Portrait versus Landscape Video

All of our 16:9 TVs, Cinemascope and Panavision movies are landscape but, as you know, the way people consume content is often on phones held in portrait mode, on the train scrolling through social media etc People who share video from their phones shot in portrait mode cause an inconvenience to TV or laptop viewers but not for friends viewing on their own phones. I still think landscape will triumph. In the future tiny projectors built in to phones, smart house windows and house walls that can stream digital images and foldable phones will probably ensure that. I hope so. In cinema it's natural to look left to right rather than up and down. I do not think I would enjoy going to a cinema with a tall, but narrow, screen. What do you think?

All of our 16:9 TVs, Cinemascope and Panavision movies are landscape but, as you know, the way people consume content is often on phones held in portrait mode, on the train scrolling through social media etc

People who share video from their phones shot in portrait mode cause an inconvenience to TV or laptop viewers but not for friends viewing on their own phones.

I still think landscape will triumph. In the future tiny projectors built in to phones, smart house windows and house walls that can stream digital images and foldable phones will probably ensure that.

I hope so. In cinema it's natural to look left to right rather than up and down. I do not think I would enjoy going to a cinema with a tall, but narrow, screen. What do you think?

I tend to cancel watching a video when I see a vertical format one if I'm not viewing on a smartphone. Granted it's more natural to hold a smartphone that way but our field of vision is landscape so that's the way I prefer to watch video. Even Instagram which began based on 1:1 ratio media has vertical format stuff on it now but it's okay on a device we hold that way.

I tend to cancel watching a video when I see a vertical format one if I'm not viewing on a smartphone.

Granted it's more natural to hold a smartphone that way but our field of vision is landscape so that's the way I prefer to watch video.

Even Instagram which began based on 1:1 ratio media has vertical format stuff on it now but it's okay on a device we hold that way.

I quite agree with the OP. The landscape feels more natural. Probably because that is how our eyeballs are oriented to one another rather than one above the other. I quite often see vertical or portrait framed images in my preferred genre of photography - which is street. I have often seen my peers prefer to hold their dslr or other camera to catch a portrait framing. But, it really makes no sense since inevitably the photo will likely be cropped anyway. Actually, my preferred way to see a street scene be it a landscape or portrait is with a square frame. But, I suppose that choice was not meant to be in the cards for this conversation. However, my last analog TV had a square viewing angle which i think all analog Tv's were. Strange isn't it? Analog TV viewing was on a square frame but, digital TV viewing is on a landscape frame. And, no body put up a fuss about it. We all just went along with the manufacturers' decisions. Maybe this is why people have the preference they do. Influenced by unknown factors.

I quite agree with the OP. The landscape feels more natural. Probably because that is how our eyeballs are oriented to one another rather than one above the other. I quite often see vertical or portrait framed images in my preferred genre of photography - which is street. I have often seen my peers prefer to hold their dslr or other camera to catch a portrait framing. But, it really makes no sense since inevitably the photo will likely be cropped anyway. Actually, my preferred way to see a street scene be it a landscape or portrait is with a square frame. But, I suppose that choice was not meant to be in the cards for this conversation. However, my last analog TV had a square viewing angle which i think all analog Tv's were. Strange isn't it? Analog TV viewing was on a square frame but, digital TV viewing is on a landscape frame. And, no body put up a fuss about it. We all just went along with the manufacturers' decisions. Maybe this is why people have the preference they do. Influenced by unknown factors.

To be fair the old TVs were wider than they were tall, 4:3, sometimes when showing movies they would be letterboxed with bars at the top and bottom.

To be fair the old TVs were wider than they were tall, 4:3, sometimes when showing movies they would be letterboxed with bars at the top and bottom.

[quote]All of our 16:9 TVs, Cinemascope and Panavision movies are landscape but, as you know, the way people consume content is often on phones held in portrait mode, on the train scrolling through social media etc People who share video from their phones shot in portrait mode cause an inconvenience to TV or laptop viewers but not for friends viewing on their own phones. I still think landscape will triumph. In the future tiny projectors built in to phones, smart house windows and house walls that can stream digital images and foldable phones will probably ensure that. I hope so. In cinema it's natural to look left to right rather than up and down. I do not think I would enjoy going to a cinema with a tall, but narrow, screen. What do you think?[/quote] It would be like peeping through letter boxes when pissed :) Could be interesting :) :)

Quote:All of our 16:9 TVs, Cinemascope and Panavision movies are landscape but, as you know, the way people consume content is often on phones held in portrait mode, on the train scrolling through social media etc

People who share video from their phones shot in portrait mode cause an inconvenience to TV or laptop viewers but not for friends viewing on their own phones.

I still think landscape will triumph. In the future tiny projectors built in to phones, smart house windows and house walls that can stream digital images and foldable phones will probably ensure that.

I hope so. In cinema it's natural to look left to right rather than up and down. I do not think I would enjoy going to a cinema with a tall, but narrow, screen. What do you think?


It would be like peeping through letter boxes when pissed

Could be interesting

Portrait format video is often used on TV news broadcasts. Usually because the only record of the event has been videoed on somebody's smartphone. I don't find it natural or even pleasant ti watch.

Portrait format video is often used on TV news broadcasts. Usually because the only record of the event has been videoed on somebody's smartphone.

I don't find it natural or even pleasant ti watch.