Instagram for TV tests horizontal video: render a 16:9 cut as well

Meta's Instagram for TV page lists "Horizontal video" as in testing, next to Stories on the big screen and casting Reels from your phone. The page is a product announcement, not a spec: it says nothing about aspect ratio, resolution or length for horizontal video. So you cannot yet build to a number. What you can do is keep the vertical master you already make for Reels and add a 16:9 render as a second file, which Sume Timeline and Video Router can both produce.

What does Instagram say about TV?

The announcement, Instagram for TV Gets Bigger, is the source for the first rows below; the earlier launch post adds the household and sound details.

Does a Reel play on TV in 9:16?

Reels are the core content of the TV app, per the launch post: it is about bringing reels from favorite creators to the big screen. Neither page tells you how a vertical video is framed on a landscape screen, so check the result on a real TV before you assume anything. The sound is on by default, so a Reel without an audio bed will play silent.

How do I make a 16:9 cut with Sume?

Two routes. If you already have the footage, Timeline 1.0 takes output.width and output.height as even integers from 256 to 2160, so a 1920 by 1080 render is a plan field, not a new edit. video[].fit is cover, contain, stretch or blur; blur is the option to try when a vertical clip does not fill a wide frame; check the result. If you are generating, Video Router Auto offers 3 to 10 second clips at 16:9 or 9:16.

curl -X POST https://api.sume.com/v1/timeline-1.0/plan \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $SUME_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "audio": { "url": "https://media.sume.com/artifacts/artf_demo/voice.wav", "duration_seconds": 24 },
    "video": [
      { "source_url": "https://media.sume.com/artifacts/artf_demo/talk.mp4", "start": 0, "duration": 24, "fit": "blur" }
    ],
    "output": { "width": 1920, "height": 1080 }
  }'

What should I keep from the vertical version?

Keep the same spine (voice, music, timing) and change only the frame. Keep key text well inside the picture, to be safe, because Meta has not published how horizontal video is framed. Render both files from one plan, name them by ratio, and run video trim if the horizontal version needs a shorter length. Revisit this when Meta publishes a spec for horizontal video, and replace the guesses above with its numbers.

How do I check the result on a TV?

Cast a draft from your phone. Meta's page says casting Reels from your phone works on Google TV and Fire TV only, so on a Samsung TV you would use the app. Look at three things: whether the picture is framed as you expect, whether text near the edges survives, and whether the sound is at a sensible level, since the launch post says playback starts automatically with full sound. Keep notes per device, because the horizontal test is described for the United States only and may change.

Is it worth making a horizontal file now?

It costs little: the same spine and clips go through a second plan with a different output size, at the Timeline rate of $0.10 per output minute, rounded up. The unbilled plan call shows the estimate first. Since Meta says only that horizontal video is in testing, hold the file until you can see how it is used, and do not rebuild your workflow around it yet.