Xvid to OGV

How to Convert Xvid to OGV Online

1. Upload Your Xvid File: Click "+ Add Files" or drag and drop the.avi file produced by Xvid (Xvid is the encoder; the file extension is almost always.avi). Multiple files can be queued for batch conversion.
2. Pick a Quality Method: Under "File Compression" choose one of seven controls — Quality Preset (Highest to Lowest), Target file size (%), Specific file size, Constant Bitrate, Variable Bitrate, Constant Quality (CRF), or Constraint Quality. For Wikimedia Commons or general web use, Quality Preset → "Very High (Recommended)" gives a usable Theora result without needing to tune CRF.
3. Set Resolution and Trim (Optional): Under "Video resolution" keep original, pick a Preset Resolution (1920×1080, 1280×720, 854×480), enter Width × Height, or scale by Resolution Percentage. Under "Trim" switch from Unchanged to Time Range and enter a start time and duration to extract a single segment.
4. Convert and Download: Click Convert. Files are uploaded over an encrypted connection, processed on our servers, and deleted automatically after a few hours — no sign-up, no watermark, never shared. The output is a .ogv file with Theora video and Vorbis audio in an Ogg container.

Why Convert Xvid to OGV?

Xvid is an open-source MPEG-4 Part 2 (Advanced Simple Profile) encoder originally forked from OpenDivX in 2001 and almost always wrapped in an AVI container. OGV is an Ogg-container video using the Theora codec — a royalty-free format derived from On2's VP3, developed by the Xiph.Org Foundation, with libtheora 1.0 released in November 2008. Converting Xvid to OGV is mostly about license freedom, not quality: Theora is older and less efficient than VP9 or AV1, but it is the only free format Wikimedia Commons accepted alongside WebM for over a decade.

• Wikimedia Commons uploads — Commons accepts Ogg Theora, WebM (VP9/VP8/AV1), and MPEG-1/2 with a 5 GiB per-file limit. It rejects MP4/H.264 because of patent encumbrance, so an Xvid AVI must be transcoded to OGV or WebM before it can be uploaded.
• Royalty-free open-source projects — Theora has no active patent claims, making it suitable for FOSS distributions, public-domain archives, and projects that want to ship video without bundling MPEG-LA-licensed decoders.
• Legacy HTML5 fallback — Some long-running CMS templates still emit <source type="video/ogg"> alongside MP4 and WebM. Even with browser support shrinking, a Theora copy preserves that fallback chain.
• Linux distribution media — Stock GNOME Videos (Totem), VLC, and most GStreamer-based players decode Theora out of the box, while H.264 may require restricted-extras packages on Debian/Fedora derivatives.
• Educational and archival video — University libraries and the Internet Archive often store Theora copies because the format is unencumbered and stable enough for long-term preservation alongside a modern encoding.
• Avoid re-licensing for redistribution — If you are republishing footage and don't want to track MPEG-4 ASP / Xvid licensing terms downstream, OGV sidesteps the question entirely.

Xvid (.avi) vs OGV — Format Comparison

Browser Playback Status — Theora (Per caniuse)

Source: caniuse.com/ogv. The Ogg container itself is not deprecated; only the Theora video codec was dropped. For modern web playback, WebM is now the standard royalty-free alternative.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is my source file .avi if it's Xvid?

Xvid is a codec (an encoder/decoder), not a container. Encoders almost always wrap Xvid streams in an AVI file because that was the dominant choice when Xvid emerged in 2001-2003 as a free fork of OpenDivX. The file extension is .avi; the codec inside is reported by tools like MediaInfo as "MPEG-4 Visual" or "Xvid." The converter accepts the.avi upload and re-encodes the video to Theora.

Can modern browsers still play OGV?

Mostly no. Chrome disabled Theora by default in version 120 (March 2024) and Edge followed in version 122. Firefox removed support entirely in version 130. Safari has never supported it. As of 2024-2026, only Firefox for Android, older Opera, and a few niche browsers play .ogv natively. For a video that needs to play in a <video> tag today, convert to WebM instead.

Then why would I still convert to OGV in 2026?

Two real reasons. First, Wikimedia Commons still lists Ogg Theora as one of three accepted upload formats (alongside WebM and MPEG-1/2) and explicitly refuses H.264/H.265 to stay royalty-free. Second, archival workflows that committed to free formats years ago continue to receive Theora deposits for consistency. For everything else, WebM (VP9 or AV1) is the better target.

How big will the OGV be compared to the Xvid AVI?

For the same perceived quality at 1080p, expect a Theora OGV to be roughly the same size or up to ~30% larger than a well-encoded Xvid AVI. Xvid (MPEG-4 ASP) is moderately efficient; Theora is older and less efficient than VP9 or H.264. If file size matters more than format freedom, Xvid to MP4 (H.264) or Xvid to WebM (VP9) will give you a smaller file at equal quality.

What audio codec ends up in the OGV?

Vorbis. The Ogg container pairs Theora video with Vorbis audio (or Opus, also from Xiph). The converter transcodes the Xvid file's audio track — typically MP3 inside the AVI — to Vorbis. If the source has no audio track, the OGV will be silent (no fake audio is inserted).

Is there a quality difference between Quality Preset "Very High" and Constant Quality (CRF)?

Yes. Quality Preset maps to fixed Theora -q levels under the hood (roughly 0-10) and is calibrated for predictable output. Constant Quality (CRF) lets you pick a target perceptual quality and let the encoder vary bitrate to hit it. For a quick conversion, Preset "Very High" is fine. If you're comparing encodings or matching a reference, Constant Quality with a specific value gives more control.

Can I trim the video while converting?

Yes. Under "Trim" switch from Unchanged to Time Range, enter a Start time (HH:MM:SS) and a Duration. Only that segment is encoded to the OGV, which saves processing time and shrinks the output. To remove silent leaders or trailers from camcorder Xvid footage, this avoids running a separate trim pass.

Does this also work for AVI files that aren't Xvid?

Yes. The pipeline accepts AVI containers regardless of the codec inside (DivX, MJPEG, Microsoft Video 1, uncompressed, etc.) and re-encodes to Theora. If you specifically have a non-Xvid AVI, Convert AVI to WebM is the more modern target; OGV is only worth picking when Wikimedia Commons or strict royalty-free policy is the destination.

Can I batch convert multiple Xvid files at once?

Yes. Use "+ Add Files" to queue several.avi uploads in the same session. Each file is processed independently, and you can mix conversion settings per file. Files stay withon our servers for the duration of the conversion — they aren't kept on the server long-term.