The beauty of
VLC is that it is an open-source software program. The problem with it is that it can't decode every preparatory format.
AVI = Audio Video Interleave file format, it's really an envelope for stuffing audio and video in together with as far as I know, no other standards*. The codecs needed to decode and AVI file, are actually the important part. Technically, any audio/video file could be made AVI, and it should be easy to turn any AVI file into its native format by decompressing* the file and by removing the header and footer. In the header it states that it is an AVI file with a string of hex, then in it states the decompression routine/codec needed, then information needed by the decoder, and then the file should follow.
There is also no guarantee as to the content of the file that is it could contain a text file, an exe, or something other than audio and video information. Hey, it’s already told the computer that it is a media file, so what’s to worry. So a tricky little person could design a codec...better yet a codec and a special player. This player uses the codec to play the AVI files and display advertising, guarantee your age, or delete the file afterwards- what ever. This could be good for both you and the company. They could even send statistics back to some company that could better target you, though the email your provided – adware. Or worse yet, they could build up trust with anybody using the codec and player, and then one day, it gets a movie that contains a bit of malicious code that the player executes while a person watches some interesting content.
All of this aside, the AVI idea is really noble. It allows technology and compression technologies to move forward and it allows information about how to decode (and to get the decoder) the file to be included in the media. It allows enterprising programmers to utilize the format as part of a content delivery system that can incorporate DRM or features to insure its content is what the creator intended. It also allows irritating little nits to use social engineering in conjunction with software to screw with people’s information and data.
Trust me, at some point, this kind of trick will affect OSX users in mass. For now, this kind of social and software engineering is targeted at Windows users.
(*I don’t think it provides for any compression needs)
