The footage from a sewer inspection arrives as a file, and the file is often in a format the recipient’s device will not open. Budget reels record AVI; many mid-range reels record MP4; professional systems record MP4 or a proprietary container that needs the maker’s software. This guide explains what each is and how to open it.
Quick answer: MP4 opens on anything and is what to ask for. AVI opens on Windows and in VLC on anything but not natively on most phones; convert it to MP4 with a free tool before sharing. MOV opens on Apple devices and in VLC. Proprietary formats from professional systems need the maker’s viewer, which is usually free; ask the inspector to export MP4. Keep the original file untouched and convert a copy.
What reels record
Budget and mid-range reels with a built-in DVR record to a microSD or SD card. The common formats are AVI, usually with a Motion JPEG or older MPEG-4 codec, and MP4 with an H.264 codec. Stills are JPEG. Professional systems from RIDGID, Envirosight and others record MP4 or a proprietary project file that bundles video, stills, counter data and notes, with an export to MP4 and PDF. Recording formats and SD cards covers what to expect from a given reel.
MP4
The format everything opens. Windows, Mac, iPhone, Android, every browser and every messaging app plays an H.264 MP4. If a reel offers a choice, choose MP4. If an inspector offers a choice, ask for MP4.
AVI
An older Windows container. Windows Media Player and the Windows Photos app open it; Mac QuickTime often does not; phones usually do not. VLC, which is free for every platform, opens any AVI a sewer camera produces. For sharing, convert to MP4.
MOV
Apple’s container. Opens on Mac and iPhone natively and in VLC elsewhere. Less common from sewer reels but produced by some monitors and by anyone who recorded the screen with a phone.
Proprietary formats
Professional systems may deliver a project file that only the maker’s software reads. The software is usually a free download, and it shows the counter, notes and stills alongside the video. For anyone else to see the footage, the inspector exports an MP4 and a PDF report from it, and that is what to request.
Opening a file that will not play
Install VLC. It is free, it plays AVI, MP4, MOV and most codecs a camera produces, and it runs on Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android. If VLC shows a picture but no sound, the file has audio in a codec the device lacks; the picture is what matters. If VLC shows nothing, the file is corrupted or is a proprietary project; ask for an export.
Converting AVI to MP4
HandBrake is free and converts any AVI to an H.264 MP4 in a few minutes. Use the default preset, keep the original resolution, and do not reduce the quality setting; the pipe wall detail is what the file is for. VLC can also convert through its media menu. Always convert a copy and keep the original file unchanged.
File sizes
A 1080P AVI runs to several gigabytes an hour; an MP4 of the same footage is a fraction of that. A full inspection is too large for email in either format. Share through a cloud link, a shared drive or a file transfer service, and send a short trimmed clip of the finding by message if the recipient needs it quickly. Sharing the footage covers the options.
Trimming
To cut a clip of a finding, open the file in the Windows Photos app, QuickTime on a Mac or VLC, mark the start and end, and export. Keep the counter visible in the clip. Save the clip with the distance in the filename.
Keeping the original
The file on the card is the evidence. Copy it to a computer and to a cloud backup before converting, trimming or deleting anything, and keep the card until the copies are confirmed. A dispute over a repair years later is settled by the original footage, not by a trimmed clip.
Naming and storing the files
A card from a budget reel produces files named by a number, and six months later nobody knows which is which. Rename them as soon as they are copied: the address, the date, the entry point and the camera direction, with the finding and its distance for a trimmed clip. Keep the stills in the same folder as the video they came from. Store one copy on a computer and one in a cloud account, and if the inspection was for a purchase, give the buyer a copy on a drive or a shared link rather than relying on the inspector’s own storage. Inspectors change software and go out of business; the owner of the house is the one who needs the file in ten years.
Playing back on the reel
Many reels can play recordings back on their own screen, and some have a speaker for the audio. That is useful at the cleanout to show a homeowner, and it is the quickest way to confirm the recording worked before the card leaves the site. It is not a substitute for copying the file off the card.
Common questions
Why will my phone not play the inspection video?
It is almost certainly an AVI file. Install VLC on the phone, or convert the file to MP4 on a computer and send it again.
Does converting lose quality?
A small amount, and not enough to matter if the quality setting is left at default. Keep the original anyway.
Can I open the file from a professional system?
Not without the maker’s software. Ask the inspector for an MP4 export and a PDF report.
Related guides
See stills vs video in a report, when the camera screen loses video, and AHD vs 1080P sewer cameras.