Why convert MKV to AVI?
Most MKV-to-AVI conversions are driven by old hardware - pre-2010 DVD players, car head units, and televisions that recognise .AVI but reject MKV. If your device also accepts MP4, use that instead; it gives better quality at a smaller file size and skips the re-encoding penalty.
How to convert MKV to AVI
VLC media player FREE
Go to Media > Convert/Save, add your MKV, select an AVI profile, and click Start.
Avidemux OPEN-SOURCE
Open your MKV, set video output to MPEG-4 ASP (Xvid), audio to MP3, format to AVI Muxer, then save.
Any Video Converter FREE FREE
Add your MKV, choose AVI as the output format, and click Convert - codec selection is automatic.
Command line - FFmpeg CLI
Run ffmpeg -i input.mkv -c:v libxvid -q:v 3 -c:a libmp3lame -b:a 192k output.avi for Xvid/MP3 output compatible with most AVI players.
Programs that convert MKV
About these formats
.MKV
Matroska Video
An MKV file is a Matroska multimedia container that holds video, multiple audio tracks, subtitles and chapters in one file. Open it for free with VLC media player, or on Windows 11 with the…
Open .MKV details →
.AVI
Audio Video Interleave
An AVI file is a video container created by Microsoft in 1992. To open one, use VLC media player - it includes the DivX/Xvid codecs old AVIs need and works on Windows, Mac, Linux, Android…
Open .AVI details →Quality & what to watch
- Re-encoding to Xvid and MP3 is unavoidable - quality always drops compared to the original MKV.
- Subtitles, chapters, and extra audio tracks are discarded; AVI supports only one video and one audio stream.
- The original AVI spec caps files at 4 GB, which can cause playback problems on very old devices.
Frequently asked questions
Does converting MKV to AVI always lose quality?
Will my subtitles survive the conversion?
-vf subtitles=input.mkv filter.
