Help with converting .avi video files

[Will Collier]

Depends on what the elementary files in the .avi are. The fastest way is to use ffmpeg to drop them into a .mov or .mp4/.m4v. container while preserving the original audio and video. That assumes the original audio codecs fit within the container specs, if so you're done and good to go. If not you'll need to reencode, Handbrake is the easiest path there.

I put this script in Automator and made a Service out of it for changing containers:

for f in 
$@
do

/usr/local/Cellar/ffmpeg/4.0.2/bin/ffmpeg -i 
$f
 -vcodec copy -acodec copy -f mp4 
${f%.*}.m4v
done

You need to install ffmpeg first, and correct the directory for it accordingly, of course.