BMP to AVI Converter

How to Convert BMP to AVI Online

1. Upload Your BMP Files: Drag and drop or click "Add Files" to select BMP (Windows Bitmap) images from your computer. Batch is supported — drop in a single bitmap for a one-frame clip, a handful for a slideshow, or a numbered render sequence (frame_00001.bmp through frame_NNNNN.bmp) captured from a microscope, simulation, or legacy industrial camera. The Merge Type control combines all files into one AVI or emits a separate AVI per BMP.
2. Pick a Video Codec and Quality Preset: Default is Xvid — the codec DivX/Xvid-certified hardware decodes natively, which is the usual reason to pick AVI in the first place. Switch to DivX or MPEG-4 (Part 2) for the same legacy profile, MSMPEG4 for Windows Media-era hardware, H.264 or H.265 / HEVC if your AVI playback target is a modern PC, or MJPEG / HuffYUV for visually lossless intra-frame archival of scientific captures. Quality presets range Lowest → Highest, or set a custom CRF (0-51 for H.264, 0-63 for VP9/AV1, lower = higher quality; 18-23 is visually lossless), QSCALE 1-31 for the MPEG-4 family (lower = better), target a fixed file size in MB, or lock a constant or variable bitrate in kbps / Mbps.
3. Set Image Duration, Resolution, and Background Color (Optional): Choose how long each BMP displays — from 1/60 second (60 fps timelapse) up to 10 seconds per slide for a calm photo show. Pick a resolution preset (240P, 360P, 480P, 576P PAL, 720P, 1080P, 1440P, 2160P / 4K, all the way to 8K / 4320P) or a custom width × height. Set a background color (Black, White, or any of 24 named colors) for letterbox/pillarbox bars when bitmaps don't match the output aspect, and use Image Drop Frames or Video Trim to subset a long capture sequence.
4. Convert and Download: Click Convert. Files process in your browser session and download as a single .avi — no sign-up, no watermark, no cap on the number of input bitmaps. Drop the file on a FAT32 USB stick or burn to DVD-R as a data disc for a certified DivX/Xvid player.

Why Convert BMP to AVI?

BMP (Windows Bitmap) is the uncompressed raster format Microsoft introduced in 1985 — every pixel stored verbatim, no DCT, no palette tricks unless asked for. AVI (Audio Video Interleave) is the container Microsoft introduced in 1992 alongside Video for Windows. Both are first-party Microsoft formats with deep roots in Windows tooling, which is exactly why scientific instruments, legacy CAD pipelines, and old screen-capture utilities still emit BMP sequences and target AVI on the way out — the tooling already exists, the certified hardware already plays AVI, and the workflow predates H.264. Common reasons to wrap a BMP sequence into an AVI:

• DivX/Xvid-certified DVD players and set-top boxes (2003-2015) — Philips, Pioneer, Sony, Samsung, and Panasonic shipped DVD players with the orange "DivX" logo, and the certification covers the Xvid bitstream inside an AVI container. Burn the converted .avi to a DVD-R as data and the player reads it like any DivX disc — useful for relatives' setups or basement home theaters that won't accept an MP4.
• Car head units and aftermarket DVD/USB receivers — Pioneer AVH-series, Kenwood DDX-series, and JVC KW-series in-dash units from 2005-2014 are DivX-certified and scan FAT32 USB sticks for .avi files. A BMP slideshow at 4 seconds per slide becomes a Xvid AVI that plays on the dashboard screen.
• Scientific imaging and microscopy — Confocal microscopes, electron microscopes, and high-speed industrial cameras frequently emit numbered BMP sequences because BMP preserves every pixel. Wrapping 500 frames at 1/30 second produces a 16-second AVI for paper supplements; pick HuffYUV inside AVI when reviewers need bit-exact playback for measurement.
• Legacy Windows pipelines and home-theater PCs — Older CAD tools, simulation software, and Windows XP-era HTPCs (Media Center, MPC-HC playlists) standardized on AVI. Converting new BMP captures to AVI keeps a single decoder profile across the existing library.
• Stop-motion and rendered animation from BMP frames — 3D pipelines (3ds Max, early Lightwave, older Blender exports) sometimes target BMP for lossless single-pass output. Set 1/12 or 1/24 second per frame to assemble cinematic stop-motion or hand-drawn animation directly to a Xvid AVI for DVD authoring.
• Compressing a bitmap archive into one shareable file — A single 4K BMP runs 30+ MB; 200 of them are unusable as email attachments. One Xvid or H.264 AVI of the same 200 images at 3 seconds each is one playable file, often under 50 MB, and the recipient just presses play.

If you want a modern container instead of AVI, see BMP to MP4; for a generic image-to-video flow with format choice, see BMP to video; to extract bitmaps back out of a finished video, see video to BMP.

BMP vs AVI — Format Comparison

Codec Choice Inside AVI — Quick Guide

Image Duration and Frame Rate Quick Guide

Frequently Asked Questions

Why pick AVI in 2026 instead of MP4?

AVI is the right answer in exactly one situation: the playback target is hardware that wants AVI. DivX/Xvid-certified DVD players, set-top boxes, and car DVD systems made between 2003 and 2015 have an MPEG-4 ASP decoder chip and scan only .avi files on a FAT32 stick or DVD-R. Windows XP-era HTPCs and many Windows Media-era playlist tools also default to AVI. For phones, modern smart TVs, social platforms, and the open web, BMP to MP4 produces a smaller file at the same visual quality and plays everywhere without a codec pack.

Should I pick Xvid, DivX, or MPEG-4 inside the AVI?

DivX-certified hardware decodes Xvid, DivX, and plain MPEG-4 (Part 2) — the certification covers the shared MPEG-4 ASP profile. Pick Xvid for new conversions when you want an open-source encoder. Pick DivX when you're matching an existing DivX library and want consistent profile flags (QPEL, GMC). Drop down to MPEG-4 baseline for pre-2004 certified devices that reject Xvid/DivX-flagged streams.

Can the AVI hold H.264 or H.265?

Yes — the AVI container is codec-agnostic, so H.264 and H.265 streams are valid inside it, and modern PC players (VLC, MPC-HC) decode them without issue. The catch is that almost no DivX/Xvid-certified DVD player or car head unit accepts H.264-in-AVI; if certified hardware is the target, stay on Xvid/DivX/MPEG-4. If the target is just a modern PC, BMP to MP4 is the more standard wrapper for H.264/H.265.

How long will my AVI be if I upload N BMPs?

Output duration = number of images × image duration. 60 BMPs at 4 seconds each = 240 seconds (4 minutes). 1,800 microscope frames at 1/30 second = 60 seconds. The setting is per-image and applied uniformly to every BMP in the upload list, so plan duration around the total frame count.

Does the order of images in the AVI follow the upload order?

Yes — BMPs appear in the AVI in the order they're listed on the upload screen (typically alphabetical by filename). Numbered sequences like frame_00001.bmp through frame_00500.bmp sort correctly without manual reordering. Drag rows to reorder before clicking Convert if you need a different sequence.

What happens if my BMPs are different resolutions or aspect ratios?

Each frame is scaled to fit the chosen output resolution while preserving its source aspect ratio. Empty space is filled with the background color (letterbox for tall sources in a wide frame, pillarbox for wide sources in a tall frame). For consistent results without padding, resize BMP all images to the same dimensions first, or pick the Original resolution preset to keep each bitmap's native size.

Will the file fit on a single DVD-R or FAT32 USB stick?

A 720×576 Xvid AVI at 2000 kbps lands roughly 900 MB per hour of runtime — two hours fits inside a 4.7 GB DVD-R with room for a second feature. 1280×720 at 4000 kbps lands roughly 1.8 GB per hour. Format USB sticks as FAT32 (most certified players reject exFAT and NTFS), keep filenames under 64 characters, and stick to ASCII for older firmware.

What resolution should I pick for an old DVD player or car head unit?

Stay inside the device's DivX profile. Most 2003-2008 certified DVD players cap at 720×576 (PAL) or 720×480 (NTSC) — pick the matching preset. 2008-2012 certified TVs and head units handle up to 1280×720. DivX Plus HD certified TVs (2010+) handle 1920×1080. Going above the profile produces a file the player either rejects or stutters on.

Can I add an audio track to the slideshow?

The converter produces a silent .avi from BMP input — bitmaps carry no audio, so there's no source track to encode. The Audio Codec setting (MP3, AC-3, PCM) is exposed so the AVI is ready to accept a track when one is added; convert here first, then layer in music with merge it with a video editor (DaVinci Resolve, Shotcut, CapCut, Adobe Premiere).