Quicktime (and other related apple software) not reproducing some avi files

As per this MacRumors forum post:

There are three ways to get .avi files to load into the iTunes library, these are packaging it in a supported format (QT-Pro workaround), adding extra entries to the CFBundleDocumentTypes (may cause problems when updating iTunes) or adding the movie-type meta-data to the file. Adding the movie-type meta-data to the file is the quickest, easiest and safest of all of these options (IMHO).

He then outlines a method to add the movie-type metadata.

in Terminal (requires Dev Tools)

$ SetFile -t "MooV" /path/to/movie.avi

Then run this Applescript:

tell application "Finder"
   set file type of file this_file to "MooV"
end tell

The original post I linked above has a full Applescript droplet or Folder Action that could do this automatically.

I've tried them all flip4mac, perian... trust me, VLC is your simplest and most efficient solution. It handles almost every single video type known, including WMV. Perian with Quicktime would come a good second, but still doesn't beat VLC as it doesn't have VLC's codec coverage. So that would most definitely be the best solution.

But is there any specific reason you're looking for a quicktime based solution? If only "playing" a video, is your primary requirement, VLC takes care of that (and pretty darn well i might add).

Cheers.

(I've written a post on my blog covering most of the "good" software that I use. You're welcome to check it out. VLC was my final vote there. Excuse the shameless self promotion. Ignore if offended)