What Is Video Aspect Ratio? 16:9, 9:16, and 1:1 Explained
A video's aspect ratio is the ratio between its width and height. Choosing the right one for your purpose makes your video look better on social media or a website.
What Is Aspect Ratio?
It's the ratio between a video frame's width and height. Common ratios include 16:9 (landscape), 9:16 (portrait), and 1:1 (square).
The Difference Between 16:9, 9:16, and 1:1
16:9 suits landscape video like YouTube, 9:16 suits portrait video for shorts and stories, and 1:1 suits square posts on a social feed.
Portrait vs. Landscape Video
Recording in portrait orientation on a smartphone produces a portrait (close to 9:16) video, while cameras and computers typically default to landscape (16:9).
Resizing While Keeping Aspect Ratio: Padding, Cropping, Stretching
When the original and target sizes have different aspect ratios, you can either add padding to fit it all in or scale up and crop the edges. videoconverter.tokyo supports these two methods and never stretches the picture.
How to Set This Up on videoconverter.tokyo
- Select your video file (sign-in required).
- Set the output width/height to the size that gives you the aspect ratio you want.
- Choose a resize mode and click "Create Edited Video."
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes — set the output width/height to a 9:16 ratio and choose either padding or cropping.
You need to enter the output width/height yourself — there's no automatic detection.
If the original is landscape or portrait, either padding or cropping will occur — check the preview to see the result.
Stretching isn't supported right now — only padding or cropping adjustments are available.
Choose padding if you want the whole video visible, or cropping if you want it to fill the frame edge to edge.
If scaling up is involved, there may be a slight change in quality, but not a major loss.