Imported movies are sideways! Why?

Question

Level 1

4 points

Imported movies are sideways! Why?

Hi All,

I recorded several movies with my iPhone and imported them into CyberLink PowerDirector to create a DVD for TV playback.

Unfortunately, all of the videos are sideways!!!

I DID NOT turn the phone on its side when recording the videos.

Why are the videos now sideways and is there an easy fix?

Thank in advance...

3GS, Windows 7

Posted on Apr 13, 2010 4:40 PM

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Answer 1

Dr_AL

Level 3

674 points

Apr 13, 2010 5:03 PM in response to calbrod

All movies are viewed in landscape mode on the iPhone. They can not be changed to my knowledge. You can put the iPhone in either landscape orientation and the movie will flip that ways so it is right side up but that is it, movies do not show in portrait mode.

Videos from the internet can be shown in portrait mode though & youtube is in landscape mode only too.

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Answer 2

calbrod Author

Level 1

4 points

Apr 13, 2010 5:43 PM in response to Dr_AL

Thanks for the feedback, but something is not right here....

So although the camera app launches in portrait, and I recorded the movies in portrait, and they play back optimally on the iPhone in portrait (by which I mean that if I rotate the iPhone during playback to landscape orientation the videos are still shown in portrait and so use very little of the screen width) they are all by default being recorded in LANDSCAPE???

How is this so? Surely then if I rotate my iPhone during playback this ‘landscape’ property of the video would become evident? It doesn’t and it clearly shows the video was recorded in portrait as this is its optimal playback view on the iPhone.

Further, the videos all play back normally (in portrait) in QuickTime player. Why?

This is really dumb…

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Answer 3

calbrod Author

Level 1

4 points

Apr 18, 2010 6:16 PM in response to calbrod

Anyone?

This is a serious flaw in the way the movie part of the iPhone operates and I'm not sure owners would be aware of the implications.

Even looking through all of the 'support' for iPhone movies there is no mention of this "flaw".

Support pages ( http://www.apple.com/iphone/how-to/#camera.taking-photos-and-recording-videos) also suggest that portrait is the norm as the image of the phone taking a picture shows the phone in portrait mode.

The text copy on this page then goes on to state: "If you take a picture or record a video with iPhone rotated sideways, the picture is saved in landscape orientation." Again, suggests that landscape is not the norm as it says "if" you take it this way.

And another support page ( http://www.apple.com/iphone/how-to/#photos.viewing-photos-and-videos) says "View a photo or video in landscape orientation:
Rotate iPhone sideways. The photo or video reorients automatically and, if it’s in landscape format, expands to fit the screen." Another "if" statement suggesting that landscape is nothing special.

So why is this "flaw" not communicated to owners? I have taken a lot of important video that I thought I could save to a DVD, but now it seems that I can't. Not happy.

Is anyone at Apple listening? Please help! I desperately need a solution...

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Answer 4

Dr_AL

Level 3

674 points

Apr 18, 2010 9:43 PM in response to calbrod

Apple doesn't monitor these forums as it is user to user support help. There are two different issues here. The iPhone supports video and picture taking in both the landscape & portrait orientations. The iPhone also supports viewing of these pictures and videos in both orientations but only in the photo application. If you import videos into the iPhone the iPod player only plays videos in landscape mode as all movies or tv shows are in that orientation. Is that the issue at hand?

Have you tried to import the videos into the iPhone via the phot application (I'm not sure if you can sync videos or not this was). Otherwise the iPod app does not support portrait orientation for videos.

Could the software used to copy the videos onto DVD be the issue? I've never had issues with the camera app to record videos, but i've never used it for more than recording my kids and posting the videos or emailing them.

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Answer 5

calbrod Author

Level 1

4 points

Apr 18, 2010 10:19 PM in response to Dr_AL

Dr_AL wrote:
If you import videos into the iPhone the iPod player only plays videos in landscape mode as all movies or tv shows are in that orientation. Is that the issue at hand?

Hi... thanks so much for your response.

No, the issue is not importing videos, it is about exporting videos I've taken with my iPhone into a video editing application so that I can burn a DVD.

When iPhone videos taken in Portrait mode are imported into a video editing application - in this case CyberLink PowerDirector - then they display sideways!

When the same files are viewed within QuickTime player they're fine. When they're viewed within Windows Media Player they're sideways. When they're viewed within CyberLink PowerDirector they're sideways.

I don't get why they're sideways for everything (I've tried) other than QuickTime player?

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Answer 6

Apr 25, 2010 2:15 PM in response to calbrod

Just came across the same problem today with my new iPhone 3GS.

The only way I have found round it is to use software(I'm using WinAVI Video Convertor) to convert the .mov film to another format, say .avi, and then use another peice of software (called DVD VideoSoft Flip and Rotate), to rotate the image.

The drawback of this seems to be that the picture quality of the video file is reduced so I'm not especially happy with this option either.

I presume if we just remember to shoot all video in landscape format then it will be OK, seems a bit odd though ???

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Answer 7

calbrod Author

Level 1

4 points

Jun 16, 2010 12:00 AM in response to calbrod

I found a solution!

Windows Live Movie Maker allows you to flip the files with apparently no loss of quality.

Thanks Microsoft!

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Answer 8

Jun 16, 2010 2:01 AM in response to calbrod

The answers much simpler which I discovered on my own with NO help from apple.

The camera needs to be in the upper left hand corner like when you watch YouTube. That's it. When you record the lens needs to be in the upper left, when you took those movies it was reversed in the lower right. I guarantee it. It does it sometimes and not others due to using different programs to view them.

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Answer 9

calbrod Author

Level 1

4 points

Jun 16, 2010 10:33 PM in response to epignosis567

Sorry, but I don't follow what you're saying at all...!

Are you talking about how I hold the phone when I'm recording a movie? If so then in every case (for portrait recording) the lens was in the upper right hand corner (facing forward, of course!), with the Home button at the bottom. At no time did I flip the phone through 180 degrees to place the Home button at the top!

If not this then, sorry, but I don't follow...

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Answer 10

calbrod Author

Level 1

4 points

Jun 16, 2010 10:34 PM in response to calbrod

Sorry, but I don't follow what you're saying at all...!

Are you talking about how I hold the phone when I'm recording a movie? If so then in every case (for portrait recording) the lens was in the upper right hand corner (facing forward, of course!), with the Home button at the bottom. At no time did I flip the phone through 180 degrees to place the Home button at the top!

If not this then, sorry, but I don't follow...

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