What is pixel aspect ratio?

- As you get more advanced with video graphics,…you may come across the phrase pixel aspect ratio,…or the letters P-A-R, again for pixel aspect ratio.…This is describing the relationship…between the width and the height.…Now, with traditional computer graphics,…the width and the height match.…Pixels are square, but this isn't often the case…with many video formats.…For example, in order to have greater flexibility…in a lot of professional video cameras,…they use different pixel aspect ratio.…

For example, a very popular format…in the early days of HD was DVC Pro HD.…And instead of using 1920x1080,…it would use 1440x1080, saving on space.…The pixels were then stretched or decompressed…when you opened up the file,…or played it back on a television.…This meant that a lower data rate format was used…to capture the high definition signal…because fewer pixels meant that more content…fit onto the memory card.…

Now for a variety of technical reasons,…different video camera manufacturers continue to use…non-square pixels.…