Why FFmpeg print SAR instead of PAR?

SAR (Sample Aspect Ratio) is the same as PAR (Pixel Aspect Ratio).

These two terms are used interchangeably. They mean the ratio between the width and the height of individual pixels.

In contrast, DAR (Display Aspect ratio) is the ratio between the width and the height of the full image. enter image description here


Notes:

SAR - All modern devices have it 1:1; old devices — mainly from the analogic-numeric transition era — used non-square pixels.

DAR - examples: For SVGA it is 4:3, for QWXGA it is 16:9.


As it turned out, ffmpeg uses different notations

  • SAR for Sample Aspect Ratio
  • DAR for Display Aspect Ratio