.VID File Extension

A VID file is a generic video file that has been saved using one of many possible video file formats. Often, the file’s extension has been changed from its original extension to “.VID.” For example, a user might have renamed a file like clip1.mov to clip1.vid in an attempt to play the video using their preferred media player.

You can open and play a VID file with VideoLAN VLC media player, a free-to-download media player. To open a VID file in VLC media player:

1. Select Media/File → Open File….
2. Navigate to the folder containing the VID file.
3. Select the VID file and either click Open or double-click the file to open it. (On Windows, you may have to select "All Files" from the dropdown menu that appears above the Open button before you can select your VID file.)

A VID file is a video file used by various computer video games developed by Bethesda Softworks, such as Terminator: Skynet and The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall. It contains video and audio data in the Bethesda VID format. VID files are primarily used to store in-game cutscenes played during gameplay.

You will most likely only encounter a VID file when exploring the game resource files included with an old Bethesda Softworks game installed on your computer. VID files are rare because they are only used in Bethesda Softworks games released in the 1990s.

Since VID files are no longer used in Bethesda Softworks video games there are few programs that support the format. However, you can convert VID files to a more common video format with FFmpeg, then open the converted file with a media player, such as Microsoft Windows Media Player (Windows) or VLC media player (multiplatform).