What is Letterboxing?
Letterboxing adds bars above and below video to preserve aspect ratio. Learn when letterboxing helps or hurts, and how reframing is the better alternative.
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Definition
Letterboxing is the practice of adding black or colored bars above and below a video to display widescreen content within a different aspect ratio frame.
Letterboxing explained
Letterboxing occurs when a widescreen video (e.g., 2.39:1 cinematic) is displayed in a 16:9 or 9:16 frame. The bars preserve the original aspect ratio without cropping. While letterboxing is acceptable on desktop, it wastes valuable screen space on mobile devices where vertical real estate matters for engagement. On TikTok and Reels, letterboxed content performs worse than full-frame 9:16 content because it appears smaller in the feed. The alternative to letterboxing is reframing or cropping the footage. Pillarboxing is the horizontal equivalent, adding bars on the sides when vertical content is displayed in a horizontal frame.
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