What is the AMV file format?
.amv is a proprietary video container format developed for low-power portable media players manufactured primarily in China, using system-on-chip designs from Actions Semiconductor and ALi Corporation. The format emerged around 2003-2005 as budget portable players began adding video playback capability.
Structurally, .amv is a modified AVI container: the standard RIFF identifier is preserved at offset 0, but the form-type AVI at offset 8 is replaced with AMV , and the avih chunk tag becomes amvh. Video is encoded using a modified Motion JPEG codec; audio uses an IMA ADPCM variant sampled at a fixed 22,050 Hz. Two incompatible variants exist: the original Actions Semiconductor version and the ALi M5661 variant (identified internally as ALIAVI).
Due to the hardware constraints of the target devices, resolution is limited to 96×64 - 160×128 pixels. Bundled AMV Studio conversion software is now abandonware. FFmpeg has decoded .amv files since approximately 2006 and remains the most reliable tool; VLC can also play them. Modern portable players have largely replaced the format with MP4 and H.264.
Security & safety
RISK: LOWAMV is a pure media container; it cannot execute code. No known malware uses AMV. Risk is limited to potentially corrupted or malformed files from old hardware.
Format details
in a nutshell- Anime Music Video (fan-made) - AMV also colloquially stands for 'Anime Music Video' - fan video edits; those are standard MP4/AVI files, not this format.
Programs that open AMV files
Windows4 apps
VLC media player
Open-source File → Open File, or drag AMV onto VLC window. Plays both Actions and ALi variants. 
HandBrake
Open-source Open Source → select AMV file → choose MP4 preset → Start Encode. Converts to MP4. 
macOS1 app
Linux2 apps
Android1 app
Technical details
deep spec| Format type | Modified RIFF/AVI video container |
| Encoding | Binary |
| Byte order | Little-endian |
| Magic bytes | 'RIFF' at offset 0; form-type 'AMV ' at offset 8 (replaces standard 'AVI ') |
| Video codec | Modified Motion JPEG (MJPEG) |
| Audio codec | IMA ADPCM variant |
| Audio sample rate | 22,050 Hz (fixed across all known files) |
| Resolution range | 96×64 to 160×128 pixels (hardware-constrained) |
| Color depth | 15-16 bpp (RGB565) |
| Typical file size | 1 MB - 50 MB |
| Incompatible variants | Actions Semiconductor (original) and ALi M5661 (ALIAVI) |
| Audio frame structure | 8-byte header (origin 16-bit, index 16-bit, sample-count 32-bit) followed by encoded samples |
| Associated platforms | Windows (conversion tools), Linux (FFmpeg) |
| MIME type | video/amv |
| Released | circa 2003-2005, with early Chinese MP3/MP4 portable players |
| Latest version | ALi M5661 variant (ALIAVI); older Actions chip variant |
| Specification | wiki.multimedia.cx |
AMV conversions
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