The VideoLAN Forums

Hi Friends!

This may be slightly off-topic, so kindly excuse me ... or point me to any other appropriate forum.

I shot a few small video clips on my Huawei P30 Pro Mobile Front Camera in Portrait Mode 1920x1080, 30 fps, mp4 H264. The phone was mounted on a small tripod during shooting. The clips play back perfect ... Full Screen!

I transferred all the clips to my laptop and edited them in Microsoft Movie Maker. After editing, I exported the saved clips in the same recommended format 1920x1080. It seems to play fine in VLC with the top and bottom edges filling my laptop screen. However, when I copy it back to my phone, it now plays just like a thumbnail. I can pinch to expand it slightly on my phone, but there's still a big gap on all 4 sides. I've also tried playing this on 3 different phones of mine, plus sending it over WhatsApp ... its the same ... it just plays as a thumbnail. This is very baffling and frustrating. On my phones I'm playing the videos in the default Gallery Player (not using VLC for Android).

I also tried editing the clips in Clipchamp instead of Movie Maker (which is extremely dated), but the end result is the same ... Thumbnail !!

I'd really like the edited clip to play FULL SCREEN in Portrait Mode on my Mobile (as shot, as edited, as intended).

Any help and pointers would be deeply appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

You should ask for help on dedicated multimedia forums like https://forum.doom9.org and https://forum.videohelp.com

Since your videos are shot in portrait mode, ensure that the aspect ratio is maintained during editing and exporting. Videos shot in portrait mode typically have an aspect ratio different from the standard 16:9 (used in 1920x1080 resolution). If the aspect ratio is altered, it could cause the video to appear smaller when played back on a phone.