AVI viewing without PC on iPad

[mahony.dt@gmail.com]

I have an iPad mini and a matching SD Card reader.
When they connect the Photos app automatically opens and I can see AVI files which I cannot open. I use the camera in the field and do not want to take a computer and connect via a computer to watch the videos. I am told VLC is my answer, but it sounds as if I still need to connect via a computer with iTunes, which is very different to what I have on an iPad.
Is there a trick I need to know?