Convert AVI to RAR

A file-transfer service, storage system, or recipient may require RAR, and splitting a large AVI into download-sized parts can make delivery easier. Creating a RAR archive preserves the AVI; it does not convert the video into another playback format.

What the AVI format is

AVI (Audio Video Interleave) is a multimedia container introduced by Microsoft and used by older Windows capture programs, cameras, screen recorders, and video editors. It can contain video and audio encoded with codecs such as DivX, Xvid, MJPEG, or uncompressed formats. VLC, MPC-HC, and many Windows editing applications can open AVI files when the required codecs are available.

What the RAR format is

RAR is a compressed archive format for bundling files, reducing storage overhead, encrypting contents, and dividing an archive into volumes. A RAR archive can contain one AVI or multiple files, but it is not a playable video container; extract the AVI before opening or editing it.

WinRAR is the usual desktop application for creating RAR files. RAR5 supports solid compression, multi-volume archives, recovery records, and AES-256 encryption. 7-Zip can extract RAR archives but cannot create them, so it is not a complete tool for this operation.

How to create a RAR archive

Using WinRAR on Windows

1. Install WinRAR from the official RARLAB website and open File Explorer.
2. Right-click video.avi and select WinRAR → Add to archive....
3. Choose RAR or RAR5 under Archive format. Choose RAR if the recipient may use an old extractor that does not support RAR5.
4. Select Normal or Fast compression. Video codecs usually have already compressed the data, so maximum compression often saves little while taking longer.
5. To split the result, enter a value such as 700M or 4G in Split to volumes, size. Keep every resulting part for extraction.
6. For password protection, select Set password..., enter the password twice, and enable Encrypt file names when the filenames and folder structure must also be hidden. Add a recovery record under the archive options if recovery from damaged volumes is needed.
7. Click OK. WinRAR creates video.rar or a set such as video.part1.rar, video.part2.rar, and so on.

Using the RAR command line

The RAR command-line utility from RARLAB can create the archive without the graphical interface:

rar a -m5 video.rar video.avi

Use volume sizes with:

rar a -m5 -v4g video.rar video.avi

Prompt for a password and encrypt archive headers with:

rar a -hp video.rar video.avi

Extract with WinRAR, UnRAR, or another application that supports the selected RAR version. For a multi-volume set, place all parts in one folder and open the first part, such as video.part1.rar.

Using an online tool

A browser service such as ezyZip's RAR creator can package a small, non-sensitive AVI when installing software is not possible. Check its current operation and output carefully: some online archive services create ZIP or 7z files rather than RAR, and others upload the source file to their servers. Avoid online services for confidential or very large videos unless their retention, size, and encryption policies meet your requirements; local WinRAR avoids upload and download limits.

Quality and compatibility limits

RAR compression is lossless. Extracting the archive reproduces the original AVI byte for byte, so resolution, codec, bitrate, and playback quality do not change. Because DivX, Xvid, and many other AVI codecs already compress video, the RAR file may be only slightly smaller; MJPEG or uncompressed AVI can provide greater savings.

Splitting does not reduce the total data and requires every volume for extraction. RAR5 may fail with older archive utilities. A password-protected archive cannot be recovered if the password is lost, and archive encryption does not repair a damaged or unplayable AVI.