Recently I downloaded some new movies.it is in .avi format. I am not able to view these as it says open in windows media player.I tried in all codecs but still the same message.tried in windows media player too but all in vain.. help

There are 2 options in this case

1. download divx
2. download a converter

Hope I helped :)

Use VLC player: VideoLAN - VLC media player - Open Source Multimedia Framework and Player

I would use the converter
It's easy

Just convert it to the format you need

With VLC you just play the file, what could be easier?
Any conversion takes time and degrades the video.

Lol,This isn't a competition.
A new media player changes files and stuff.
A converter is just for 1 file.

The technical, plain english answer:

Avi files aren't normally supported by windows media player.

This leaves you with two options:

1) Codecs

2) Players

There are a number of players, both free and paid. VLC is probably the best of the bunch and it is free. It can be installed to support almost all known media formats. The only issue you may encounter is trouble with subtitles.

If you go to the DivX website, you will see that they (the developers of the avi format) have their own player available. It works fine, however it isn't as stable as VLC.

You can install codecs. These can be paid for, but there are a few free ones. If you install the k-lite codec pack, it will make almost all known media formats playable through WMP. This includes stuff that you only thought worked in programs like itunes, quicktime, and real player. This reduces the amount of software you install on your computer. I wouldn't say it is as stable as VLC, however it is more than suitable. If you want, you can just install the DivX codec from their site, rather than installing the mass provided through klite.

There is the option of converting, but there are thousands of programs to choose from in that area. Plus you have to deal with possible quality loss and corruption. Even when you know exactly what you are doing, converting a 2 hour movie will take a minimum of 30 minutes, some actually take longer than the film itself.

If you need links, or want to know more about what you can do, just ask.

You may take a look at this step by step guide, it will teach you how to fix the AVI video playback problem, it's easy to understand and works pretty well for me.