YouTube Aspect Ratio "Squeeze" Issue and HQ Stereo Playback

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There is an issue that has been plaguing many YouTube videos since May, 2008. The YouTube video encoder is improperly "squeezing" the image, resulting in the aspect ratio being messed up. This isn't just with widescreen videos, it's with fullscreen videos as well.

YouTube seems to have completely ignored this issue, and it has once again fallen on the YouTube community to help each other to work around it. Why is this happening, and what can YOU do to prevent it? I give my take on it.

Oh, and I also reveal how to get HQ playback with stereo sound for those who have been wondering.

This is my rant.

This is my tutorial.

I hope you learn a little something along the way.

Category:

People & Blogs

Tags:

• youtube
• aspect
• ratio
• squeeze
• squeezing
• issue
• stereo
• sound
• hq
• high
• quality
• encoding
• wmv
• mp4
• zaranyzerak

[Evi1M4chine]

There is no "frame size". Much less a 4:3 one.

Hell, modern codecs wouldn't even know what the original resolution was, if it weren't for the header. Because they are wave function based (fourier transformation), which is independent of a pixel resolution, but depends on the number of variables in the function.

[Zaranyzerak]

No idea what you're talking about, I'm not a tech head. All I know is, when I would upload 16x9 resolution videos to YouTube (at the time when this was posted), YouTube's encoder would distort the image. If I encoded them as 4x3 letterbox, it was fine. This video speaks from my experience with how YouTube's encoder handled various video formats I tried, what worked, and what didn't. I honestly don't care about the technical side, I just want my videos to look the way I intended.

[Evi1M4chine]

OMG, FAIL!!! ^^

That whole "uses the full frame" thing is FAIL. Because, guess what: You can *change* the SIZE of the frame itself. So if you got a 16:9 digital camera, you don't go and squish it to a 4:3 video file frame format, just to squish it *back* when you play it back on a screen with square pixels. Because that would be pretty pointless, and stupid. Because *that* would be lossy, instead of 1:1 pixel-to-pixel transfer.

[Zaranyzerak]

Note WHEN this was posted. At the time, the YouTube player was 4x3 and everything I said was accurate. At the time, YouTube's encoder didn't handle 16x9 formatted videos properly and would instead squeeze or stretch them to fill the frame (hence the subject). The only way to get a properly formatted widescreen image was to letterbox it within a 4x3 frame. Remember, you're watching an OLD video about the way things WERE over a year ago. Things have changed considerably since this was posted.

[IMSODELETED]

Good video am also if your a YouTube partner can you have videos run for 30 minutes if its really funny and good? to some poeple? cuz you can only have 10 minutes max and 2gbs in size for hq vids its crap I can't wait till I'm a partner :)

[Zaranyzerak]

Partners have no time limit, and the filesize limit is 20gigs instead of 2 as well. Though I can't imagine ever wanting to upload a 20gig video...lol

[reksub10]

you tube are not interested in their users anymore ,all they are interested in is keeping the advertisers happy ,as they are corporate now...i have pillar boxing and letter boxing aswell when it meant to be in wide screen ..you tube should give people to the change back to the old player for people who havent the state of the art home equipment ,it was very presumptuous of you tube to think that

[Zaranyzerak]

@Freeleacher This isn't an issue anymore. Nowadays I render everything straight out of Vegas. 1280x720, XviD video, mp3 audio. Works great.

[chaiTV]

fascinating and boring all at once!

[dcromleyyt]

I'm watching a BBC video ?v=NPD4Ep_J81k

which is squished horizontally -- people look too thin.

My monitor is 1024x768. Do you get this? Thanks, Dave

[whiterottenrabbit]

I should add, that I neither know nor I fully understand all the difrferent aspect ratio formats and technical expressions for them. All I know is there is something fucked up, when the picture is squeezed or stretched.

[whiterottenrabbit]

This problem occurs not only on youtube, where all kind of amateurs can upload all kind of poorly made videos. As a video and movie fan it literally pisses me off that the aspect ratio is messed up even when it is safely to expect some professional standards: on TV and DVD productions. I also saw still pictures in magazines and newspapers, which clearly don't have their original aspect ratio anymore. The sad thing is: many people don't even notice that! I could stab them in their brain for that!

[Evi1M4chine]

Partners will most likely have at least proper 100 Mb/s lines. And then it takes (20% overhead included) 32:47 minutes. :)

Aaah, I wish I would have such a line again.

Soon... They are just laying the fiber cables in front of my building. :D