AVI
AVI is Microsoft’s mid-90s video container. It still appears in old camcorder footage, screen recorders, and archived family clips. AVI lacks modern codec features (no proper streaming, no chapters, oversized files) and is rejected by Instagram, TikTok, and most modern editors — converting it to MP4 is almost always the right move.
MP4
MP4 (MPEG-4 Part 14) is the most widely supported video container on the planet. It packs H.264 or H.265 video with AAC audio into a single file that plays natively on iPhone, Android, Windows, macOS, web browsers, smart TVs, and every modern editor. Use MP4 when you need a finished, shareable video that will just work, anywhere, without re-encoding.