Twitch streams on an ultrawide monitor
Twitch streams are live 16:9 video, so on a 21:9 or 32:9 monitor they leave black at the sides. Twitch is also one of the friendliest places for UltraFill: regular streams are not protected with DRM, so every tool works, including the ones that read the picture.
What a 16:9 stream does on your monitor
Almost every stream is broadcast at 16:9, whatever the streamer's own monitor looks like. Your player fits that picture to the height of the screen, so a 3440×1440 monitor shows the stream 2560 pixels wide and leaves 440 black pixels on each side. On a 32:9 monitor the stream covers exactly half of the width.
| 16:9 stream | 21:9 (3440×1440) | 32:9 (5120×1440) |
|---|---|---|
| Black at the sides | 25.6% | 50% |
| Picture height kept with crop | 74.4% | 50% |
| Cut at the top and at the bottom | 12.8% each | 25% each |
Other monitor sizes are in the black bar calculator.
Game HUDs and stream overlays
The top and bottom of a game stream are rarely empty. Health bars, ammo counters, minimaps, kill feeds and the streamer's own overlays such as alerts, goals and the webcam box tend to live near the edges. That changes the usual advice:
- Crop (free) keeps shapes perfect but cuts 12.8% at the top and bottom on 21:9. Fine for a game with a minimal interface, annoying when the information you care about sits in a corner.
- Stretch (free) keeps every part of the screen and makes everything 34% wider. For strategy games and anything with a busy interface, many viewers prefer this.
- Elastic stretch (PRO) keeps the middle natural and stretches mostly the edges, which is where the webcam and the HUD often are. Great for the gameplay itself, less so if you are watching the facecam. On unprotected video like Twitch, elastic uses its full version rather than the simpler one used on protected players.
- Crop and move: after a crop, shift the frame with Alt + Shift + arrow keys to keep the part of the interface that matters, for example the bottom bar.
Step by step
- Add UltraFill to Google Chrome on Windows or macOS.
- Open a stream and switch the Twitch player to full screen.
- Hover over the top of the video and click UltraFill, or press Alt + U (Option + U on a Mac).
- Choose crop, stretch or elastic stretch and press Fill the screen or Alt + Z.
- Hold Alt + C to see the original stream for a moment.
Sometimes a stream has black bars painted into the picture, for example when the streamer plays a cinematic game with letterboxing or a retro game with bars at the sides. Because Twitch streams are not protected, auto bars (Alt + B) can read the picture, find those bars and pick the format for you.
The full toolbox, without DRM
On protected streaming services several UltraFill features are blocked by the browser. On regular Twitch streams they all work, with no extra steps:
- Picture: sharpness and denoise (PRO) help with low-bitrate streams that turn blocky in fast scenes. Picture styles and the ambient glow, which spills the stream's colors into the area around the picture, work too.
- Comparison: the split before and after view shows exactly what each effect changes, and frame snapshots save a moment from the stream.
- Sound: volume leveling tames sudden alerts and loud moments, clear dialog lifts the streamer's voice above the game, and the 5-band equalizer works directly. Unlike protected services, there is no extra click.
Past broadcasts and clips play in the same kind of player, so the same tools apply to them.
Super ultrawide: 32:9
With half of a 32:9 screen black, a full crop loses half of the height and a full stretch doubles the width. A middle way works better: zoom part of the way with Alt + mouse wheel and add elastic stretch for the rest. The YouTube on 32:9 guide walks through settings for 16:9 video on super ultrawide screens that apply to streams as well.
Honest limits
UltraFill changes the video picture, not the Twitch page: the chat, the layout and theatre mode stay as Twitch draws them, so filling works best in full screen. UltraFill runs in Google Chrome on Windows and macOS. If a video on any site is protected with DRM, the frame-reading effects and auto bars stop working there and sound tools need a click on the UltraFill icon or Alt + Shift + U (Option + Shift + U on a Mac).
Questions
Does UltraFill work on Twitch?
Yes. Regular Twitch streams are not protected, so filling, auto bars, image effects and sound tools all work in Chrome on Windows and macOS.
Will crop cut off the game interface?
On 21:9 crop removes 12.8% at the top and at the bottom of a 16:9 stream, where HUDs and overlays often sit. Use stretch, or move the frame with Alt + Shift + arrow keys to keep what matters.
Do I need to click the UltraFill icon for sound on Twitch?
No. On unprotected video the sound tools work directly. The extra click is only needed on DRM-protected services.
Can UltraFill improve a low quality stream?
Sharpness and denoise (PRO) can make blocky, low-bitrate streams look cleaner. Use the split before and after view to judge the difference.
Does it work on past broadcasts and clips?
Yes, they play in the same kind of player as live streams, so the same tools apply.
Does UltraFill change the Twitch chat or page layout?
No. It only changes the video picture. For the best result, switch the player to full screen.
UltraFill is an independent extension and is not affiliated with Twitch or any other service mentioned on this page. Service names are used only to describe compatibility.