Content - Why are there Black Bars Around My Content? – Swank Motion Pictures, Inc.

Overview - Understanding Letterboxing, Pillarboxing, and Window Framed Video

When watching streaming video, you may notice black bars around the image. This is usually expected behavior related to aspect ratio differences between the video content and your display.

The three most common presentation types are:

Letterboxing
Pillarboxing
Window framed video (also called windowboxing)

Understanding these factors aids in explaining the occurrence of black bars and distinguishing between proper playback functionality and issues originating from your playback environment.

What Is Letterboxing?

Letterboxing occurs when black bars appear at the top and bottom of the screen. This happens when widescreen content is displayed on a screen with a narrower aspect ratio.

Letterboxing preserves the original image without stretching or cropping.

Key characteristics

Black bars on top and bottom
Image fills the full width of the screen
Original aspect ratio is preserved
Common for theatrical or cinematic titles

Example

┌────────────────────────────┐
│████████████████████████████│  ← black bar
│        VIDEO IMAGE         │
│        VIDEO IMAGE         │
│        VIDEO IMAGE         │
│████████████████████████████│  ← black bar
└────────────────────────────┘

Is letterboxing expected?

Yes. most times letterboxing is normal and intentional and ensures the video is shown as originally produced.

What Is Pillarboxing?

Pillarboxing occurs when black bars appear on the left and right sides of the screen. This typically happens when narrow or older content (such as 4:3 video) is displayed on a widescreen (16:9) display.

Pillarboxing also preserves the original aspect ratio without distortion.

Key characteristics

Black bars on left and right
Image fills the full height of the screen
Common with older TV shows or legacy content
Original framing is maintained

Example

┌────────────────────────────┐
│██│        VIDEO        │██│
│██│        VIDEO        │██│
│██│        VIDEO        │██│
│██│        VIDEO        │██│
└────────────────────────────┘

Is pillarboxing expected?

Yes. Pillarboxing is expected behavior for content created in narrower aspect ratios.

What Is Window Framed Video?

Window framed video (also known as windowboxing) occurs when black bars appear on all four sides of the image. The video looks smaller and centered within the screen.

This usually happens when video that already contains letterboxing or pillarboxing is displayed inside another player, device, or platform that applies additional framing.

Key characteristics

Black bars on top, bottom, left, and right
Image appears reduced in size
Aspect ratio is preserved, but screen space is not fully used
Often caused by layered aspect‑ratio handling

Example

┌────────────────────────────┐
│████████████████████████████│
│██  ┌──────────────────┐  ██│
│██  │      VIDEO       │  ██│
│██  │      VIDEO       │  ██│
│██  └──────────────────┘  ██│
│████████████████████████████│
└────────────────────────────┘

Is window framing expected?

Not usually. While the content itself is correct, window framing often indicates that multiple systems are applying their own scaling or padding.

Explanation:
The video already contains letterboxing or pillarboxing, and the playback device is adding additional framing. This results in a smaller, centered image.

Recommended checks:

Try a different playback device
Check for zoom, scaling, or “fit to screen” settings
Disable any display‑level aspect‑ratio enforcement (TV or projector settings)

Comparison: Letterboxing vs. Pillarboxing vs. Window Framed Video

Feature	Letterboxing	Pillarboxing	Window Framed Video
Black bars	Top & bottom	Left & right	All four sides
Image size	Maximized for width	Maximized for height	Smaller, centered
Typical content	Widescreen films	4:3 or narrow content	Already boxed content
Purpose	Preserve aspect ratio	Preserve aspect ratio	Result of layered framing
Expected behavior	Yes	Yes	Usually no
Image distortion	None	None	None (but reduced display area)

Frequently Asked Questions

Is letterboxing or pillarboxing a playback issue?

No. Both are expected methods used to preserve the original aspect ratio of video content.

Why do some titles show bars while others do not?

Different titles are produced in different aspect ratios. The display adapts to each title individually.

Can black bars be removed?

Removing black bars would require cropping or stretching the image, which is generally not supported because it alters the original presentation.

Why does the same title look different on different devices?

Browsers, apps, TVs, and projectors handle scaling differently. While the image is always preserved correctly, unused screen space may be handled differently.

Confirm the display is set to its native resolution
Check that the device is not forcing overscan or underscan