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In OBS, select the playlist source and choose Transform → Fit to Screen—not Stretch to Screen. Fit keeps the full 4:3 image in proportion on a 16:9 canvas, leaving space at the sides instead of warping the video.
Fit the 4:3 playlist source to the canvas
- In OBS, select the playlist source in the Sources dock.
- Open its Transform menu and choose Fit to Screen. The OBS Sources Guide lists Ctrl+F on Windows and Cmd+F on macOS as shortcuts for this action. See the OBS Sources Guide.
- Check the preview. The entire 4:3 image should be visible, with unused space on the left and right of a 16:9 canvas.
- Keep the side bars, or use the surrounding canvas for a background, image, or overlay. This preserves the video without stretching it.
A 4:3 frame is proportionally narrower than a 16:9 frame. OBS’s Aspect Ratio Guide, published November 27, 2021, illustrates 4:3 with 640×480 pixels and notes that 16:9 is common on computer displays and generally expected by platforms such as YouTube.
Choose between bars, stretching, and cropping
| Choice | What happens | Use it when |
|---|---|---|
| Fit to Screen | Preserves the source proportions and shows the full image, with side space on a wider canvas. | You want to keep the entire 4:3 frame undistorted. |
| Stretch to Screen | Fills the canvas by changing the image’s proportions, distorting the picture. | Only if distortion is acceptable. OBS says stretching warps and distorts the source and is generally not recommended. |
| Scale larger or crop | Can fill more of the canvas, but some of the source may fall outside it. | You can accept losing image content at the edges. |
| Background or overlay | Leaves the 4:3 image intact while using the surrounding canvas for other scene content. | You want to use the side space without altering the video. |
The OBS Aspect Ratio Guide explains the trade-offs: stretching can make an image look blurry or malformed, while fitting preserves the frame. For a full-frame 4:3 video, side bars are the cost of keeping both its proportions and all its visible content on a 16:9 canvas.
Keep canvas and output resolution in their proper roles
Base (Canvas) Resolution is the area where OBS arranges sources. Output (Scaled) Resolution is the resolution sent to the stream or recording. OBS describes these roles in its OBS Studio Overview Guide, published August 25, 2021.
#1 Best Overall
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Changing output resolution is not the fix for a source that has been stretched in the scene. Changing the base canvas can require you to reposition or resize sources, so check the layout afterward. For the ordinary case, use Fit to Screen on the source rather than changing project resolution.
Check playlist behavior when the next video starts
OBS documents playlist support through a Media Source when VLC Media Player is installed; see the Sources Guide, published January 11, 2022. The guide does not specify how a playlist handles transitions between items with different dimensions or aspect ratios. If your playlist mixes formats, preview the transition in your actual OBS and VLC setup and check the framing after the next item begins.
Rank #2
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Quick Recap
Best Value
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Rank #4
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Rank #3
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