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Audio Conversion

Convert RAW Audio to AVI — Free Online Converter

Convert Raw PCM Audio (.raw-audio) to Audio Video Interleave (.avi) online for free. Fast, secure audio conversion with no watermarks or registration....

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How to Convert

1

Upload your .raw file by dragging it into the upload area or clicking to browse.

2

Choose your output settings. The default settings work great for most files.

3

Click Convert and download your .avi file when it's ready.

About RAW Audio to AVI Conversion

Raw PCM audio is a headerless binary stream of digital audio samples with no container, no metadata, and no codec identification. Every parameter — sample rate, bit depth, endianness, channel count — must be known externally and specified explicitly at read time. This format emerges from embedded audio systems, DSP development boards, scientific data acquisition hardware, and low-level audio capture interfaces that write samples directly to storage without overhead.

AVI (Audio Video Interleave) is Microsoft's legacy multimedia container format, introduced in 1992 as part of Video for Windows. While primarily associated with video, AVI can store audio-only content within its RIFF chunk structure. Converting raw PCM to AVI creates an audio-only file inside a video container — no video track is present, but the AVI wrapper provides the RIFF header, format description, and indexing that raw audio completely lacks.

Why Convert RAW Audio to AVI?

Raw PCM files cannot be opened by any standard media player or audio editor because the file provides no information about how to interpret its byte stream. AVI's RIFF/WAV-compatible header structure embeds the exact sample format, rate, and channel layout, making the content immediately playable in Windows Media Player, VLC, and virtually every multimedia application.

While AVI is not the most common choice for audio-only content, it is relevant in specific contexts: legacy media pipelines that expect AVI containers, industrial automation systems with AVI-only playback capabilities, and video editing workflows where audio must be delivered in AVI format for timeline import alongside AVI video files.

Common Use Cases

  • Wrapping raw DSP audio captures in AVI for import into legacy video editing systems that only accept AVI input
  • Creating audio-only AVI files for industrial playback systems that are locked to the AVI container format
  • Converting raw test bench recordings to AVI for compatibility with Windows Media Player on factory floor PCs
  • Packaging raw intercom recordings as AVI for insertion into existing AVI-based surveillance archives
  • Preparing raw audio captures for legacy media management systems that index only AVI files

How It Works

FFmpeg reads the raw PCM stream with explicit format parameters: `-f s16le -ar 44100 -ac 2` for signed 16-bit little-endian stereo at 44.1 kHz. The PCM data is written into an AVI container using the RIFF structure with a `fmt ` chunk describing the audio format and a `data` chunk containing the interleaved samples. By default, the audio is stored as uncompressed PCM within AVI (codec tag 0x0001). Alternatively, `-c:a mp3` or `-c:a ac3` can compress the audio within the AVI container. An AVI index chunk (`idx1`) is appended for seeking support.

Quality & Performance

When stored as uncompressed PCM within AVI, quality is identical to the raw source — no encoding or compression occurs. The conversion simply adds a RIFF header to the existing sample data. If a lossy codec (MP3, AC3) is chosen for the AVI audio stream, standard codec quality considerations apply. The AVI container itself introduces no quality degradation.

FFMPEG EngineFastMinimal Quality Loss

Device Compatibility

DeviceRAW AudioAVI
Windows PCPartialNative
macOSPartialPartial
iPhone/iPadPartialPartial
AndroidPartialPartial
LinuxPartialPartial
Web BrowserNoNo

Recommended Settings by Platform

Spotify

Resolution: N/A

Bitrate: 320 kbps

OGG Vorbis preferred

Apple Music

Resolution: N/A

Bitrate: 256 kbps

AAC format required

SoundCloud

Resolution: N/A

Bitrate: 128 kbps

Lossless FLAC/WAV for best quality

Podcast

Resolution: N/A

Bitrate: 128 kbps

MP3 mono for spoken word

Tips for Best Results

  • 1Use WAV instead of AVI for audio-only content unless your downstream system specifically requires AVI containers
  • 2For compressed AVI audio, MP3 provides the best balance of compatibility and file size reduction
  • 3Verify that your target system can handle audio-only AVI files — some players expect a video stream and may behave unexpectedly
  • 4The RIFF 2 GB limit applies to uncompressed PCM in AVI — for very long recordings, use WAV64 or FLAC instead
  • 5Add metadata markers via FFmpeg's `-metadata` flags to document the recording source and original raw parameters

Raw audio to AVI conversion wraps headerless binary samples in Microsoft's RIFF container, providing the metadata and indexing needed for playback on legacy systems and integration into AVI-based media workflows.

Frequently Asked Questions

AVI and WAV both use the RIFF structure, but AVI is required by certain industrial media systems and video editing pipelines. If your downstream system only accepts AVI, this conversion provides compatibility.
No, when using uncompressed PCM audio within AVI. The samples are preserved bit-for-bit. Quality loss only occurs if you choose a lossy audio codec like MP3 for the AVI audio stream.
Yes. You can encode the audio as MP3, AC3, or other codecs within the AVI container. However, uncompressed PCM is the default and provides maximum quality and compatibility.
No. The output is an audio-only AVI file with no video stream. Most players will handle this correctly, though some may display a blank video window.
Standard AVI has a 2 GB file size limit due to the 32-bit RIFF structure. OpenDML (AVI 2.0) extends this, but for audio-only content, 2 GB represents roughly 3 hours of uncompressed 44.1 kHz stereo — sufficient for most use cases.

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