by Martin Leduc
YouTube Users Hostile Towards the Vertical Black Bars on their Movies
November 26, 2008 in News by Martin Leduc
BY MARTIN LEDUC. TORONTO, CANADA (CINEMA MINIMA) – YouTube has changed their default player to a 16:9 aspect ratio, and the site’s users have gotten uncharacteristically vocal about the damage this has done to their old 4:3 uploads. The YouTube blog typically receives under 100 comments per post, but in 2 days, over 1000 comments have been posted about the widescreen player. Among the criticism and praise for YouTube’s widescreen conversion, one message prevails: Uploaders want an option to display videos in 4:3.
Since YouTube has modified their site design to fit the new 16:9 player, an optional 4:3 player would require them to maintain two versions of their layout. Another option would be to try embedding a 320×240 viewer into a page designed for widescreen.
