How to make video appear normal in VLC

[kingjams]

I installed VLC on my Mac OS X but when I play an old video recording it stretches out vertically. How can I make the video appear normal?

[gonhidi]

It is likely that the aspect ratio (the proportion between the width and height of the image) defined in that recording is not the correct one. Under the Video menu you have several aspect ratios to choose from in order to override the one detected (the 4:3 one is what standard television used, so it is likely the one you want).