Apple TV+ on an ultrawide monitor, on Windows and Mac
Apple TV+ is built around original series and films, and a lot of them are made in wide formats that look as if they were made for an ultrawide. In Chrome they still play with black around the picture. This guide shows how to fill a 21:9 or 32:9 screen, with notes for anyone who connects an ultrawide to a Mac.
A wide picture in a 16:9 box
Original series are often produced at around 2.00:1 or wider, and feature films commonly use the 2.39:1 scope format. Streaming players usually send all of them as a 16:9 video, and the height that the picture does not use is filled with black. That works well on a TV. On an ultrawide it means bars inside the video plus bars at the sides, because a 16:9 video fitted to the height of a 3840×1600 screen is only 2844 pixels wide.
A 3840×1600 monitor is worth a closer look. At 2.4:1 it is almost exactly the shape of a scope film, so a 2.39 title filled with crop keeps 99.6% of its height. A 2.00 series is narrower than the screen, so filling it always costs something, either a strip at the top and bottom or a slightly wider picture.
The numbers for 21:9 and 32:9
| Picture inside a 16:9 stream | 21:9 (3840×1600) | 32:9 (5120×1440) |
|---|---|---|
| 2.39 film | 44.9% black | 62.8% black |
| 2.20 picture | 40.1% black | 59.6% black |
| 2.00 series | 34.2% black | 55.6% black |
On a 3440×1440 monitor the numbers are within half a percent of the first column. The black bar calculator shows any other combination.
Setting it up in Chrome
- Add UltraFill to Google Chrome on Windows or macOS and pin it to the toolbar.
- Open Apple TV+ in Chrome, start an episode or a film and go full screen.
- Click the UltraFill button at the top of the video, or press Alt + U (Option + U on a Mac).
- In the Screen tab, start with 2.20. If thin black lines are still visible above and below the picture, step up to 2.39. If foreheads and titles look cut, step down to 1.85 and compare.
- Fill the screen with the button or Alt + Z.
- Hold Alt + C to see the original view and make sure the format is right.
Working up from a narrower format is the safe way to find it. A format that is too narrow only leaves a thin bar, which you see straight away. A format that is too wide cuts real picture, which is easier to miss in a dark scene.
On a Mac with an ultrawide
Plenty of people connect an ultrawide to a MacBook or a Mac mini. UltraFill works the same way in Chrome on macOS, and every shortcut uses Option where Windows uses Alt: Option + U opens the panel, Option + Z fills the screen, holding Option + C shows the original, and Option + Shift + U turns on the sound tools.
If macOS runs the monitor at a scaled resolution, the shape of the screen still decides the numbers above: a 3440×1440 panel stays 21:9 at any scaling. UltraFill is a Chrome extension, so watch Apple TV+ in Chrome rather than in Safari or the TV app if you want to fill the screen.
Crop, stretch or elastic for a 2.00 series
- Crop (free): no distortion. On 3840×1600 you keep 83.3% of the height, a little over 8% from the top and from the bottom.
- Stretch (free): nothing is cut, and the picture becomes 20% wider. Landscapes and wide shots hide it well, faces in close-up less so.
- Elastic stretch (PRO): the center stays natural and mostly the edges stretch. On protected players like Apple TV+ it uses a gentler, simpler version.
Some series are graded dark, and on a bright desktop monitor shadows can look muddy. The color and light sliders, which are free and do not need to read the frames, let you lift the shadows or warm the picture a little. Each tab of the panel can be reset with one click when the episode ends.
Limits on protected video (DRM)
- Apple TV+ protects its streams, so automatic bar detection cannot read the picture. The format is your choice, and with PRO the title profile remembers it for each series or film.
- Effects that read the frames (denoise, ambient glow, the split before and after view, frame snapshots) only work on unprotected video.
- Sound tools need one click on the UltraFill icon, or Alt + Shift + U (Option + Shift + U on a Mac). Chrome shows a small sharing badge on the tab while they are active.
- Zoom, framing, rotate, flip and color and light work as usual.
PRO starts with a 7-day trial the first time you use a PRO feature, with no card needed, so you can test the title profile and auto-fill across a whole season.
Questions
Can I fill my ultrawide with Apple TV+ in Chrome?
Yes. Open Apple TV+ in Google Chrome on Windows or macOS, choose the format in the UltraFill panel and press Fill the screen.
Why does a wide series still leave bars at the sides of my 21:9 screen?
The series is delivered inside a 16:9 video with black above and below it. The player fits that 16:9 video to the height of your screen, so black remains at the sides too.
Which format should I start with?
Start with 2.20. If thin bars remain at the top and bottom, go to 2.39. If the picture looks cut, try 1.85. Hold Alt + C (Option + C on a Mac) to compare.
Are the shortcuts different on a Mac?
Only the modifier key: use Option where Windows uses Alt, for example Option + U for the panel and Option + Z to fill the screen.
Can UltraFill make dark scenes easier to see?
The free color and light sliders can lift shadows and adjust warmth, and they work on protected video. Effects that read the frames, such as denoise, do not work on Apple TV+.
Do the sound tools work on Apple TV+?
Yes, after one click on the UltraFill icon or Alt + Shift + U (Option + Shift + U on a Mac) on that tab.
UltraFill is an independent extension and is not affiliated with Apple, Apple TV+ or any other service mentioned on this page. Service names are used only to describe compatibility.