Method 1: Convert AVI to QuickTime compatible formatsĬonverting AVI to Mac QuickTime file format makes AVI video files playable on all of the native Mac video programs. To be able to watch AVI on Mac, here are some methods for your reference. If you want the freedom to play AVI files on Mac, you must enable the Mac's OS X operating system so it can recognize AVI video files. Even as for Apple's QuickTime media player, unfortunately, the free version of QuickTime is not compatible with all types of AVI video files on Mac. The AVI file format is heavily used on PCs, but can't be used on a Mac computer. Want to stream video from the collection in AVI on Mac or transfer to a portable Apple iOS device? The AVI format, short for Audio video interleave, was first developed by Microsoft in the early 1990s.