Varia Vue aspect ratio

mark1alpha
1 month ago

I have noticed that when importing a locked clip via the Varia app into Photos (on iPhone), during playback it seems to have something like a 4:3 aspect ratio rather than 16:9, with the sides cropped off. If the clip is then exported from Photos (Mac) after syncing via iCloud, it then results in an uncropped 4:3 video, with everything squashed horizontally. If I export the original unmodified clip, it plays back fine, although if opened in QuickTime, it's cropped again. The only workaround I have to ensure the correct aspect ratio with no cropping is to convert into a different format using HandBrake.

The Varia RCT715 has never done this.

Varia Vue has latest firmware (5.40)

iPhoneOS 18.4.1, macOS 15.4.1

Looking at the EXIF data, the image stabilised size (2688x2160) may be contributing to this. Possibly some discrepancy with pixel aspect ratio, and sample vs display AR.

Image below shows what it looks like played back on the phone.

This shows playback on Mac after exporting from Photos

  • 0 1 month ago

    EXIF data below:

    File Size : 480 MB
    File Type : MP4
    File Type Extension : mp4
    MIME Type : video/mp4
    Major Brand : MP4 Base Media v1 [IS0 14496-12:2003]
    Minor Version : 0.0.0
    Compatible Brands : isom, iso2, hvc1, mpg4
    Thumbnail Image : (Binary data 25936 bytes, use -b option to extract)
    Media Data Size : 479771015
    Media Data Offset : 26155
    Movie Header Version : 0
    Create Date : 2025:04:20 10:08:15
    Modify Date : 2025:04:20 10:10:14
    Time Scale : 90000
    Duration : 0:02:00
    Preferred Rate : 1
    Preferred Volume : 100.00%
    Preview Time : 0 s
    Preview Duration : 0 s
    Poster Time : 0 s
    Selection Time : 0 s
    Selection Duration : 0 s
    Current Time : 0 s
    Next Track ID : 3
    Garmin Model : Varia Vue
    Warning : [minor] Use the ExtractEmbedded option to decode timed Garmin GPS
    Garmin GPS : (Binary data 2433 bytes, use -b option to extract)
    Track Header Version : 0
    Track Create Date : 2025:04:20 10:08:15
    Track Modify Date : 2025:04:20 10:10:14
    Track ID : 1
    Track Duration : 0:02:00
    Track Layer : 0
    Track Volume : 0.00%
    Image Width : 2688
    Image Height : 2160
    Media Language Code : und
    Graphics Mode : srcCopy
    Op Color : 0 0 0
    Compressor ID : hvc1
    Source Image Width : 2688
    Source Image Height : 2160
    X Resolution : 72
    Y Resolution : 72
    Compressor Name : Ambarella HEVC
    Bit Depth : 24
    Video Frame Rate : 29.97
    Matrix Structure : 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1
    Media Header Version : 0
    Media Create Date : 2025:04:20 10:08:15
    Media Modify Date : 2025:04:20 10:10:14
    Media Time Scale : 90000
    Media Duration : 0:02:00
    Handler Type : Audio Track
    Handler Description : Ambarella AAC
    Balance : 0
    Audio Format : mp4a
    Audio Channels : 1
    Audio Bits Per Sample : 16
    Audio Sample Rate : 48000
    Image Size : 2688x2160
    Megapixels : 5.8
    Avg Bitrate : 31.9 Mbps
    Rotation : 0

  • 0 1 month ago in reply to mark1alpha

    Update: this is definitely related to pixel aspect ratio, I’ve just tried processing a locked clip after changing the recording resolution to 2560x1440 and behaviour seems as expected, with correct proportions. 

  • 0 3 days ago in reply to mark1alpha

    Just got the Vue and am seeing this same problem. Looks terrible. I hope Garmin does something to fix this.

  • 0 3 days ago in reply to arachnofreak

    Thanks for confirming! It's not just me then... As above I'm still running at 1440 and it's working fine like that, but I'd like the option to run at 4K as it's specified to do.