Aspect Ratio Conversion

Aspect ratio conversion is the operation of converting the relative proportion of a video’s width to height to suit various display sizes.  Mostly expressed as two numbers separated by a colon, such as 16:9 for widescreen or 4:3 for old TV format.

Why is Aspect Ratio Conversion Important?
Modern content is viewed on various devices — from smartphones and tablets to widescreen TVs and digital billboards. To maintain the best visual experience, videos often need to be converted to different aspect ratios. For example, a video shot in 16:9 might be converted to 9:16 for Instagram Stories or TikTok.
Without proper aspect ratio coversion, videos can appear stretched, squished, or letterboxed, affecting their visual appeal and viewer engagement.

Common methods for Aspect Ratio Conversion

(i) Cropping:is the process of deleting portions of an image to get the required ratio.

(ii) Padding: Adding borders to adjust the size without cutting content.

(iii) Scaling: Resizing the video, which can sometimes distort the image.

Related Terms:
Video resizing, resolution scaling, video compression, and responsive video formats all work alongside aspect ratio conversion to optimize content for various platforms and screen sizes.

• MBR (Multi-bitrate)
• Variable Bit Rate (VBR)
• Adaptive Bitrate Streaming (ABR)