avi to mp4 wihtout converting

[fatbottoms]

is it possible to put an avi file into a mp4 container without actually converting it?

Converting the files take forever.

All I'm trying to do is to add avi movie files into my itunes.

[t0nee1]

Unless your avi contains h.264 (which I doubt), no..Not w/o converting it..

[yoda313]

All I'm trying to do is to add avi movie files into my itunes.

A couple of choices:

Try a different program unless you are ultimately going to copy them to an ipod - if so then it has to be converted to something your particular ipod version can play. By different program I mean if you are streaming to something else or simply playing on your computer there are a ton of capable programs other than itunes that offer greater flexibility in terms of file compatibility.

The other thing to do is check the internet for hacks to import avi into itunes. Of course backup your registry if they are registry hacks. Those would allow direct importation of your files without preconversion. Though results vary and may not be of very good quality. But again they'd still have to be converted to play directly on an ipod/ipad - it needs to conform to the hardware players specifications.

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The other options include getting a source that is directly compatible for ipods. Many if not most capture cards these days have recording profiles for ipods. It depends on your capture device but you should have an output option to record directly to an ipod format. Then you simply copy that to itunes and upload to the player.

Lastly your best option failing the above is to get a faster computer. That is the only thing that will speed up conversions. However even that has a limitation. Its always best to convert once instead of multiple times. If this was from a dvd for instance its best to convert directly from the original dvd to your ipod format the first time instead of an intermediate step. Best quality in that route and less time and space required.

[jagabo]

MP4 supports MPEG 4 part 2 (Divx/Xvid) video too. Try AviDemux or Yamb.

[Xpenguin17]

I recall a command-line tool named AVI2AVC.

[Ai Haibara]

Can you remux the audio and video streams of an AVI into an MP4? Yes, although not all of the formats may technically be allowed in the MP4 container.

Will iTunes accept the remuxed MP4? Probably not, even IF the video stream is encoded with h.264.

iTunes tends to be strict on the way videos are encoded, so you'll probably need to re-encode, regardless.