How do you convert 1080 × 1920 to 16:9?

Crop 1080 × 608 → 1920 × 1080

To fill a 16:9 frame from 1080 × 1920, take the largest 16:9 region the source contains — 1080 × 608 — and scale it to the 1920 × 1080 delivery size. That keeps 31.7% of the original picture. Padding instead of cropping keeps all of it, at 608 × 1080 with bars of 656 px left and right.

How that is worked out

crop = the largest target-ratio box inside the source

1080 × 1920 → 1080 × 608 → 1920 × 1080

Worth knowing

  • A crop keeps 31.7% of the source pixels. Everything that matters has to sit inside a 608 px tall band of the original frame.
  • Reaching 1920 × 1080 means scaling that crop up 1.78×, so the delivered file is softer than the source. Finishing from a 4K master removes the upscale.
  • Padding instead keeps the whole picture at 608 × 1080 inside the 1920 × 1080 frame, with bars of 656 px left and right. On feeds that autoplay muted, bars read as a repost and cost reach.
  • Both routes land on even pixel dimensions, which H.264 and H.265 require in 4:2:0. Where the exact ratio and an even number disagree, the 1080 × 608 crop follows the even number — a fraction of a pixel is not worth a rejected encode.

Crop or pad 1080 × 1920 for 16:9

RoutePixelsThe cost
Crop to fill 1080 × 608, scaled to 1920 × 108068.3% of the picture is cut away
Pad to fit 608 × 1080 inside 1920 × 1080Bars of 656 px left and right

Cropping trades picture for a full frame; padding trades screen for the whole picture. A third route — reframing shot by shot with keyframed position — keeps more than either, but no calculator can do it for you.

1080 × 1920 to every common ratio

Target ratioCropDelivery sizePicture kept
9:16 1080 × 19201080 × 1920100.0%
4:5 1080 × 13501080 × 135070.3%
1:1 1080 × 10801080 × 108056.3%
5:4 1080 × 8641350 × 108045.0%
4:3 1080 × 8101440 × 108042.2%
3:2 1080 × 7201620 × 108037.5%
16:9 — this page1080 × 6081920 × 108031.7%
1.85:1 1080 × 5841920 × 103830.4%
1.9:1 1080 × 5681920 × 101029.6%
2:1 1080 × 5401920 × 96028.1%
21:9 1080 × 4621920 × 82224.1%
2.39:1 1080 × 4521920 × 80423.5%

Need it for other values?

Scale width and height to 16:9, 9:16, 4:5, 2.39:1 or a custom ratio, with pixel dimensions at 1080p and 4K.