To keep a looping video from looking stretched or losing its edges, scale it to the intended output canvas while preserving its display aspect ratio. In GStreamer, use videoconvertscale add-borders=true to fit the picture with borders when necessary; use cropping only if trimming the edges is acceptable. Set square-pixel output caps for YouTube and inspect the negotiated caps before streaming.
Choose whether to preserve the whole frame or fill the canvas
First decide what matters more: retaining every part of the source image or filling the output frame edge to edge. If the source and target aspect ratios differ, fitting the complete image requires unused space somewhere; filling the frame instead requires cropping or distortion. For most documentary footage, preserving the full picture with borders is safer than cutting off faces, captions, or other edge details.
| Treatment | What it does | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| Fit with borders | Scales the full image into the target canvas and adds borders when needed. | Preserves the whole picture, but may leave black bars. |
| Crop to fill | Removes excess edges to match the requested aspect ratio. | Fills the canvas, but may cut off picture content. |
| Stretch | Forces the source into the target dimensions without preserving its display geometry. | Avoid it when accurate proportions matter; people and objects can look unnaturally wide or narrow. |
Fit the video with GStreamer borders
videoconvertscale combines video scaling and format conversion. Its documented add-borders property is true by default, adding borders as needed to preserve display aspect ratio. A raw-video branch can use this illustrative pattern before the encoder:
... ! videoconvertscale add-borders=true ! video/x-raw,width=1280,height=720,pixel-aspect-ratio=1/1 ! ...encoder...Replace 1280x720 with the output canvas you intend to send. That example is a branch pattern, not a complete, tested YouTube pipeline. The installed GStreamer build and downstream encoder must support the negotiated format. The GStreamer Base Plug-ins documentation describes videoconvertscale and its properties.
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Match the canvas to its intended ratio
Check that the width and height express the canvas you want. For example, 1280 by 720 is 16:9. If your source has a different display ratio, fitting it within this canvas can add borders rather than distorting it. Pixel dimensions alone may not fully describe display geometry, so verify the source’s display aspect and pixel aspect information too.
Use cropping only when edge loss is acceptable
If you deliberately want a 16:9 frame filled by a 4:3 source, use a crop stage before scaling, for example:
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... ! aspectratiocrop aspect-ratio=16/9 ! videoconvertscale ! video/x-raw,width=1280,height=720,pixel-aspect-ratio=1/1 ! ...encoder...aspectratiocrop crops to the requested ratio; it does not preserve the entire source image. Review the framing for faces, subtitles, logos, and other important details near the edges. See the GStreamer aspectratiocrop documentation.
Inspect the caps GStreamer actually negotiates
A caps filter constrains media properties negotiated downstream. Use verbose output to inspect what the pipeline produces:
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gst-launch-1.0 -v ...Check the final raw-video caps before encoding, particularly width, height, frame rate, and pixel-aspect-ratio. YouTube recommends square pixels, expressed as pixel-aspect-ratio=1/1. The GStreamer basic concepts tutorial explains caps and verbose pipeline output. gst-launch-1.0 is useful for basic pipeline testing and debugging; for an application, GStreamer points developers to its API and gst_parse_launch().
Check YouTube Live ingest settings
YouTube’s live encoder guidance, accessed October 3, 2026, lists RTMP/RTMPS ingest, H.264, H.265, and AV1 video, and frame rates up to 60 fps. It recommends constant bitrate encoding, progressive scan, square pixels, and a two-second keyframe interval that should not exceed four seconds. For encoder setup, verify the current recommendations on YouTube’s live encoder settings page.
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| YouTube recommendation (accessed Oct. 3, 2026) | Recommended bitrate | Published range |
|---|---|---|
| 1080p at 30 fps, H.264 | 10 Mbps | 5–14 Mbps |
| 1080p at 30 fps, AV1 or H.265 | 10 Mbps | 4–10 Mbps |
| 720p at 30 fps, H.264 | 8 Mbps | 3–8 Mbps |
These are YouTube recommendations, not a guarantee of a particular viewing quality. Choose a bitrate your upload connection can sustain consistently. YouTube advises testing upload speed, testing with audio and movement similar to the real stream, and monitoring stream health during the broadcast.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Test the loop before the broadcast
- Confirm source geometry. Check the file’s actual dimensions and display geometry rather than assuming its pixel width and height tell the whole story.
- Set the intended output canvas. Ensure its width and height match the target ratio, such as 16:9 for 1280×720.
- Choose fit or crop. Preserve the complete image with
add-borders=true, or deliberately crop withaspectratiocropafter checking what will be lost. - Inspect negotiated caps. Run
gst-launch-1.0 -vand verify the raw-video dimensions, frame rate, and square pixel aspect ratio before encoding. - Test through YouTube. Use YouTube Live Control Room to check the preview and stream-health messages before relying on the loop for a real broadcast.
Troubleshoot stretching, bars, and cropping
- The picture looks stretched: confirm the output canvas is the intended ratio and that the pipeline preserves display geometry rather than forcing incompatible dimensions.
- Black bars appear: this is expected when the whole source is fitted into a canvas with a different aspect ratio. If edge-to-edge fill is essential, crop deliberately and inspect the result.
- Important content is missing: a crop stage may be cutting it off. Adjust the source framing or choose borders to retain the full frame.
- The output geometry is unexpected: inspect the final raw-video caps with
gst-launch-1.0 -v, including width, height, andpixel-aspect-ratio. - The stream is unstable: check that the upload connection can sustain the chosen bitrate, test with representative audio and motion, and review YouTube’s stream-health messages.
GStreamer documentation describes the relevant scaling, cropping, and caps behavior, but it does not establish how every loop pipeline behaves with every GStreamer build, encoder, or source file. Test the actual combination you plan to use.
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