16:9 aspect ratio

File:HDTV aspect ratio derivation.svg

Kerns H. Powers, a member of the SMPTE Working Group on High-Definition Electronic Production, first proposed the 16:9 (1.7{{overline|7}}:1) aspect ratio in 1984. {{Citation |url=http://www.sportsvideo.org/new/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Searching-for-the-Perfect-Aspect-Ratio.pdf |title=Searching for the Perfect Aspect Ratio}} The popular choices in 1980 were 4:3 (based on TV standard's ratio at the time), 15:9 (5:3) (the European "flat" 1.6{{overline|6}}:1 ratio), 1.85:1 (the American "flat" ratio) and 2.35:1 (the CinemaScope/Panavision) ratio for anamorphic widescreen.

Powers cut out rectangles with equal areas, shaped to match each of the popular aspect ratios. When overlapped with their center points aligned, he found that all of those aspect ratio rectangles fit within an outer rectangle with an aspect ratio of 1.7{{overline|7}}:1 and all of them also covered a smaller common inner rectangle with the same aspect ratio 1.78:1.{{cite journal |url=http://www.cinemasource.com/articles/aspect_ratios.pdf#page=8 |format=Technical bulletin |title=Understanding Aspect Ratios |journal=CinemaSource |publisher=The CinemaSource Press |year=2001 |access-date=2009-10-24}} The value found by Powers is exactly the geometric mean of the extreme aspect ratios, 4:3 and 2.40:1, $\backslash textstyle\; \backslash sqrt\{\backslash frac\{47\}\{15\}\}${{nbsp}}≈{{nbsp}}1.77 which is coincidentally close to 16:9. Applying the same geometric mean technique to 16:9 and 4:3 yields an aspect ratio of around 1.54:1, sometimes approximated as 14:9 (1.5{{overline|5}}:1), which is likewise used as a compromise between these ratios.{{cite patent |title=Method of showing 16:9 pictures on 4:3 displays |country=EN |number=5956091 |gdate=1999-09-21}}

While 16:9 (1.7{{overline|7}}:1) was initially selected as a compromise format, the subsequent popularity of HD broadcast has solidified 16:9 as perhaps the most common video aspect ratio in use.{{cite web |date=2014-06-13|title=Why 16:9 aspect ratio was chosen for HD? |url=http://guruprasad.net/posts/why-16-9-aspect-ratio-was-chosen-for-hd/ |access-date=2021-09-17 |website=Guruprasad's Portal |language=en-US |archive-date=2021-11-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211116072240/http://guruprasad.net/posts/why-16-9-aspect-ratio-was-chosen-for-hd/ |url-status=usurped}} Most 4:3 (1.3{{overline|3}}:1) and 21:9 video is now recorded using a "shoot and protect" technique that keeps the main action within a 16:9 (1.7{{overline|7}}:1) inner rectangle to facilitate 16:9 conversion and viewing.{{cite journal |journal=EBU |location=CH |url=http://www.ebu.ch/en/technical/trev/trev_280-baker.pdf |title=Safe areas for widescreen transmission |first=I |last=Baker |publisher=BBC |date=1999-08-25 |access-date=2009-10-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101011055023/http://www.ebu.ch/en/technical/trev/trev_280-baker.pdf |archive-date=2010-10-11 |url-status=dead}} Conversely it is quite common to use a technique known as center-cutting, to approach the challenge of presenting material shot (typically 16:9) to both an HD and legacy 4:3 audience simultaneously without having to compromise image size for either audience. Content creators frame critical content or graphics to fit within the 1.33:1 raster space. This has similarities to a filming technique called open matte.

In 1993, the European Union instituted the 16:9 Action Plan,{{cite web |format=legislation summary |url=http://europa.eu/legislation_summaries/other/l24103c_en.htm|title=Television in the 16:9 screen format |publisher=Europa |location=EU |access-date=2011-09-08}} to accelerate the development of the advanced television services in 16:9 aspect ratio, both in PALplus (compatible with regular PAL broadcasts) and also in HD-MAC (an early HD format). The Community fund for the 16:9 Action Plan amounted to €228,000,000.

Over a long period in the late 2000s and early 2010s, the computer industry switched from 4:3 to 16:10 (1.60:1) and then to 16:9 as the most common aspect ratio for monitors and laptops. A 2008 report by DisplaySearch cited a number of reasons for this shift, including the ability for PC and monitor manufacturers to expand their product ranges by offering products with wider screens and higher resolutions, helping consumers to more easily adopt such products and "stimulating the growth of the notebook PC and LCD monitor market".{{cite web |url=http://www.displaysearch.com/cps/rde/xchg/SID-0A424DE8-28DF6E59/displaysearch/hs.xsl/070108_16by9_PR.asp |title=Product Planners and Marketers Must Act Before 16:9 Panels Replace Mainstream 16:10 Notebook PC and Monitor LCD Panels, New DisplaySearch Topical Report Advises |publisher=DisplaySearch |date=2008-07-01 |access-date=2011-09-08}} By using the same aspect ratio for both TVs and monitors, manufacturing can be streamlined and research costs reduced by not requiring two separate sets of equipment, and since a 16:9 is narrower than a 16:10 panel of the same length, more panels can be created per sheet of glass.{{cite web |url=http://blog.lenovo.com/en/blog/display-ratio-change-again |title=Display Ratio Change (again) |date=2009-04-14 |access-date=2020-01-22 |archive-date=2020-03-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200302211457/http://blog.lenovo.com/en/blog/display-ratio-change-again |url-status=dead}}{{cite web |url=https://bit-tech.net/blogs/tech/16-10-vs-16-9-the-monitor-aspect-ratio/1/ |title=16:10 vs 16:9 - the monitor aspect ratio conundrum |date=2012-10-22 |access-date=2020-01-22}}{{cite web |url=https://press.trendforce.com/node/view/3307.html |title=Resurgence of 16:10 Aspect Ratio Laptop Computers to Occupy 2% Share of Non-Apple Market in 2020, Says TrendForce |date=2019-04-11 |access-date=2020-01-22}}

In 2011, Bennie Budler, product manager of IT products at Samsung South Africa, confirmed that monitors with a native resolution of {{resx|1920×1200}} were not being manufactured anymore. "It is all about reducing manufacturing costs. The new 16:9 aspect ratio panels are more cost-effective to manufacture locally than the previous 16:10 panels".{{cite web |url=http://mybroadband.co.za/news/hardware/17621-Widescreen-monitors-Where-did-1920x1200.html |title=Widescreen monitors: Where did 1920×1200 go? « Hardware « MyBroadband Tech and IT News |publisher=Mybroadband.co.za |date=2011-01-10 |access-date=2011-09-08}}

In March 2011, the 16:9 resolution {{resx|1920×1080}} became the most common used resolution among Steam's users. The previous most common resolution was {{resx|1680×1050}} (16:10).{{cite web |url=http://store.steampowered.com/hwsurvey |title=Steam Hardware & Software Survey |publisher=Steam |access-date=2011-09-08}} By July 2022, Steam reported 16:9 resolutions were used by 77% of its users ({{resx|1920x1080}} with 67%; {{resx|2560 x 1440}} with 10%).{{cite web |url=https://store.steampowered.com/hwsurvey |title=Steam Hardware & Software Survey |website=store.steampowered.com}}

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16:9 is the only widescreen aspect ratio natively supported by the DVD format. An anamorphic PAL region DVD video frame has a maximum resolution of {{resx|720x576p}}, but a video player software will stretch this to {{resx|1024x576p}}.

Producers can also choose to show even wider ratios such as 1.85:1 and 2.4:1 within the 16:9 DVD frame by hard matting or adding black bars within the image itself. Some films which were made in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio, such as the U.S.-Italian co-production Man of La Mancha and Kenneth Branagh's Much Ado About Nothing, fit quite comfortably onto a 1.7{{overline|7}}:1 HDTV screen and have been issued as an enhanced version on DVD without the black bars. Many digital video cameras also have the capability to record in 16:9.

Common resolutions for the 16:9 ratio:

• Display aspect ratio
• Videos with display aspect ratio 16:9 on Commons
• Display resolution
• 1080p
• 2160p
• 4320p

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• {{cite web |url=http://www.necdisplay.com/support/css/monitortechguide/index05.htm |publisher=NEC |title=NEC Monitor Technology Guide |access-date=2006-07-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060521000427/http://www.necdisplay.com/support/css/monitortechguide/index05.htm |archive-date=2006-05-21}}

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Category:Picture aspect ratios

Category:High-definition television

Category:Ultra-high-definition television