Convert WAV to AVI — Free Online Converter

WAV stores uncompressed PCM audio in Microsoft's RIFF container. AVI (Audio Video Interleave), also a Microsoft RIFF-based format introduced in 1992, is one of the oldest multimedia container formats still in use. AVI interleaves audio and video data in alternating chunks, and while it was designed as a video container, it can hold audio-only streams.

Converting WAV to AVI wraps the audio inside an AVI container, typically for compatibility with legacy video editing software, older Windows applications, or hardware devices that only accept AVI input. Both WAV and AVI use the RIFF structure, making this conversion a straightforward container operation.

Some legacy video editing systems and hardware players only accept AVI files. Converting WAV audio to AVI allows you to import the audio into these systems. Older versions of Windows Movie Maker, VirtualDub, and certain industrial media players require AVI-formatted input for both audio and video content.

AVI is also commonly used in CCTV and surveillance systems. If you need to add an audio commentary or replacement audio track to a surveillance recording, providing the audio in AVI format ensures compatibility with the recording system's playback software.

FFmpeg reads the WAV PCM data and writes it into an AVI RIFF container. Since both WAV and AVI share the RIFF structure, the conversion creates AVI audio chunks from the WAV audio data. The audio can be stored as uncompressed PCM (preserving exact quality) or encoded to MP3 within AVI for compression. AVI uses a simple index at the end of the file for seeking, and the interleave structure means audio chunks are distributed throughout the file even without video.