If you are mixing portrait and landscape videos in OBS, keep each source’s proportions intact and decide whether the whole image or a filled frame matters more. Fit shows the complete source and may leave unused canvas; cropping or zooming fills more of the frame by cutting off edges.
Those are source-framing choices, separate from the canvas and output resolution you set for a stream. A single OBS composition cannot show every portrait and landscape image edge-to-edge while preserving all of each image; choose where the spare space or lost edges belong before going live.
Understand source aspect ratio and canvas shape
Aspect ratio describes the relationship between an image’s width and height. A landscape video is wider than it is tall; portrait video is taller than it is wide. If a source and the area where you want to show it have different shapes, you have to accept empty space, hide part of the source, or distort it. For a clean mix, the usual choice is between the first two.
OBS calls the workspace where sources are arranged the Base (Canvas) Resolution. The Output (Scaled) Resolution is the size delivered to the stream or recording. Changing the canvas changes the workspace and may mean you need to reposition or resize sources. Changing the output size does not automatically rearrange those sources. OBS explains these settings in its Studio overview.
For one horizontal YouTube stream, a landscape canvas is a conventional starting point. OBS describes 16:9 as the most common device ratio and a format expected by major platforms including YouTube, but that is general guidance, not a rule that fits every channel. A devotional channel built around portrait recordings, for example, may have different priorities from a local news loop with landscape interviews and graphics.
Decide the intended composition first: the image viewers should notice, the amount of surrounding information, and whether the complete source must remain visible. Then select the canvas shape to suit that composition. If you later alter the canvas, review every source rather than assuming the arrangement will remain suitable.
Fit a source to show the complete image
Fit a source when important content extends to its edges or viewers should see the full original frame. In OBS, select the source and use its transform controls to size it within the canvas while keeping its proportions. The OBS preview shortcut for fitting a source to the canvas is Ctrl+F. Check the result visually, because a fit can leave unused areas on one or two sides.
A portrait phone video placed on a landscape canvas is a common example. Fit it vertically, and the sides of the canvas remain unused by that source. You can leave those areas as a plain colour, place a still or graphic behind the video, or use suitable companion content. OBS’s aspect-ratio guide describes using background elements to fill the surrounding canvas while keeping the source itself intact.
That side space is not a technical fault. It is the visible consequence of showing the entire portrait frame in a wider composition. For a bhajan recording where the singer, harmonium and devotional setting all matter, losing the sides or top of the original might be a worse compromise than having a background beside it.
Treat any background as a separate source. Keep it behind the main video in the source order, and make sure it does not compete with captions, a logo or other essential elements. If you use a blurred enlargement of the same clip as a background, it is still only decoration; viewers should be able to distinguish the complete, fitted image in front.
The same logic applies in reverse. Fit landscape footage into a portrait composition if viewers need its full width, accepting space above and below. This can work for an interview or a wide shot that should not lose people at the edges. It may make the main source smaller, so check that faces, signs and text remain legible at the delivered size.
Crop or zoom to fill the frame
Crop or zoom when filling the intended area matters more than showing every edge. In OBS, you can hold Alt while dragging a source’s bounding-box edge to crop it, or use the Edit Transform menu for more precise values. You can also enlarge a source beyond the frame so that parts fall outside the visible canvas. In either case, inspect what remains visible rather than assuming the crop will be harmless.
For portrait video on a landscape canvas, filling the width this way can cut away a substantial amount of the portrait image above and below. For landscape video in a portrait composition, filling the height may cut off content at the left and right. A close-up of a centred object may survive that choice; a group, lower-third title or person near the edge may not.
Cropping is not a way to keep hidden edges available within the visible frame. The excluded content is simply outside the composition. Before you commit to a crop, look for anything near the boundaries that may matter: a face, a hand holding an instrument, a sign, a news ticker or subtitles. Move the source within its frame if a different portion needs to remain visible, while recognising that moving it reveals other areas only if they are still within the source’s actual bounds.
Think of enlargement as a pan-and-scan decision, not a lossless fit. It can make a landscape clip occupy more of a portrait layout, but a narrower view is the price. For a channel with a fixed watermark or title, confirm that the enlarged video does not sit on top of it or make it difficult to read.
Avoid stretching portrait or landscape footage
Do not use Stretch to solve a mismatch between portrait footage and a landscape canvas, or the reverse. Stretching changes the source’s width and height independently, so people and objects can appear unnaturally wide or narrow. The OBS Project’s aspect-ratio guide warns that stretching mismatched content can warp or distort it and is generally not recommended.
OBS includes a stretch shortcut, Ctrl+S, but the existence of a command does not make it suitable for every composition. Stretch may be useful for a background colour or a graphic designed to fill a specific area, but it is not the right default for ordinary video whose shape should stay recognisable. Use fit, crop, or a deliberate background instead.
If a source already looks distorted, check whether its transform has been stretched before changing the whole canvas. Reset the source transform if necessary, then choose a proportional fit or a crop. A preview can make distortion obvious: faces, circles, instrument bodies and familiar logos are useful visual checks. Avoid trying to compensate for one stretched clip by distorting another source.
Choose framing for mixed-orientation scenes
When a scene contains portrait and landscape sources together, choose one source to lead the composition. A landscape canvas may suit a horizontal YouTube presentation, with a portrait clip fitted as the main image and the side areas used for a restrained background or supporting information. Alternatively, a portrait-first composition can fit the landscape source and accept space above and below. Neither arrangement preserves both orientations as full-frame fills.
A simple decision table helps make the cost explicit:
| Source and destination | Fit | Crop or zoom | Better when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Portrait source on landscape canvas | Shows the full height and width; leaves side areas | Fills more width; cuts content from the top or bottom | Use fit when the full portrait scene matters; crop only if the remaining area is sufficient |
| Landscape source on portrait canvas | Shows full width and height; leaves space above and below | Fills more height; cuts content from the sides | Use fit for wide scenes or edge details; crop for a suitable centred subject |
| Either orientation in a matching frame | Usually fills without an aspect-ratio mismatch | May still lose edges if enlarged or repositioned | Fit first, then check the source’s actual dimensions and framing |
For example, if you are showing a portrait singer’s phone recording alongside a landscape title card, give the singer enough space to remain the focus. Put the title card in a separate area only if it remains readable at the final size. If the singer’s hands or instruments are close to the frame boundary, avoid a crop that removes them just to make the scene look more uniform.
For a lofi station alternating wide room footage and portrait artwork, decide whether the artwork is the primary picture or a smaller element within a wider layout. You can keep each item in its own source and change the scene or source visibility as the programme calls for it. For workflow ideas around an ongoing playlist, see how to keep OBS running when a video playlist ends. If a clip needs a visible label, displaying the current video title in an OBS stream is a separate overlay task; it does not change how the video itself should be scaled.
Apply transforms to individual sources rather than changing the canvas just to fix one clip. Resize with the source bounding box, crop with Alt-drag where appropriate, or use Edit Transform for values you want to repeat. If you need a consistent layout for a series of clips, check each source’s framing individually: clips described as portrait or landscape may still have different subject placement and safe areas.
Distinguish OBS composition from YouTube dual output
An OBS scene defines the composition sent from OBS. YouTube’s vertical live presentation is a separate format choice, not another OBS source-scaling setting. YouTube describes simultaneous horizontal 16:9 and vertical 9:16 live formats, with vertical layout choices that include a centre crop, fit to phone width and stacked. The default vertical version is a centre crop. Review YouTube’s vertical live streaming guidance for the current options and availability.
A centre crop from a horizontal picture can cut away people or graphics near the sides. YouTube’s other layout choices may give the vertical presentation a different arrangement, but they do not turn an OBS fit into a crop or make a single OBS canvas preserve every source edge in both formats. Treat the horizontal and vertical viewer experiences as separate compositions that both need review.
YouTube also documents third-party encoder dual streaming, in which the encoder sends a horizontal and a vertical output using RTMP(S) and a second stream key for the vertical stream. That configuration is distinct from arranging an individual source in OBS; consult YouTube’s encoder settings and live-streaming guidance before setting it up. YouTube says the vertical format cannot be added after a stream has started, so decide and prepare the format before the broadcast begins.
If you only need one horizontal stream, keep the task simpler: choose a horizontal composition and frame each source for it. If viewers need a deliberately different portrait layout as well, plan for YouTube’s vertical layout editor for a scheduled stream or configure the encoder outputs correctly. Do not assume that selecting Fit in OBS creates a second, independently framed YouTube output.
Preview each source before going live
Check the composition at the intended output size, not only while the OBS preview fills a large monitor. Small text, thin borders and faces can look different when reduced for a phone. Switch through every scene and source combination you expect to use, and inspect the edges after each crop. If the image looks soft after resizing, OBS’s guide discusses scale filtering; its suggestions vary by source, and a filter that suits pixel art may not suit video.
A practical preflight is to add representative portrait and landscape clips, check their full edges, then inspect the final scene in the YouTube preview. If possible, run a private or unlisted test first. Check representative movement and audio as well as the still composition: a moving person or scrolling ticker may pass through an area that seemed empty in a static frame. OBS recommends testing scenes and performance, and YouTube recommends checking audio and representative motion before going live.
Framing is only one part of the signal reaching viewers. If you are also deciding on encoder output quality, use YouTube’s current recommendations with codec and frame-rate context rather than treating one bitrate figure as universal. For example, YouTube’s table lists H.264 at 6 Mbps for 1080p/30 fps and 17 Mbps for 1080p/60 fps; it lists AV1/H.265 at 10 Mbps and 12 Mbps for those respective rows. These are recommendations, not guaranteed results, and YouTube advises choosing a quality your connection can sustain. A practical OBS bitrate settings guide can help you consider that separate encoder question.
The same preflight matters for an always-on channel. A well-framed scene still needs its source sequence to behave as expected through transitions and playlist changes. If you are choosing the machine as well as the composition, using a mini PC for a 24/7 YouTube lofi stream in India covers a related operational decision; it does not replace checking how each video fits the canvas.
StreamNeo can remove the need to leave your own computer running when the job is simply to turn an uploaded video into a continuous YouTube live stream, but it does not choose a good crop or layout for you. Prepare and review the file’s framing before you upload it, especially if important content sits near the edges.
Before committing, compare the operating options on the pricing page. When the file and channel are ready, start free — 24-hour trial, no card.
FAQ
Should I use Fit or Stretch in OBS?
Use Fit when you need to show the complete source, and accept that the canvas may have empty areas. Avoid Stretch for mismatched portrait and landscape footage because it distorts the image. Crop or enlarge only when losing visible edges is acceptable.
How do I fill a landscape canvas with portrait footage?
You can crop or enlarge the portrait source, but that removes parts of its top or bottom from the visible composition. If those details matter, fit the source and use the side areas for a background or suitable companion content. Check faces, hands, text and other edge details before choosing.
Does OBS source scaling create YouTube’s vertical version?
No. OBS source transforms frame sources in its scene; YouTube’s vertical live presentation is a separate output or layout option. A horizontal-to-vertical centre crop may cut off side content, so prepare and review the intended vertical composition separately.
Can I add YouTube’s vertical format after starting a stream?
YouTube’s guidance says the vertical format cannot be added after the stream has started. Decide whether you need it during setup and test the layout before the broadcast. Check YouTube’s current official documentation because available options can change.