Description

When using the API to retrieve 360° (spherical) videos, the returned file's aspect ratio is different than the original file uploaded.

Detailed description

Monoscopic 360° (spherical) photos and videos have a 2:1 aspect ratio. I uploaded a monoscopic 360° video with the appropriate aspect ratio to Google Photos.

When I download the file using the official Google Photos web interface, the downloaded file has the correct aspect ratio of 2:1.

However, when I request the photo using the Google Photos API, go to the baseUrl + "=dv" to download the video, and view the downloaded file, the file is now 1:1 (square) instead.

API calls

Request (made via the "try this method" widget on the docs):

POST https://photoslibrary.googleapis.com/v1/mediaItems:search

{
  "albumId": "<redacted>"
}

Response:

{
  "mediaItems": [
    { ... },
    { ... },
    {
      "id": "<redacted>",
      "productUrl": "https://photos.google.com/lr/album/<redacted>/photo/<redacted>",
      "baseUrl": "https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/lr/<redacted>",
      "mimeType": "video/mp4",
      "mediaMetadata": {
        "creationTime": "2023-04-03T02:42:00Z",
        "width": "5760",
        "height": "2880",
        "video": {
          "fps": 29.970029970029969,
          "status": "READY"
        }
      },
      "filename": "VID_20230403_114045_00_034.mp4"
    },
    { ... }
  ]
}

Steps to reproduce the problem

What steps will reproduce the problem?

1. Download any 360° monoscopic video. Note that it must have an XMP projection tag for Google Photos to recognize that it's 360°. I've provided a sample video for you to download to test this issue: https://photos.app.goo.gl/uLwe4TysEHmraxBf6
2. Upload the video to Google Photos. You'll know it worked when the uploaded video has the "360 arrow" icon in the Google Photos interface.
3. Use the Google Photos API to list your library or search photos from an album that you put your video in. You can use the "try this method" widget here.
4. Navigate to the baseUrl returned by the API in your web browser, appending "=dv" as specified in the docs.
5. Compare the downloaded file to the original file. The downloaded file will have a 1:1 aspect ratio while the original file will have a 2:1 aspect ratio.

What is the expected output?

The downloaded file should have a 2:1 aspect ratio, just like the original file.

What do you see instead?

The downloaded file is 1920x1920 with a 1:1 (square) aspect ratio.

Code sample

(N/A; this issue can be reproduced only using the "try this method" widgets on the official documentation pages)