Dash cam and avi files

[DaveS]

I recently acquired a small dash cam, and when I plug the little card into my MacBook Air, it shows a bunch of files with consecutive numbers and all with the avi extension, but some show a picture thumbnail and play with Quicktime, and some do not. Anyone know how to get the others to play? Or are they the same thing in a different format?

 

[chas_m]

The AVI files are the higher-resolution version of the thumbnail videos.

You can use free viewers like VLC or IINA to view .avi files, or convert them to MP4 files as a batch with tools like Handbrake.

 

[DaveS]

Thanks for the reminder. I should have thought of trying VLC. It's not that there's anything worth looking at (at least so far), but mostly I'm curious about why there are two file types on the disk that appear identical except for the number and the icon. But I realize that's not the purview of this forum.

 

[chas_m]

Turning extensions on will reveal the answer.

 

[DaveS]

The extensions are the same. That's what is odd about it. Toggling "Hide extension" in the info window doesn't seem to do anything. Anyhow, VLC works if I should need to view them.