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Format Description Properties
• ID: fdd000061
• Short name: AVI_Indeo
• Content categories: moving image
• Format category: file format
• Last significant update: 2004-05-03
Identification and description 
| Full name | AVI (Audio Video Interleaved), Indeo Video Codec |
| Description | File format that wraps an Indeo video bitstream with other data chunks, e.g., audio. Indeo versions 3.1 and 3.2 employ vector quantization; versions 4 and 5 use forms of wavelet compression. |
| Production phase | Generally a middle-state format (often used as the video source when producing lower-resolution streaming versions); may be used as a final-state format for enduser delivery. |
| Relationship to other formats | |
| Subtype of | AVI |
| May contain | Indeo_3 video codec |
| May contain | Indeo_4 video codec, not separately documented |
| May contain | Indeo_5 video codec |
| May contain | WAVE audio (interleaved with video) |
| May contain | MP3_CBR (constant bit rate) audio (interleaved with video) |
Local use
| LC experience or existing holdings | American Memory produced AVI_Indeo files in 1992 and 1993, using version 3.1 or 3.2 of the Indeo codec, options set at 15 fps and 320x240 pixels, and yielding a data rate of about 188 Kb/s. These AVI files were retired and replaced by MPEG-1 and QuickTime files in 1994 and 1995. |
| LC preference | See AVI |
Sustainability factors
| Disclosure | See AVI, Indeo_3, and Indeo_5. |
| Documentation | See AVI, Indeo_3, and Indeo_5. |
| Adoption | AVI is widely adopted for video production and filemaking; commentator John McGowan writes, "Indeo R3.2 is one of the default Video for Windows codecs." |
| Licensing and patent claims | See AVI, Indeo_3, and Indeo_5. |
| Transparency | See Indeo_3 and Indeo_5. |
| Self-documentation | See AVI |
| External dependencies | See AVI |
| Technical protection considerations | See AVI |
Quality and functionality factors (video)
| Normal rendering | Good support. |
| Clarity (support for high image resolution) | Moderate to very good, given that this is a format typically used for compression and does not support interlaced video. Outcome will depend on the version of Indeo employed, the extent of compression, and the encoder used. High resolution work is limited in the Windows environment due to file size limits (2 GB with FAT 16 technology; theoretical 8 GB with later technologies). |
| Fidelity (support for high audio resolution) | See AVI |
| Support for multiple sound channels | See AVI |
| Functionality beyond normal video rendering | See AVI |
File type signifiers
| Tag type | Value | Note |
| Filename Extension | avi | |
| Internet Media Type | See AVI | |
| Magic numbers | See AVI | |
| Microsoft FOURCC | IV32, IV41, IV50 | See the Microsoft registry, which also lists a number of additional IV FOURCCs. John McGowan states that IV32 is generally used for Indeo 3; IV41 for Indeo 4, and IV50 for Indeo 5. |
Notes
Format specifications
URLs
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Useful references
URLs
• John McGowan's AVI Overview (http://www.jmcgowan.com/avi.html)
• John McGowan's AVI Audio and Video Codecs (http://www.jmcgowan.com/avicodecs.html)
• Microsoft registry of FOURCC codes and WAVE format indicators (http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/dnwmt/html/registeredfourcccodesandwaveformats.asp). The archived 2001 version of this registry is at http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/archive/fourcc.mspx.
• Gary Kessler's File Signatures Table (http://www.garykessler.net/library/file_sigs.html).
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Last Updated: 03/ 7/2007
