What are the correct sizes of fullscreen video format on iPhone

Question

I won’t play the video in full screen on the iPhone, but when I try to figure out how to transcode my videos, I am embarrassed about Apple’s video format specification on http://www.apple.com/iphone/specs.html

Supported video formats: H.264 video, up to 1.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second, Low complexity version of the H.264 base profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48 ​​kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4 and .mov file formats; H.264 video, up to 2.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second, basic profile up to Level 3.0 with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48 ​​kHz, stereo sound in .m4v, .mp4 format and .mov file formats; MPEG-4, video, up to 2.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second, Simple Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48 ​​kHz, stereo sound in .m4v, .mp4 and. mov file formats

Why is the recommended size of 640 by 480 pixels in full screen mode of 480 by 320? (it doesn't even add up to the ratio)

And if the ratio is true, why is this so? (Different pixel ratios?)

Answer 1

For pixel accurate video display on iPhone, you want to use 480 x 320 H.264 with the settings that they describe. I have an example video here that plays in full screen on an iPhone.

Videos with the supported sizes that they describe will play, but will scale on the screen. You will see black bars on the sides of the screen if you do not double-click to enlarge the image.