How does the pixel aspect ratio affect motion graphics?

Question

I'm creating an explainer video in After Effects but I haven't been able to figure out which pixel aspect ratio to use. I know what the PAR is, but I don't know what difference it makes in the final product.

I would like to know how to choose the best PAR for any situation but as a reference, here are some specific details about this particular video. It is an animated video using vector images. It will be in 4k resolution and uploaded to Vimeo.

I appreciate any help y'all can offer.

Answer 1

Well obviously an incorrect pixel aspect ratio would distort the image. Very few formats today are anything other than 1:1, that is square pixels. So the most notable formats that are non square are the two major SD formats

• 4:3 PAL which has a aspect of 59:54, or in 12:11 in digital form and the differently stretched 16:9 PAL that has a aspect 118:81 or 16:11.
• 4:3 NTSC has a puixel aspect of 10:11 and ist stretched out 16:9 variant has a aspect of 40:33
• And then you have the somewhat odd fellow the HDV / HDCAM that ahs a pixel aspect of 4:3

All, modern web format videos are 1:1 including 1080p/i, DCI 4K (which is sometimes called 4K), UHD-1 (called 4K)....

So you should be using a 1:1 ratio.