Sizing Policy and Aspect Ratios - Amazon Elastic Transcoder
Aspect Ratio Thumbnails

End of support notice: On November 13, 2025, AWS will discontinue support for Amazon Elastic Transcoder. After November 13, 2025, you will no longer be able to access the Elastic Transcoder console or Elastic Transcoder resources.

For more information about transitioning to AWS Elemental MediaConvert, visit this blog post.

Sizing Policy and Aspect Ratios

The Sizing Policy that you choose affects the scaling that Elastic Transcoder applies to your output image, as shown in the following table.

Sizing Policy

Output Image Might Be Scaled Up

Output Image Might Be Padded When Padding Policy Is "Pad"

Output Image Might Have a Different Pixel Aspect Ratio than Input Image

Output Image Might Be Cropped

Fit

Yes

Yes

 

 

Fill

Yes

 

 

Yes

Stretch

Yes

 

Yes

 

Keep

 

Yes

 

Yes

ShrinkToFit

 

Yes

 

 

ShrinkToFill

 

Yes

 

Yes

Aspect Ratio Thumbnails

The following tables show how the Sizing Policy, Padding Policy, Max Height, and Max Width interact to change the output image.

Fit

If you choose Fit for your Sizing Policy, Elastic Transcoder scales your input file until it fits inside the dimensions of your output image, without exceeding the dimensions of your output image.

For example, if your input file is 200 pixels by 200 pixels and you want an output image that is 300 pixels by 400 pixels, Elastic Transcoder increases the size of your file to 300 pixels by 300 pixels, and applies your padding policy to the sides of your file. If you choose Unpadded for your Padding Policy, Elastic Transcoder returns the 300 pixel by 300 pixel file as your output. If you choose Padded, Elastic Transcoder adds 50 pixels of padding on either side of your output, and returns a 300 pixel by 400 pixel file.

Key

Aspect Ratio Key

Condition

Input

Output: NoPad

Output: Pad

Input width < Max output width

Input height < Max output height
Blue user icon with dimensions labeled: 200x200 inner square, 300x400 outer rectangle.
Blue figure icon with size dimensions labeled around it: 400 width, 300 height, 200 top and left.
Diagram showing a blue figure icon centered within a frame with dimensions labeled.

Input width < Max output width

Input height > Max output height
Blue pawn-shaped figure on a checkered background with red measurement lines.
Diagram showing a blue figure centered in a 400x200 pixel area with surrounding measurements.
Diagram showing a blue figure centered within a white rectangle surrounded by black bars.

Input width > Max output width

Input height < Max output height
Blue user icon centered within a rectangular frame with dimensions labeled.
Diagram showing a rectangle with dimensions 400x300 inside a larger 500x200 area.
Diagram showing dimensions of a rectangle: 500 width, 400 height, with inner area of 300x200.

Input width > Max output width

Input height > Max output height
Blue silhouette icon of a person within a red square frame on a grid background.
Blue 3D figure resembling a snowman or stacked spheres centered in a square frame.
Blue 3D snowman-like figure centered within nested squares on a checkered background.

Fill

If you choose Fill for your Sizing Policy, Elastic Transcoder scales your input file until it fills the dimensions of your output image, and crops anything that exceeds the dimensions of your output image.

For example, if your input file is 200 pixels by 200 pixels and you want an output image that is 300 pixels by 400 pixels, Elastic Transcoder increases the size of your input to 400 pixels by 400 pixels, crops off the top and bottom 50 pixels, and returns a 300 pixel by 400 pixel file. Elastic Transcoder does not use padding for the Fill policy.

Key

Aspect Ratio Key

Condition

Input

Output: NoPad

Output: Pad

Input width < Max output width

Input height < Max output height
Blue user icon with dimensions labeled: 200x200 inner square, 300x400 outer rectangle.
Blue figure icon with dimensions and sizing information overlaid on a checkered background.
Blue figure icon with dimensions and sizing information overlaid on a checkered background.

Input width < Max output width

Input height > Max output height
Blue pawn-shaped figure on a checkered background with red measurement lines.
Diagram showing a blue figure with dimensions: 200 height, 300 width, 400 total height.
Diagram showing a blue figure with dimensions: 200 height, 300 width, 400 total height.

Input width > Max output width

Input height < Max output height
Blue user icon centered within a rectangular frame with dimensions labeled.
Blue hourglass-shaped icon with numerical values indicating dimensions around it.
Blue hourglass-shaped icon with numerical values indicating dimensions around it.

Input width > Max output width

Input height > Max output height
Blue silhouette icon of a person within a red square frame on a grid background.
Blue 3D figure centered in a square frame with measurement indicators on the sides.
Blue 3D figure centered in a square frame with measurement indicators on the sides.

Stretch

If you choose Stretch for your Sizing Policy, Elastic Transcoder stretches or shrinks your input file until it matches the dimensions of your output file.

For example, if your input file is 200 pixels by 200 pixels and you want an output image that is 300 pixels by 400 pixels, Elastic Transcoder increases the size of your input to 300 pixels by 400 pixels, distorting the proportions of your output image. Elastic Transcoder does not use padding or cropping for the Stretch policy.

Key

Aspect Ratio Key

Condition

Input

Output: NoPad

Output: Pad

Input width < Max output width

Input height < Max output height
Blue user icon with dimensions labeled: 200x200 inner square, 300x400 outer rectangle.
Blue 3D object resembling a chess pawn piece with dimensions labeled around it.
Blue 3D object resembling a chess pawn piece with dimensions labeled around it.

Input width < Max output width

Input height > Max output height
Blue pawn-shaped figure on a checkered background with red measurement lines.
Diagram showing dimensions of a blue cylindrical object on a checkered background.
Diagram showing dimensions of a blue cylindrical object on a checkered background.

Input width > Max output width

Input height < Max output height
Blue user icon centered within a rectangular frame with dimensions labeled.
Diagram showing a blue bowling pin shape centered within nested rectangles and numerical labels.
Diagram showing a blue bowling pin shape centered within nested rectangles and numerical labels.

Input width > Max output width

Input height > Max output height
Blue silhouette icon of a person within a red square frame on a grid background.
Blue 3D figure resembling a snowman or stacked spheres centered in a square frame.
Blue 3D figure resembling a snowman or stacked spheres centered in a square frame.

Keep

If you choose Keep for your Sizing Policy, Elastic Transcoder does not scale your input file. Elastic Transcoder crops or pads your input file until it matches the dimensions of your output image.

For example, if your input file is 400 pixels by 200 pixels and you want an output image that is 300 pixels by 300 pixels, Elastic Transcoder crops 100 pixels off of the top and bottom, and applies your padding policy to the sides. If you choose Unpadded for your Padding Policy, Elastic Transcoder returns a 300 pixel by 200 pixel output file. If you choose Padded, Elastic Transcoder returns a 300 pixel by 300 pixel file.

Key

Aspect Ratio Key

Condition

Input

Output: NoPad

Output: Pad

Input width < Max output width

Input height < Max output height
Blue user icon with dimensions labeled: 200x200 inner square, 300x400 outer rectangle.
Diagram showing a blue user icon surrounded by numbered dimensions: 200, 300, and 400.
Diagram showing a centered image with dimensions labeled: 200x200 inner, 400x300 outer.

Input width < Max output width

Input height > Max output height
Blue pawn-shaped figure on a checkered background with red measurement lines.
Blue figure icon with dimensions and grid background indicating size specifications.
Blue figure icon with dimensions and measurements indicated around it.

Input width > Max output width

Input height < Max output height
Blue user icon centered within a rectangular frame with dimensions labeled.
Diagram showing a blue user icon centered within nested rectangles with labeled dimensions.
Diagram showing image dimensions: 500 width, 400 height, with 200 left and 300 right margins.

Input width > Max output width

Input height > Max output height
Blue silhouette icon of a person within a red square frame on a grid background.
Blue figure icon centered within red square frame on checkered background.
Blue figure icon centered within red square frame on checkered background.

Shrink to Fit

If you choose Shrink to Fit for your Sizing Policy, Elastic Transcoder decreases the size of your input file until it fits inside the dimensions of your output file, without going over any of the dimensions of your output image. If your input file is smaller than your output image, Elastic Transcoder does not increase the size of your file.

For example, if your input file is 400 pixels by 400 pixels and you want an output image that is 200 pixels by 300 pixels, Elastic Transcoder shrinks your input to 200 pixels by 200 pixels, and applies your padding policy. If you choose Unpadded for your Padding Policy, Elastic Transcoder returns the 200 by 200 pixel file as your output. If you choose Padded, Elastic Transcoder adds 50 pixels of padding on either side of your output, and returns a 300 pixel by 300 pixel file.

Key

Aspect Ratio Key

Condition

Input

Output: NoPad

Output: Pad

Input width < Max output width

Input height < Max output height
Blue user icon with dimensions labeled: 200x200 inner square, 300x400 outer rectangle.
Diagram showing a blue user icon surrounded by numbered dimensions: 200, 300, and 400.
Diagram showing a centered image with dimensions labeled: 200x200 inner, 400x300 outer.

Input width < Max output width

Input height > Max output height
Blue pawn-shaped figure on a checkered background with red measurement lines.
Diagram showing a blue figure centered in a 400x200 pixel area with surrounding measurements.
Diagram showing a blue figure centered within a white rectangle surrounded by black bars.

Input width > Max output width

Input height < Max output height
Blue user icon centered within a rectangular frame with dimensions labeled.
Diagram showing a rectangle with dimensions 400x300 inside a larger 500x200 area.
Diagram showing dimensions of a rectangle: 500 width, 400 height, with inner area of 300x200.

Input width > Max output width

Input height > Max output height
Blue silhouette icon of a person within a red square frame on a grid background.
Blue 3D figure resembling a snowman or stacked spheres centered in a square frame.
Blue 3D snowman-like figure centered within nested squares on a checkered background.

Shrink to Fill

If you choose Shrink to Fill for your Sizing Policy, Elastic Transcoder decreases the size of your input file until it fills the dimensions of your output image, crops anything that does not fit inside your output image, and applies your padding policy. If your output image is larger than your input file, Elastic Transcoder does not increase the size of your file.

For example, if your input file is 400 pixels by 200 pixels and you want an output image that is 200 pixels by 300 pixels, Elastic Transcoder crops 100 pixels from the sides, and applies your padding policy to the top and bottom of your file. If you choose Unpadded for your Padding Policy, Elastic Transcoder returns a 200 pixel by 200 pixel output file. If you choose Padded, Elastic Transcoder returns a 200 pixel by 300 pixel file.

Key

Aspect Ratio Key

Condition

Input

Output: NoPad

Output: Pad

Input width < Max output width

Input height < Max output height
Blue user icon with dimensions labeled: 200x200 inner square, 300x400 outer rectangle.
Diagram showing a blue user icon surrounded by numbered dimensions: 200, 300, and 400.
Diagram showing a centered image with dimensions labeled: 200x200 inner, 400x300 outer.

Input width < Max output width

Input height > Max output height
Blue pawn-shaped figure on a checkered background with red measurement lines.
Blue figure icon with dimensions and grid background indicating size specifications.
Blue figure icon with dimensions and measurements indicated around it.

Input width > Max output width

Input height < Max output height
Blue user icon centered within a rectangular frame with dimensions labeled.
Diagram showing a blue user icon centered within nested rectangles with labeled dimensions.
Diagram showing image dimensions: 500 width, 400 height, with 200 left and 300 right margins.

Input width > Max output width

Input height > Max output height
Blue silhouette icon of a person within a red square frame on a grid background.
Blue 3D figure centered in a square frame with measurement indicators on the sides.
Blue 3D figure centered in a square frame with measurement indicators on the sides.