Non-Square Pixels (Sample Aspect Ratio): Requirements and Fixes

What pixel aspect ratio means

Most digital video uses square pixels, where each pixel is the same width as it is tall. Some older formats, particularly those originated from broadcast SD, analog tape, or certain camera systems, use non-square pixels, where each pixel is slightly wider or taller. The video looks correct on the original playback device because the player applies a stretch correction, but that correction is not applied during streaming delivery. Without it, the picture appears squeezed or stretched to viewers.

A SAR of 1:1 means square pixels. Anything else means non-square, and the file needs to be re-exported before uploading.

How to fix it

Re-export your video with square pixel settings applied. In most editing and export tools this is found in the video output or sequence settings.

In Adobe Premiere, set the Pixel Aspect Ratio to Square Pixels (1.0) in your export settings under the Video tab.

In DaVinci Resolve, check your timeline settings and ensure the pixel aspect ratio is set to Square.

In Compressor or QuickTime export, select a preset that uses a square pixel aspect ratio, or manually set SAR to 1:1.

If you're working from an older tape-sourced or broadcast master, you may need to scale the frame to the correct display dimensions during export rather than simply re-wrapping the file with a different SAR flag. For example, a 720x480 DV NTSC file with a 0.9:1 SAR should be exported as 640x480 with square pixels.

Anamorphic footage

If your footage was shot anamorphically, the same principle applies. De-squeeze the image and export at the correct display resolution with square pixels before uploading.

Full video requirements

For the full list of accepted resolutions, codecs, and frame rates, see Video & Audio Requirements Overview.