Quote:
Originally Posted by dave walsh
I, relatively recently, asked why mobile phone footage, which is a vertical strip and often relates to very serious matters, couldn't be presented as 16:9 for example?
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I think we tried to explain to you at the time that (Widescreen) TV displays have a fixed orientation, their picture is wider than it is tall. Therefore, anyone taking footage which they eventually intend to be displayed on a TV or computer monitor should only -ever- capture the video in 'landscape' mode, ie, with the phone turned on its side. Portrait mode footage is good for viewing on only one thing - another phone or tablet, since unlike a TV the phone / tablet can easily be turned upright or sideways to match the orientation of the source material.
We didn't get this problem with footage produced by conventional video cameras because they, like the TVs their footage was intended to be shown on, had a fixed orientation, so there was only one sensible way up to hold the camera. This produced footage which suited most TV displays.
Just about the only feasible way to display phone 'portrait' mode video over the whole of a 'landscape' TV display while still preserving its aspect ratio is to turn the footage on its side. You don't really want to have to turn your TV onto one end every time the news shows a few seconds of blurry phone footage which was inadvisedly shot in portrait mode?