You Tube

[Alwyn Anne]

Hi, another problem with You Tube: I have uploaded a film (just under 5 minutes) in wide screen (16.9) and it looks squashed as if it is being showing in 4.3. I looked up the problem in the You Tube Forum and the only advice I could find was on formatting tags to alter the appearance ie.

Tag: yt:stretch=16:9
(Fixes anamorphic content by scaling to 16:9)

But that didn't work!!

Any ideas please??

[Dave Watterson]

YouTube changes what it does quite frequently, so hacks and tricks like that one seldom stay current for long. (I do wish it would cull its forum to get rid of outdated stuff.)

What sort of file did you upload? Was it AVI, WMV, a VOB from a DVD?

I am wondering if the upload file was not coded properly to indicate 16:9 format. (In the gaps between pictures there is code which, among other things, should tell the world that it is intended for 16:9 showing. Those codes are often lost along the way.)

Dave

[Alwyn Anne]

Its an AVI file Dave.

Alwyn

[Dave Watterson]

OK. Now can we find out if that AVI file is coded for 16:9 or not?

If it is on your computer, try playing it with the computer's usual player. On a PC this is often Windows Media Player.
IF the movie is presented as 4:3 then the AVI is not coded properly.

It may be a quirk on YouTube's part, but since it handles millions of movies such glitches are usually caught and resolved quickly.
The position is also complicated by the fact that some playback systems (like a tv) can be set to present everything in 16:9 no matter what the original format. It is possible that your AVI is 4:3 but your tv is set to permanent 16:9 - for example.

If the AVI is not on computer can you feed it to your TV with the TV set to choose 4:3 or 16:9 automatically?
Even this is not a perfect test because the playback equipment, camera or deck, may force the aspect ratio!

Dave

[Alwyn Anne]

Hi Dave, I played it with Media Player and it seemed to be 16.9. Not looking squashed at all.

Alwyn

[Dave Watterson]

Forum experts, please feel free to make suggestions (!) ...

OK. Let's try another upload to YouTube ... but only 30 seconds of the film. Can you edit it and copy 30 seconds of it?

Try sending it to YouTube and see if the same problem arises. Remember you can set it for private display and can always delete it from YouTube.

Are you using any special software to upload it? e.g. some video edit programs have an upload option.

-Dave

[Alwyn Anne]

I use Pinnacle Studio 14 but I know that doesn't allow me to upload to You Tube so I save the file onto my desktop then upload it from there. I have had no problems with my other films but they were in 4.3

I will do as you suggest Dave and send a portion of the film.

Thanks

[Alwyn Anne]

Dave,

I copied 30 seconds of my video and uploaded it on You Tube, but it hasn't made any difference. Still in 4.3!


Alwyn