Bringing old videos back to life
AVI files usually contain older codecs: Xvid or DivX from downloaded or ripped video, Motion JPEG from early digital cameras, or DV from tape camcorders. Your phone and smart TV may not have decoders for any of them.
Converting to H.264 MP4 makes the videos playable everywhere and often makes them smaller too, since H.264 is far more efficient than MPEG-4 Part 2 or Motion JPEG.
Interlaced and low-resolution footage
Older camcorder footage is often 480 or 576 lines tall and may be interlaced. ClipFit keeps the original resolution and never upscales, so the conversion doesn’t add blur or fake detail.
Because AVI always needs re-encoding, conversion takes a little while. A ten-minute standard-definition clip usually finishes in a few minutes on a laptop.
Keeping your originals
Converting doesn’t change or delete the AVI on your drive; ClipFit creates a new MP4 next to it in your downloads. For family archives, keep the originals as a backup and use the MP4 copies for watching, sharing and uploading to photo services.
If you plan to put old videos on a phone or tablet, choose 720p or 480p as the maximum resolution. Most camcorder footage is below that already, so nothing is lost, and the files stay small.
Private by design
ClipFit processes your video inside your browser using FFmpeg compiled to WebAssembly. The file is never uploaded, so there’s no waiting for transfers and no copy left on a server. Once you close the tab, nothing remains.
Questions
Will the converted video be smaller?
Usually. H.264 at the quality ClipFit uses is more efficient than the codecs typically found in AVI files.
My AVI has no sound after converting. Why?
Some very old AVI files use rare audio formats. If the audio track can’t be decoded, the video is still converted and the error shows the reason.
Is anything uploaded?
No. Conversion happens in your browser. That makes it a safe way to convert family videos and other personal footage.