[whatwg] video tag: pixel aspect ratio

[Jonas Sicking]

On Sun, Nov 30, 2008 at 11:05 PM, Chris Double
<chris.double at double.co.nz> wrote:
> On Mon, Dec 1, 2008 at 7:11 PM, Peter Kasting <pkasting at google.com> wrote:
>> I don't think it is the end of the world if this attribute goes in, but I
>> see very little benefit to it, and I am always for removing items with
>> marginal utility.
>
> I'm inclined to agree. I think it's odd that an attribute is being
> added to fix video's encoded incorrectly. Why can't the author of the
> video fix the actual video?
>
> One of the arguments for captions being embedded in video's rather
> than having some way of defining captions by the page author was that
> it's important not to use HTML to fix broken videos, and allow
> captions to travel with the file. The same argument could be made for
> pixel ratio. Fixing it in the HTML means everyone linking to the file
> using <video> will need to remember to add pixelratio to their HTML.
> Better to fix the file.
>
> Can someone provide examples of videos on the web that are currently
> broken, and a pixel ratio that would fix it? As an HTML author that
> wants to embed a video on my website I don't think I'd have any idea
> how to come up with a pixel ratio to fix it.

Another thing, if I as a website developer find a video that was
encoded with the wrong pixel ratio, wouldn't the simplest, and most
intuitive, way to fix it be to simply set a width and height on video
until it looked approximately correct? Yes, it's a hack, and should
not discouraged, but so is pixelratio.

(haven't followed this discussion in detail so appologies if
width/height has been disqualified already)

/ Jonas