov_text or burn them in. Hardsubs (burned into the video) carry over regardless.
Does AVI to M4V keep chapter markers / DVD-style navigation?
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Chapter metadata transfers between AVI and M4V whenever both containers support a chapter atom (MKV, MP4, MOV). WebM stores chapters in a Matroska-compatible block, so MKV <-> WebM chapters round-trip cleanly. AVI has no chapter spec at all, so an AVI source arrives with no chapters to carry across and an AVI target cannot store the ones it was handed; add markers manually afterwards if you need them.
What about MKV attachments (fonts, cover art) when going AVI to M4V?
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MKV is the only mainstream container that stores arbitrary attached files (TTF fonts for ASS subs, JPG cover art, fan-translated PDF inserts). Going from AVI to M4V drops these attachments when M4V is not MKV — the elementary streams convert, but the attached payload stays in the source. Keep AVI as a backup if you depend on attached fonts.
Which codec does the M4V output use by default?
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The default codec is chosen to match the M4V container conservatively: MKV defaults to H.265 (HEVC) for better compression; MP4 defaults to H.264 for the widest device support; WebM defaults to VP9; AVI uses MPEG-4 ASP (DivX/Xvid lineage). Override via the advanced codec dropdown — AV1 is available for MKV / WebM where you want maximum compression and can wait through the encode. DRM-protected M4V purchases cannot be converted by anything; only unprotected M4V files are convertible, and non-Apple players often need the extension renamed.
How does HDR (HDR10, Dolby Vision) survive AVI to M4V?
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HDR static metadata (HDR10 mastering display values, max content light level) carries through to M4V when both containers and the chosen codec support it (HEVC, AV1 in MKV / MP4). Dolby Vision is more fragile — DV profile 5 / 7 / 8.1 in AVI commonly survives only into MKV with HEVC; converting to an M4V container that does not carry the DV layer flattens to HDR10.
