(Free) How to Convert Vertical Video to Horizontal?

When you shoot a video in portrait mode on your phone, then transfer the video to a computer, you’ll notice that the video appears vertically with black bars on the sides. This can be quite frustrating, especially if you want to upload the video to platforms like YouTube, where horizontal videos are the standard.

To fix this, you need to convert your vertical video to a horizontal format. And a proper vertical to horizontal video converter can help you do this easily by:

• Rotate the Video: Change the orientation of your video from vertical to horizontal.
• Crop or Fill the Frame: Adjust the video to fill the horizontal frame, either by cropping parts of the video or adding background to the sides.
• Adjust the Aspect Ratio: Stretch the video to fit the horizontal screen.

Below, I will share three excellent free apps to help you turn a video from vertical to horizontal on Windows. Just read and follow.

If you want a simple and efficient program to change video from vertical to horizontal, then WonderFox Free HD Video Converter Factory is highly recommended.

It is multi-functional, and its Crop function can easily convert videos to horizontal (16:9), portrait, square and other custom sizes. It can also output horizontal video by rotating and changing aspect ratio. In addition, it also provides presets for different platforms and devices so that there will be no compatibility issues with exported files.

Now, you can download download this freeware to turn your vertical video into horizontal.

Step 1. Import Your Vertical Video

Launch Free HD Video Converter Factory on your PC. Select the “Converter” module. Next, drag your vertical video into the program. You can also use the Add buttons to import the video file.

Tip: At the bottom of the interface, click the triangle button to specify an output path in advance or leave it as default.

Step 2. Turn Video Horizontal

From the imported video, click the Crop button to open the crop window. Here, you can choose either “Free Aspect Ratio” or “Fixed Aspect Ratio” to make the 16:9 ratio. You can also use the fine-tune buttons to move the cropped area. When you are done with the edits, click “OK” to save the changes.

Tip: The preview window is a 16:9 display. When you use the “Free Aspect Ratio” mode, you’ll know the video turned horizontal when the image fills the preview window screen.

Step 3. Choose an Output Format

Now, go to the right-side format section and open the output format page. Head to the “Video” category or other preferred categories, and select one output profile. For advanced users, you can also modify the parameters like encoder, bitrate, resolution, etc. at the “Parameter settings”.

Step 4. Export the Horizontal Video

Finally, hit the “Run” button to export the converted file to the output folder you just set.

You may have used the Photos app included with Windows 10 to view photos. But you may have overlooked that there is also a Video Editor that can help you with basic video editing.

The Video Editor supports output in two horizontal sizes - 16:9 and 4:3, and it can use Crop or Fill to naturally convert your video from vertical to horizontal. Here are the specific steps on how to convert a vertical video to horizontal in Photos.

Note: The Photos app supports only limited video formats, including WMV, MP4 (MPEG-4/H264), and AVI.

Step 1. Open the Photos app on your PC desktop. Then go to the “Video Editor”.

Step 2. Click the upper-left “New video project” and name your video.

Step 3. Click “Add” to import the vertical video into the project library.

Step 4. Drag the video from the library to the Storyboard below. Now you can preview the video on the right window.

Step 5. Navigate to the three-dot menu at the top-right corner. Select the “16:9 Landscape” or the “4:3 Landscape”.

Step 6. Below the preview window, click the crop button to remove black bars to fit the video to the selected ratio.

Step 7. Finally, click “Finish video” to export the final file.

You can also convert a vertical video to horizontal without software. All you need is an online video editing tool. Fortunately, there are many free vertical video to horizontal converters online. Among them, I’d recommend Typito. It can turn video from vertical to horizontal by rotating in three simple steps. And it supports all major key formats. Check out how to convert vertical video to horizontal online in Typito.

Note: Typito will leave a watermark on the final video if using the free service.

Step 1. Visit Typito at https://typito.com/tools/convert-portrait-video-to-landscape.

Step 2. Click “Change video orientation” and pick the widescreen (16:9) format.

Step 3. Now, add your media and wait for it to be uploaded. Note that the video length is limited to 5 mins for free users.

Tip: You can also head to the “Project settings” and modify the format.

Step 4. Click the top-right corner “EXPORT” button and download the project video.

Turning a vertical video to horizontal can greatly enhance its viewing experience on YouTube and similar platforms. If you accidentally recorded a vertical video, don't worry, you can easily convert it into horizontal format using the three methods outlined in this article (using WonderFox Free HD Video Converter Factory, Windows Photos app, and online tool Typito).

That's all I want to share about how to make a vertical video to horizontal, and I hope this article has been helpful to you. Thanks for reading. Have a good day!

1. Can you change a video from vertical to horizontal?

Yes, you can change a video from vertical to horizontal using various methods such as rotating the video, cropping, filling the frame, or adjusting the aspect ratio. All you need is tools like the WonderFox Free HD Video Converter Factory, the Windows Photos app, or online tools like Typito.

2. How do I make a vertical video horizontal without cropping?

To make a vertical video horizontal without cropping, you can use the Fill feature in the Windows Photos app or the rotation feature in Typito. These methods will either fill the sides with black bars or background content to fit the horizontal frame without cutting out any part of the original video.

3. How do I change a video from vertical to horizontal on iPhone?

On iPhone, you can use the online Typito service or the built-in app iMovie to rotate the video orientation to horizontal in simple steps.