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What are THM files?

THM files are THuMbnails that are automatically generated alongside certain larger photo and video file types, such as Canon's RAW (.CRW) and movies (.AVI). The THM file format is essentially identical to the JPEG File Format (JFIF) -- in fact, renaming a suitable (i.e. small) .JPG image file to .THM effectively creates a THM thumbnail. Similarly, renaming a *.THM file to *.JPG will allow you to double-click and open in a photo viewer.

In addition to the compressed image data, a JPEG file contains a series of markers that carry useful metadata -- details about how the photo was taken, camera settings, etc. While most of this metadata is written by the camera itself, some items are done by the user by a catalog / photo browser program. These details include titles, descriptions, keywords and many other fields (even GPS coordinates!).

The specification of the JPEG (or THM) file format is openly published, and so inserting in additional metadata into a file is generally no problem. Unfortunately RAW file formats (e.g. .CRW or .CR2 in the case of Canon) are proprietary and not published. Therefore, it is very difficult (or risky) for a third-party program to make modifications to these files, such as the addition of metadata content.

Since Canon (and other manufacturers) realize that a) they want to keep their RAW format secret and b) they must allow some means for people to annotate the metadata, the solution is to create a "buddy file" mechanism. THM files are the buddy-files associated with Canon RAW files.

A .THM file is simply a small JPEG preview image that is used to house all of the writeable metadata content that would otherwise be written into the associated RAW file. The THM and RAW file must have exactly the same name, and any file operation (copy, move, delete) must be done to both in order to maintain the link.

Therefore, you might find a 20061015_1234.CRW along with a 20061015_1234.THM file in your image directory.


Why do you need to write metadata?

Ideally, you would have a writeable metadata format associated with all images in your database. This allows you to associate metadata (e.g. IPTC) with each image.

Advantages of being able to write the metadata:

  • Allows rebuild of catalog database categories should the database get corrupted
  • Allows export to another catalog program

RAW files require a buddy .THM file to accomplish this update with third-party utilities.

Can I delete THM files?

While these THM files might appear to clutter up your image directories, try to avoid the temptation in deleting them! Eventually, you may run into problems when managing the RAW files within a digital asset management program (photo catalog database), where you may want to associate additional metadata with the images.

If you did delete them, then please check out the article: recreating THM files from RAW.

Unfortunately, it's easy to accidentally delete these .THM files when you are working in an environment that isn't buddy-file aware (such as Windows XP). Most aware environments will perform the same operation on the original and associated buddy file (rename, copy, delete). Doing this outside such an editor can cause the association to become broken.

I discovered that a number of my older RAW files were missing the associated THM file, which was immediately flagged by catalog program as soon as I tried to open up an IPTC editor window.

 

Reader's Comments:

Please leave your comments or suggestions below!
2011-03-31Jonathan
 Hi, I have a Canon PowerShot SD780IS. I've noticed a few people want to copy videos from the computer and to the camera to play via TV out. This camera has mini-HDMI out, so it's pretty obvious why I would even consider putting movies on the camera. I have tried what you've suggested; convert the file to the same format that the camera can read (in my camera's case, the video is actually H.264 instead of MJPG, and the extension is MOV. the audio is still the same ol' 16-bit PCM) and copy over a THM from another MOV file. However, it just comes up as an "Unidentified Image." I even opened an MOV recorded from the camera in a text editor and noticed some Canon-related text at the end.

What the heck do I do?!
2011-01-07Joe Higham
 HI there - I tried copying an AVI file to my Canon Ixus95 IS, by using the methods above. The issue of how the camera recognises the AVI and THM combination is still there it seems.

"Once you have generated the .AVI file, we just need to create a suitable .THM file. Another poster has suggested that the camera doesn't actually use the JPEG image stored within the thumbnail file, so a quick solution may be to do the following:
• Encode your video and produce a .AVI file (e.g. MVI_1000.AVI)
• Copy a .THM file from another video produced by your digicam (e.g. MVI_0064.THM) and rename it to match the same initial filename as your encoded video (e.g. MVI_1000.THM).
• Copy both files (e.g. MVI_1000.AVI and MVI_1000.THM) onto your memory card.
• View the contents of the memory card with your digicam in Playback mode
Let me know if this works. I will have a look for suitable converters on the web to do the encoding part, and once I find a good one I'll create a page here that shows you how to do the steps in more detail. If you do manage to locate a converter (e.g. with a free trial) and complete the steps above, please let me know -- and I'll help you get it working if there are any troubles."

I completed the steps above, the THM file I copied (which was originally created by the camera itself) was renamed as per the AVI file I wished to play (conforming to the canon convention).

When I scrolled in camera to the newly copied file, it showed the correct filename, but a smaller version of the original THM thumnbail! It didn't show the option to play it, although recognised it as an AVI file. That would make sense. This camera
obviously does compare the THM file with the AVI file.

So - how to create a new THM file from an existing AVI file?

Thanks!!
 If the AVI file is from a Canon camera, then it is probably MotionJPEG which means that you can extract an individual frame from it using JPEGsnoop. Open up the AVI file, Search Forward, Extract JPEG (with "Insert MJPEG DHT" enabled), and then rename the extension from .JPG to .THM. This will give you a basic frame grab for the clip, but it is very likely that it will still be invalid from the perspective of the digicam (for example, it will be the wrong resolution for a THM). In order to completely solve this, I would have to do some testing, but may not be able to get to it for a little while.
2011-01-07Joe Higham
 Hi there, it's now 2011 and I've only just stumbled across this excellent resource! Brilliant program!

The question relating to how best to copy an avi fail to a canon camera, and allow it to play on it - did people ever respond with their findings?

thanks!

>Joe
2011-01-03MB
 I have just looked at the 'hidden' files in my 'sorting' folder in Bridge, where I download all my files before renaming by date/time and organising into files.

It shows that I have now got 68 THM files from various dates so I can locate their associated videos but it's not exactly a quick matter as they are all in different folders.

I'm confused as to why the THM files didn't
a) rename with their video files and
b) move with them as it seems to only be recent videos that are here and I've certainly moved past videos which haven't left a THM file behind.

- Do you know any quick way in Bridge to link them back to their partners?
- Is there a setting I need to change to ensure that future videos will automatically rename and move with their partners?
2010-11-30Glenn Krcek
 I have also read your article on "What are THM files" and the rest of the article and find it very helpful and concise.

Thank you so much for providing this kind of information.
Glenn
2010-11-29Lawson
 If I understand correctly, a .jpg file has metadata within it. And, a RAW file (speaking Canon 30D CR2 on Apple System) has no meta data contained within, thus requiring the THM file for meta data.

If I don't want or need the meta data, trash the THM, or if I shoot while capturing both a .jpg and raw image, I have a link back to THM information without having to save the THM file. Correct?

Also, the longer term problem, after about 10k photos, i think, my camera starts over at image 0001. What are the implications when I have two images raw with the same name, resolution, etc, yet taken years apart. How does my folder full of images recognize these are two different images?

If I have a photo, I generally leave it in a folder related to the date, or I may use iPhoto. If iPhoto, and a raw file, I think I am danger of overwriting the file of the same name. The .jpg file seems to protect me to some degree, as the meta data is distinct. I feel that I am going to overwhelm iPhoto quickly, any other suggestions for a browsable library that can handle 20,000 plus images? As live goes on, my images continue to grow in quantity.

Also, for clarity, seems many missed the idea that a file.thm can be changed to file.jpg by simply changing the last 3 letters. That was interesting. Thanks for all your great information.

Pitty that AVI's don't save meta data within, if I understood correctly. Do MP4, or .MOV files store meta data? Having that little extra file to track, and move with everything could become quite tedious without the right strategy.
 The link between RAW and THM is simply by filename. If you delete the associated THM files, you will generally lose all of the associated metadata. When taking photos on cameras that use 4 digits for the image number, it is certainly expected that the image counter will wrap at some point. This is why it is essential to either relocate the images into separate folders (which makes the files unique by folder hierarchy) or rename the files with date or other unique identifiers (which makes the files unique irrespective of folder hierarchy). I am a strong supporter of using tools that automate the renaming / folder organization process, especially when paired with a careful file naming scheme. Have a look at my pages on file naming and folder hierarchy for more.
2010-10-18nancy
 I have a Canon Power Shot SD750. I accidentally had it on video mode and didn't realize it. Took a whole bunch of "pictures" and when I uploaded onto my computer realized they were video. When I opened "my pictures" the picture will say "no preview available" because it's an AVI file. My question is, how can I convert the AVI "pictures" to jpg so I can get the actual pictures???
2010-05-30Norma galvez
 Thank you so much for the info on Thm files. They are only extension of other files I already have. Thank you again. was really helpful
2010-04-02PATTYMEXICO
 All of a sudden when I replay videos they go really quickly like a cartoon or something. just replay quick quick. what did I do or how can I correct this I have a Cannon Powershot. tks
 Hi Patty -- I am guessing that you probably set your camera's video mode to "Time Lapse". Unfortunately, this is an easy mistake and there is no way of getting back the original footage if this was the case. We have done this accidentally many times on our trips!
2010-03-20Lara
 Hi!
I accidentally deleted the *.thm files associated with *.mov files of my Canon IXUS 100IS. Can I read them anyway? I can't read them...

Help me, please...
Thank you very much...
2009-12-19John
 Beware!! Vista changes or skips AVI files on backup. I lost the first 2 years of video of my toddler from my Canon camera by mistakenly leaving them in the default "Photo" folder under "My Documents". I recently had a hard drive crash and restored from my backup. All the video is gone and only the THM files remain!!!!!!!!!!!!
2009-11-29dean
 My daughter formatted her memory card accidentally and I had a friend recover her pic's. They are in THM. Is there a way to convert those to JPEG from THM without downloading a converter...if not which converter is bet? thanks
 The THM files do not contain the full-sized JPEG images, only a smaller JPEG "thumbnail" image. So, there is no way to convert the THM to JPEG in the sense you are after. You can often simply rename a .THM file to a .JPG file to convert, but that will only provide you with the low-resolution thumbnail image. The full-resolution JPEG images are probably elsewhere on the memory card. A more advanced recovery program may be able to locate those full-resolution images, so do not use the memory card any further as the more you continue to use it, the less likely it will be that further recovery will be successful.
2009-11-09SDC
 I just downloaded my first set of videos from my Canon Power Shot SX120 IS. It is getting frustrating. First, I downloaded without using the program that came on the solution disk - only they don't play correctly on MY computer - songs are great - video is slow motion.

THEN, AFTER reading the instruction manual I had to print, it has that you should use the program that came on the solution disk - which I did and now by using Zoom EX Browser, but will NOT play on Windows Media Player.

I can play the original videos I downloaded without using the camera's software on my husband's computer - everything is fine - but not on mine.

I hope this will upload to YouTube....we'll see.
2009-10-23cathy
 download xilisoft hd video converter and encode with the following parameters (scroll up -->responce to collin). covert it as Divx avi file. it works!!!
2009-06-25ruzi
 hi i have images from my sony camera and also have vedeo clips but i am able to play some of the vedeo clips but having problems playing thm files how is that i have some vedeo clips i can play and some i cant. how do i change it in to movie clips.
2009-05-03Daniel
 I have a canon powershot A470 and im trying to upload a video to my facebook and It just shows up and a THM file i need help making it an AVI file
2009-04-17eddo
 I have a Sony Ericsson W595 mobile phone, and some of my friends are downloading from Zedge.com themes for mobile phones,so I tried but i cant because my computer does not recognize those file (THM)...they offer me some free scans but thats no use....can someone solve my problem?????
2009-04-13Michelle W.
 Hi everyone,
I don't know if this info. will help anyone, but I've had similar problems with my new CanonPowerShot SX10IS - which saves the video as a MOV file type and only allows you to view the video with the CD that came with the camera, so I couldn't use Windows Media. After 2 long nights of goggling, reading lots of into and being totally frustrated that I wouldn't be able to use any of my video's in Windows Movie Maker - I finally found a solution. First, I downloaded QuickTime7 from> www.apple.com It's FREE & somehow became the defalut to all my MOV files. They do offer a Full-version for a purchase price but after reading all of the negative comments on the product, it wasn't worth it. With QuickTime7, I was then able to view my videos but still couldn't use Window's movie maker. Then I goggled MOV to AVI Converter and found > www.aone-video.com It does offer a FreeTrial which will convert several different file types into AVI and WMV & a host of other types. [the FreeTrial only converts half of the video - I know, what's the point of that but it gives you the chance to see the quality & speed of the conversion and it's very good in my opinion] The converter is super easy to use, allows you to upload several video's at once for conversion, control the quality of the video, change settings and size and so on. It does cost $25.00 but is well worth it, given the dozen or so other programs that I checked out. I tried to find a FREE CONVERTER but in goggling FREE, it means a FreeTrial, as I found out the hard way & many of the others programs were complicated and confusing to try and figure out, having tons more info and more features, such as Movie editing and so on. After reading all the comments posted here, it seems that people are looking for a simple solution to the simple problem of being able to view their video's. I hope this helps some of you.....take care PS. After converting your files to WMV, you should be able to still play your videos - and delete those THM files. I tried it and video's played back just fine.
2009-03-19Erica
 I have a cannon and I transferd some video I took to my computer. It is a THM file. When I try to send it to family. They can't see any video just a mini picture. How do I send it so they can see the video
2009-02-14zain
 hi.. i had a sony cybershot from which i transferred some videos taken to my laptop. unfortunately being the dud head that I am, I proceeded to delete the same from the camera. Now when I try to play those videos saved on my laptop I cannot. The videos are of .thm type. what i dont get is how i can play these and also, how is it that some videos shot were saved in .mpeg format? importantly, is there a way i can play those .thm videos or have I lost precious footage forever?
 Hi Zain -- Unfortunately, if all you have are the .THM files then you are probably out of luck. Try searching google for undelete utilities as often you can recover these files (assuming that you haven't continued to use the memory card after you deleted the files).
2009-01-08akeel
 HI,
Im also having the same problem ! it would be better if u can show as a example of how to change THM file to a AVI file ....... can I Rename the thm and type avi in it ? and you have mentioned that there should be a thm file and a avi file in the computer ! . i found the thm file but couldnt find the avi file plz help i too got a sony digi cam !
 You can't change a THM file to an AVI file. The THM file is only a small thumbnail picture that represents the AVI movie file. Unfortunately, if the AVI file is deleted, then there will be no way to recover the video (unless you are able to successfully run an undelete utility on your card/hard drive).
 
2008-12-27kevin
 If I rename a .avi file, do I have to rename the .thm? If I DO rename the .avi and not the .thm, what happens?
thx
 It is always best to keep the .AVI and .THM filenames in sync. Some programs that are "aware" of the association between these two file types will expect to find the other with the same name (but different extension). By renaming one and not the other, these programs won't be able to find the other file. Realistically, this is rarely ever an issue, but it becomes more important if you are storing your photos in a digital asset management (DAM) program (or photo catalog).
2008-10-02JulyButterfly
 Okay, here's my problem.....My sony cybershot only shows THM files - if all I did was download from my camera to my computer - where the heck are the avi files? What I've read is that they should accompany the THM files - should I be looking somewhere else for these avi files to appear? Also, is there any way to set the camera so that it doesn't produce these THM files? Help please (I'm so sad, I don't think I have any videos left!)
2008-09-07MeAndI
 Thank you for this useful information. It contains everything I wanted to know about this .thm files of my Canon camera.
2008-09-04Andrew
 When I backup video clips from the Sony Ericsson P1i to my pc, it comes into 2 files, the THM & 3GPP files. When I play the 3GPP files in QuickTime, it plays but in solarized movements. Why is that?
2008-07-24marisela
 my sister recorded a video on her canon powershot A530 and when she saved it on her computer it saved as a THM file. and she already cleared her memory card. is there any way that she can fix it?
 Unfortunately, no. Each video usually creates two files (an .AVI and a .THM). In all likelihood she deleted the .AVI file but left behind the .THM file. The actual video is stored in the .AVI file, with only a thumbnail and general image info in the .THM file.
2008-07-22Hank Evans
 Ffinally...I now know what not to do with my THM files - leave 'em alone and don't delete them 'em to un-clutter...they could come in handy later !
2008-07-22Hank Evans
 Ffinally...I now know what not to do with my THM files - leave 'em alone and don't delete them 'em to un-clutter...they could come in handy later !
2008-02-24tim
 try "super" from erightsoft for a free video converter. The website looks dodgy but the product itself seems to work well
2008-02-02Jim
 Is there a way to get the .THM files to display as images in the filesystem in Windows XP "thumbnails" view? I mean, other than renaming them.
2008-01-29Bruce
 Ive been trying to get youtube clips I downloaded to my computer to play on my Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ7 camera. I have been successful in putting pictures from the internet on there by changing the dimensions and saving them as jpegs. But this video part has me stumped. I know the camera records video as .mov motion jpeg and I have tried many times to convert the videos to that, but I keep getting a black, blank screen with the only thing showing is the number of files I have on there. Any help would be awesome. Thanks.
2008-01-11vonda
 i took some pics with my minolta ae 2 and i have a .THM
files . how do i change them so i can see them ? they are of my child playing Basketball..we run windows xp? please help
 The key point is that the .THM doesn't actually contain anything important -- the actual image or video you're looking for will be in a .JPG or .AVI file by the same name. Think of the THM file as just a preview of what the main file should contain.
2007-12-26Balmung
 I have the same problem above. I can't figure out how to play videos from my cannon ixy. I want to put some AVI videos to my digicam and play it on my tv with TV-out. I tried converting flv files to avi and put it on my digicam but with no luck. Is there any converters compatible with my camera's video codec?
2007-12-26Balmung
 I have the same problem above. I can't figure out how to play videos from my canon ixus. I want to put some AVI videos to my digicam and play it on my tv with TV-out. I tried converting flv files to avi and put it on my digicam but with no luck. Is there any converters compatible with my camera's video codec?
 Please try out the steps indicated in my response to Collin's similar question below. Let me know if you have any troubles.
2007-12-22collin
 I just purchased this same camera and I am trying to run videos on it as well. I have copied the post below from a different person asking the same question. Please let me know if you were able to figure out how to get this working. Thank you.

< -- Comment from 2007-07-30 Regarding Canon IXUS 75 -- >
 The hardest part will be to find a suitable converter that will convert from whatever video source you are using (e.g. MOV, AVI, MPG, FLV, etc.) into MJPEG AVI (Motion JPEG). I have not yet run into any free MotionJPEG encoders yet (if anyone knows of one, please post a comment), so it seems that most of them are commercial products in the $20 range.

Once you have found one, encode with the following parameters (which will match the Canon IXUS 75 / SD750 AVI settings):

Output File Format.AVI
Video Resolution640x480
Video Bit Rate< 2000 kbps
Video Frame Rate15 or 30 fps
Video Codec (FourCC)MJPG
Audio Bit Depth16 bit
Audio CodecPCM

Name the output file: MVI_####.AVI where #### is a number between 0000 and 9999 (eg. MVI_1000.AVI).

To ensure that you've done the encoding correctly, you can open the generated .AVI file in JPEGsnoop and confirm that the Video FourCC code is in fact MotionJPEG.

Once you have generated the .AVI file, we just need to create a suitable .THM file. Another poster has suggested that the camera doesn't actually use the JPEG image stored within the thumbnail file, so a quick solution may be to do the following:

  • Encode your video and produce a .AVI file (e.g. MVI_1000.AVI)
  • Copy a .THM file from another video produced by your digicam (e.g. MVI_0064.THM) and rename it to match the same initial filename as your encoded video (e.g. MVI_1000.THM).
  • Copy both files (e.g. MVI_1000.AVI and MVI_1000.THM) onto your memory card.
  • View the contents of the memory card with your digicam in Playback mode
Let me know if this works. I will have a look for suitable converters on the web to do the encoding part, and once I find a good one I'll create a page here that shows you how to do the steps in more detail. If you do manage to locate a converter (e.g. with a free trial) and complete the steps above, please let me know -- and I'll help you get it working if there are any troubles.
2007-11-29rajkamal
 I Have sony p990i PDA mobile . when ever i take a Video its Save in Mobile and Play well but when i transfer those files its save as .THM

how can i play it on my Laptop

Thanks
Raj kamal
 The phone should be able to save out as either an .AVI or .WMV. Make sure that you are transferring these files and not just the .THM.
2007-11-19mukesh
 i have got the info on THM file. It was very informative. excellent site
2007-11-06Jason
 Hey guys i have a Sony Cybershot but I find myself unable to put an AVI file in it. So i tried converting them but there are no convertible program i can find! SO help me!!! Please!!!
 Digital cameras are very specific about what video formats they can read from the memory card. It is very likely that the AVI video file will need to be converted to Motion JPEG format. Remember that AVI is not actually a specific file format, but a container that can contain many different types of data.

You should be able to confirm this by opening up a video taken by your Sony digicam in JPEGsnoop. It will probably say that it detects a MotionJPEG AVI file. Then, try opening up the AVI file that you are trying to load into your digicam, and you'll probably see a FourCC code other than MJPG (Motion JPEG).
2007-07-30 
 I have a Canon Ixus 75, and I have been trying to put my own videos onto the camera. The 3" screen is just to gorgeous not to "abuse" it as a media player ;) Anyways. I've found the exact codec used, MJPG_MainConcept Video V3.2.4. I've created short clips with the 320x240 15fps resolution and the exact same audio settings. I copied a THM form a video taken with the cam, and I even set the extra info in the video to CanonMVI06 as it is in the videos made by the camera. So far no luck. It still gives me "Unidentified image"

I've also copied the thm of one clip made with the cam over another also made with the cam and it works, it actually shows the first frame of the video rather then the wrong image from the thm file. So it looks like we can reuse thm's from different videos. I just haven't figured out how to get it to accept the encoding. Perhaps there is some subtle setting in the encoder? There are many options, perhaps too many to try them all...
 The THM will be the easy part to make work on the camera, as it is simply a JPEG image. So long as the resolution matches (and potentially a few other fields), the camera should still display the thumbnail. JPEGsnoop should help you identify any other details within the THM.

As for the video encoding, the camera is going to be very picky. Without having a detailed comparison analysis of the .avi files, it would be hard to discern what you may still be missing in the encode.

That said, I have actually been working on enhancing JPEGsnoop to read MotionJPEG videos, which will allow you to accomplish this exact analysis! If you can leave me a message, I'll help you get your media player working
2007-04-27sunil
 I have video clips taken by sony cybershot digital camera. The video clips were then copied on a cd along with the associated THM files. when the cd is played on dvd/cd player pictures can be viewed but the sound is missing. what can be done to view these video clips with sound using dvd/cd player? pl. advise.
 I haven't heard of this problem before. Not all DVD players will play all video / photo file formats, so it could be due to an incompatibility between your particular player and the codec (type of file format) used in your videos. To narrow down the problem I would try: 1) do the videos play in Windows? 2) do the videos play on someone else's DVD player? (make sure it is a different brand)
2007-04-16Greg
 Sorry to bother you again. So before I checked back with this site, I searched for avi files on my computer. I found a bunch of old movies that I had from a while ago on a different computer, but none on my new computer's harddrive. I just uploaded some new pictures and 3 new videos. When i did the search, only those 3 videos came up on the search list. now in windows explorer, they show up as THM files as do the rest of the videos on the new hard drive, if this makes any sense. So i guess my question is, why do the older movies, from a different computer, show up but none of the ones from my current hard drive? I know I didn't delete them so i'm wondering where they went. Also, how come when i do a search for the avis on the new computer's HD, only the 3 most recently added movies show up, while showing up as THMs in windows explorer?

sorry to bother you, but there must be some explanation.

if you'd rather communicate via email, you have my address. i'd really appreciate your help.

thanks
2007-04-16Greg
 I used to have a bunch of video files on my harddrive. they have since been replaced by these THM files. the size of the files indicates that the original movies are no longer there. What happened to the videos and is there any chance of getting them back? also, what can i do to avoid this happening in the future? is it a flaw in windows or on the camera's software? the camera is a canon powershot S230 and the program that came with it is Zoombrowser.

I would appreciate any help with this.
 Unfortunately, you are probably out of luck. In all likelihood, the video files were not replaced by the .thm files. Instead, for each video you had both an .avi file (the movie itself) and a .thm (thumbnail / metadata info for the movie) file. Somehow, you must have deleted the movie files but left the .thm files behind.

It would be hard to guess at why the video files were deleted in the first place, so I can't recommend any real way to avoid this problem. Nonetheless, I would suggest that you consider backing up all your photos & videos immediately after doing your first pass at deleting the obvious bad shots (with more than one hard drive, it's pretty easy to set this up to be done automatically). This way, you can hopefully recover from accidents like this in the future. Hopefully you didn't lose any important video clips.
2007-04-12Andy
 Does anyone know how to convert THM files to a more readily watchable format (avi, mpeg etc)? I know you can read them with certain image viewers but windows media does not recognise.
 When digital cameras store videos on a memory card, they usually write two files for each video: the <filename>.AVI (or .MP4) file and the <filename>.THM file.
  • The .AVI file is your actual video, and this should be playable in Windows Media Player or other viewers.
  • The .THM file is a small thumbnail picture from your video that also contains some of the image information (EXIF metadata), such as shot time, camera settings, etc. This file is not generally playable on anything and is only usually kept to retain that metadata information. You can delete these without affecting your original video. There is no video footage stored within these files.
2007-04-09connor
 thanks it was useful
2007-04-06edward
 is there a way to put avi files onto a camera, i have a sony cybershot???
 Not generally. The camera will probably be very picky about the type of AVI file that you put on the memory card in order for it to read and play it on the camera. It is likely that the type of AVI file must match exactly (e.g. MotionJPEG) as well as the resolution (e.g. 320x240). Some cameras may require that the .THM files are present as well.

So, if you are copying a AVI file that was recorded by the same camera previously, then it may work after copying the AVI file to the memory card. Trying to use a different AVI file will probably mean needing to convert the type of AVI file (to MotionJPEG and the proper resolution).

I have not tried this yet, but I might investigate to see how easy or difficult it is to do this and report back here.

 

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