How to Clear Black Boards in Your YouTube Videos?

How to Remove Black Bars from YouTube Videos

Richard Bennett

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

The black bars appear because the video uploaded by the users may include horizontal black bars at the bottom and top of the video player to fit an aspect ratio of 4:3. The YouTube video player has an aspect ratio of 16:9, so it adds vertical black bars to fit according to the dimension. And in this guide, we will help you get rid of this trouble and remove annoying black bars from YouTube videos.

• Part 1: Removing the black bars before uploading
• Part 2: Removing the black bars from uploaded YouTube videos

Remove the black bars before uploading

You can make use of the following software to remove the black bars from your videos.

1. Wondershare Filmora

Filmora supports a large format of videos hence one of the widely used. Follow these steps to remove the black bars:

• Import the video or drag and drop it in Wondershare Flimora.
• Select the video with black bars and right click on it.
• Click on “crop and zoom” which will open the crop window.
• Set your desired frameset (16:9, 4:3 or customized aspect ratio) and see your video in the preview pane.
• Save the new video without the black bars by clicking on “Export”.

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

2. Sony Vegas Pro

One of the most popular and sought after video editing tool, Sony Vegas Pro can help removing the black bars very simply:

• Open the video.
• You will see the video in preview and a timeline beneath, right click on the video clip on the timeline.
• Click on properties, a new window will pop-up, click on disable resample and make sure that “maintain aspect ratio” is unchecked.
• Your video will be without the black bars. Save the video.

3. Windows Live Movie Maker

This inbuilt tool in Windows for video editing can be used to remove the black bars from your YouTube videos.

• Drop and drag the video to windows live movie maker.
• Select the video and you will see a couple of options to set aspect ratio.
• Click on the desired one and the black bars will be removed.
• You can save the video in different formats.

4. Final Cut Pro

Final Cut pro offers you a whole lot of video editing options that includes removal of black bars. Right aspect ratio ensures there are no unpleasant black bars on either side of the video. To get them removed with the help of Final Cut Pro:

• Import the video with black bars.
• Select the video and change its aspect ratio. (Either stretch it or crop it).
• Save the video after it has been corrected.

Removing the black bars from uploaded YouTube videos

It is very simple to remove black bars from existing YouTube videos or while uploading a video. Click on the Edit button next to the video, and add the most suited instruction in the Tag bar below:

yt:crop=16:9

This tag zooms in on the video because of which the contents at the borders (black bars in this case) do not appear anymore.

yt:stretch=16:9

This tag stretches the video in the aspect ratio of 16:9. It is used to view the video in wide-screen format.

yt:stretch=4:3

if your video is appearing in wide-screen format, but you want it to display in 720 x 480 pixels, apply this tag. It scales down the video 4:3 aspect.

Try any of the above software to remove black bars from existing YouTube videos or the new videos and make it pleasant to viewers.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Delving Into Trending Video Exchange

What Is the YouTube Highlighted Comment?

Liza Brown

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

Did you just come across a comment tagged with Highlight on YouTube and wondering what it means? In our guide, you will find an answer to this, along with related queries like how YouTube highlighted comment works, the removal process, its benefits, and more.

If you own a YouTube channel or are starting one, even you can do this. Without further ado, let’s jump straight into the core of YouTube’s highlighted comments. We’ve categorized this article into a total of 8 parts for simple and better understanding.

• Part 1: What Does Highlighted Comment Mean On YouTube?
• Part 2: What Does Highlighted Comments Look Like on YouTube?
• Part 3: How to Make Comment Highlighted?
• Part 4: How to Highlighted Comments URL?
• Part 5: How to Reply to Highlighted Comments?
• Part 6: How to Remove Highlighted Comments?
• Part 7: Tips for Writing a Comment
• Part 8: Benefits of Highlighted Comments

Part 1: What Does The Highlighted Comment Mean On YouTube?

Before you get on with highlighting your comments, you must understand what it means exactly. You may follow comments on the videos posted by several YouTubers, but the highlighted ones are always making it to the top of the list.

Having said that, neither the content creator nor users or moderators choose to highlight YouTube comments to begin with. They are no rocket science, but only a tad bit more than what you know as a bookmarking feature.

Think of highlighted comments as a “tag”. You might notice this in the form of a ‘new activity YouTube notification’ link you receive on your registered email. Only you can see this tag when you click the notification and arrive at Youtube.com to either view or reply to a comment.

Highlighting comments (HC’s) are an automatic feature generated by YouTube. It draws the YouTuber’s & viewer’s attention to relevant activities. Don’t fail to notice that the highlight disappears once you are done interacting in the tagged comment thread. However, they are reloadable by tapping the comment timestamp.

For instance, you may want to check the following links. The 2 URLs lead you to the same video, but only one of them shows a highlighted comment.

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWhjJjhpmQA&lc=Ugya-89WYAlutJurKGh4AaABAg
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWhjJjhpmQA

Notice the name “lc” in the first URL- that stands for linked comment. YouTube might include this additional parameter. If a reply comment (HR) gets highlighted, the parent comment gets raised to the top.

Part 2: What Does The Highlighted Comment Look Like?

YouTube has been working on improving the navigation of the comment section for videos, and highlighted comments are one of them. These comments appear even above the pinned comments on a video. The label of a highlighted comment is displayed above the commentator’s name in a light grey shade.

YouTube labels comment replies as well and call it “Highlighted Reply.” You can see this tag above the replier’s name in the same color tone.

Part 3: How to Make My Comment Highlighted?

Now, making YouTube highlight your comment on a popular video is nothing less than an art. YouTube doesn’t make it easy for you. The advantage of getting your comment highlighted on YouTube is limitless.

Thus, anybody who wants to get their YouTube comment an HC tag has to follow a few simple steps, which we will discuss below in another section. Finding the correct or relevant video content that can benefit your channel from such a comment is an excellent place to start.

For example, if you are a YouTuber who deals in tech information, you need to look for a popular video or channel with a similar genre, in this case, technical knowledge. The more popular the channel is, the more is the chance of a viewer checking the comments on its videos. You will only benefit if you’re comment is highlighted on pages of Youtuber’s who are huge.

Part 4: How to Get the URL of Highlighted Comments?

The ways to acquire the URL or link for a highlighted comment are different for both parties- viewer and host.

Suppose you are a viewer who is going through the comments section of a video. If you want to get the highlighted URL for the comment, simply click on the timestamp (e.g., 2 weeks ago) beside the commentator’s username.

On the other hand, for a YouTuber, getting access to the comment URL is relatively straightforward. The host will get a notification on his or her registered email-id when a viewer publishes a comment on their posted video. You will find the link to the highlighted comment in the notification

Part 5: How to Reply to Highlighted Comments?

Replying to “highlighted comments” on your YouTube channel is pretty easy since this feature was developed, keeping the user’s convenience in mind. If you want to follow up or reply to such comments, you can do so from your email or YouTube Dashboard.

If you click the notification bell icon, whenever a viewer drops a new comment on one of your videos, YouTube will send you a notification via email. On opening the email, you will find a clickable “Reply” option. Or else, if you follow the comment section in the YouTube Dashboard, you can directly view or reply to highlighted comments from here as well.

Have you ever wondered why a highlighted comment always shows at the top of the comment list? Both the above options will lead you to the comment thread on YouTube. To help you find the new activity easily, it appears with the highlight tag on it. The purpose is to remind you that you are here for that specific comment.

Part 6: How to Remove Highlighted Comments?

Can you, as a video maker, remove highlighted comments on YouTube? The direct answer to this would be a ‘No.’ It is because based on how you have opened the specific video, YouTube does it automatically.

Alternatively, you can try out a few temporary solutions.

1. You can edit the particular URL of the video where the highlighted tag is showing. Remove the red part of the URL (example given below) starting with “&”:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWhjJjhpmQA&lc=Ugya-89WYAlutJurKGh4AaABAg After removing the above parameter, reload the original video link (below):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWhjJjhpmQA

1. Try logging out from your Google Account and browse YouTube (anonymously). Doing this will ensure that you no longer see any highlighted comments. However, at the same time, this will restrict you from interacting in any way with that video, let alone leaving a comment.

Part 7: Tips for Writing a Comment that will be Pinned as a Highlighted Comment?

Many frequently inquire on the internet about how they can improve the chances of getting their comment pinned, as highlighted on YouTube. The secret lies in how you write the statement. We’ve listed a few pro tips below that can help:

• First, go through all the posted comments under the video. It will help you identify what is missing. You can comment or write the missing point in comprehendible and straightforward words. Also, never forget to acknowledge the YouTuber’s talent.
• Remember, no one has the time to read long comments. So, when you know what you want to write, try to shorten your sentences. A short and crisp comment draws more attention.
• After you have framed your comment, make sure that it is grammatically correct. YouTube and Google hate grammatical errors.
• Do not hit the post option already. Before publishing it, you must cross-check that your comment has all the above points in place.
• Lastly, you have to wait after publishing on the video’s comment section. YouTube will highlight your comment if it passes according to the YouTube policy and if the search engine finds it unique.

Part 8: Are Highlighted Comments Beneficial?

Being a convenience feature, a highlighted comment on YouTube is 100% beneficial. That is especially true if you are looking for ways to optimize your channel.

YouTube is undeniably the second largest search engine on the web. Highlight comments can potentially increase the outreach of your content and, consequently, your brand presence.

As said earlier, these comments always show first on the comment section. Needless to say, many people who watch the videos also scroll down to the comments section to start a conversation or see what other viewers are saying about this video.

In the process, alongside the interaction, they also check out the channels or profiles of the commentators. Viewers often visit the pages of these channels, and if they happen to enjoy the video content, they will subscribe to the YouTuber’s channel. If your comment gets highlighted, your YouTube channel can be one of them.

Conclusion

YouTube can be an intimidating tool for marketing and more so for newcomers. Every YouTuber wishes that their channel performs better than the previous day. Even though the highlighted comment or highlighted reply feature doesn’t have any direct benefits, it can indeed help in optimizing your YouTube channel.

It can connect you with potential viewers and increase the number of people that visit your channel regularly. However, how many of them stay and hit the “Subscribe” button is a different story altogether and is wholly based on whether they like what you share through your videos.

In this article, we have shared facts on YouTube’s commonly seen highlighted comment feature. Yet, the term is a heavily misleading one, as far as viewers and Youtuber’s are concerned. We have also covered all other aspects and queries related to this term. Here’s hoping they clarify all your doubts.

Liza Brown

Liza Brown is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Liza Brown