How to Convert Portrait Video to Landscape

Most people record videos on their phones, so a lot of videos end up in portrait mode. These don't always look good on wide screens or sites that prefer horizontal videos. Switching your video to landscape helps it look better and work on more devices.

The fastest way to change a portrait video to landscape is to use an online tool like Clideo's Video Resizer. Just upload your video, pick the landscape size you want, adjust the crop or background, and download your new video in a few minutes. In this guide, I'll show you how to do it with Clideo, and some other ways and tips for getting the best results.

Is there a portrait-to-landscape video converter?

Portrait videos are typically tall and narrow, while landscape videos are wider than they are tall, offering a broader view suited for expansive scenes. A portrait-to-landscape video converter is a tool that turns a vertical video into a horizontal one. This makes your video fit better on wide screens like TVs, computers, and sites like YouTube or Facebook, thus increasing compatibility with major platforms.

How to resize videos using Clideo

There are many tools online, but sometimes you just need to quickly switch a video from portrait to landscape, especially if you filmed it on your phone and it appears sideways on your computer. Here's how to fix that in just a few minutes using one of Clideo's online video editing tools designed specifically for this purpose.

1. Upload a video file

   Go to Clideo's Video Resizer and click "Choose file" to upload your video. You can also pick a file from Google Drive or Dropbox if you prefer. Various formats are accepted. If the video size exceeds 500 MB, you will need a Pro plan to process it.

2. Change the video's orientation

   In the "Resize for" section, pick a social media and the landscape orientation preset you need, or, if you need a specific size, select "Custom" and type in your custom dimensions.

   Choose how you want to crop the video. "Fill" will cut off the sides to remove black bars. Use the arrows to move the video inside the frame to find the best moment.

   "Fit" keeps the whole video and lets you pick a background color or blur to fill the empty space (the tool places the original portrait video in the center with sides filled with blurred versions of the same video).

   If needed, convert to a different format (mov, avi, or any other) by clicking "Format" under the video player and selecting your preferred extension.

   Click "Export" to finish and process your video.

3. Download your horizontal video

   Review the resized video. If you want to make other changes to the original video, click "Edit." Otherwise, save the file to your device or cloud storage.

   We're always working to make our service better. For more information, check out our Help Center.

Other methods to make landscape orientation

If you'd like to try something besides Clideo's Video Resizer, here are a few other ways to turn portrait videos into landscape:

Clideo Video Editor

Clideo also offers an all-in-one online video editor where you can resize, crop, rotate, and add audio, text, or stickers to your video. You can easily set the aspect ratio to 16:9 for landscape videos.

1. Simply upload your video to Clideo's Video Editor.
2. Click on "Canvas" and pick the 16:9 landscape option.
3. Drag, resize, crop, or rotate your video so it fits the landscape frame.
4. You can also change the background color if you want.
5. Preview your video project, then click "Export" to save your resized landscape video.

This online editor is a one‑stop option right in your browser for not just resizing your videos, but also trimming, cropping, adding text and audio, and making other quick edits for your video clips in one place.

Default Apple and Windows options

On most devices, you can change a video's aspect ratio using built‑in tools, though they're more limited than online editors.

On iPhone, iPad, and Mac, the Photos app lets you rotate and crop your clip into a wider, landscape‑shaped frame. iMovie goes further by placing your vertical video in a 16:9 landscape project and exporting it in that ratio.

On Windows, the Photos/Clipchamp editor offers similar options: you can rotate, crop, and in Clipchamp choose a canvas aspect ratio like 16:9 or 9:16 before exporting.

These options are fine for simple adjustments, but if you need presets, blurred backgrounds, or precise framing for different social platforms, an online video resizer from Clideo is usually faster and in some cases more flexible.

Tips for converting portrait videos to landscape

Turning portrait videos into landscape is pretty easy. Here are a few tips to help you get the best results:

• Choose the right aspect ratio. Most landscape videos use 16:9, which works well for YouTube, Facebook, and most screens. In Clideo, just pick any 16:9/landscape preset to get the right size fast.
• Use backgrounds instead of stretching: Avoid stretching your portrait video to fill the landscape frame, as it will distort faces and details. In Clideo, select "Fit", then use the solid or gradient color for background to fill the empty space on the sides while keeping the full video visible.
• Keep your main subject in focus. When you resize or move your video, make sure faces, text, or important action aren't cut off at the edges. Use the rule of thirds to position the main subject along the lines or intersections.
• Shoot with editing in mind: If you know you'll convert to landscape later, leave extra space above and around your subject when filming. That gives you more flexibility to crop or reposition the video without losing important details.

Think of converting videos like flipping pancakes. With a bit of practice and the right tools, it gets easy.