Q: .AVI codecs that support retina display.

Is there one that works?

According to the Apple web site:

Motion JPEG (M-JPEG) up to 35 Mbps, 1280 by 720 pixels, 30 frames per second, audio in ulaw, PCM stereo audio in .avi file format

However, I don't know why anyone would want to waste storage space (35 Mbps is faster than a VC-1 BD playback rate and more than 150% faster than an MPEG-4/AVC BD playback rate) using Motion JPEG—especially with PCM audio—when more efficient H.264 video/AAC audio combinations in MOV, MP4, or M4V are natively supported or how you plan to sync such content since the latest iTunes version does not support import of AVI file containers nor will iPad Safari automatically open/play them as it does MOV, MP4, or M4V file containers when the URL is passed to it even if the iPad itself can play the AVI version as the Apple web site continues to indicate (but I am unable to confirm using Apple apps).

 

All was fine until the organiztion's PC went south (10years old). I am covering with my personal equipment until a replacement can be approved and aquired. As fate would have it I just recently replaced my dying MacBook Air with a !3' Retina MacBookPro.

Thanks for the apmplifying info. This is a "horse of a different color." Had thought you were referring to the "Retina" iPad. Platform display type should not make a difference, Mac OS X version, QT player version, and compression format(s) used in the AVI container make all the difference in the world here.

Basic question is whether or not you have installed Perian and the QT 7 player app on the new system. Perian plus the QT 7 player basically support most AVI compression formats currently compatible with Mac OS X operating systems. Remember AVI is a legacy file format that has not been supported by Microdoft for more than 11 years. Some PC codecs have never been transcoded for OS X or Mac Intel platform use, some AVI files simply cannot be played by the QT players.

I have been unable to get .avi video to play on the MacBook using QuickTime Player and Flip4Mac. Neither currently supports .AVI for Retina is my understanding. I am looking for a temporary solution to just time play .AVI files once and done.

The real question is "what compression formats are you trying to play?" and "in which QT player on your new system?" If both QT 7 and Perian are installed and if the QT X player cannot play the AVI file natively, it will normally ask the user if he or she wants to play the file in the QT 7 player. To further complicate matters, since the introduction of Lion, Apple has, by default, turned off legacy codecs used by the embedded QT structure which were normally used natively for AVI export.

If playback is all you are interested in, then VLC can be used for this purpose since it includes its own codec resources within the app. The QT 7 player plus the Perian codec package provides similar playback capabilities. On the other hand, if you want to play and/or convert common AVI codec content to QT compatible files without purchasing a commercial conversion app, then you can use Perian (for decoding) and either QT 7 Pro ($29 USD) or the free MPEG Streamclip app (for encoding to any available export codec for which your system is configured).