Aspect Ratios 101

[Earfull]

I'll bet that this has been covered before, but as I am getting close to having my HT room completed, I am now looking at the DVD movies that I do have, and am confused about the various Aspect Ratios.

I've seen reference to: 1.33:1 / 2.35 / 1.85:1 / 4.3 / 16:9 / 1:1.78 / Letterbox / Widescreen / etc etc.

Yikes! Could someone please explain all of this to me in simple terms?

(My new screen is 16:9).

Thanks

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Edit: We did a whole article on this topic:

http://www.audioholics.com/techtips/specsformats/widescreenletterboxpanscan.php

- Admin.

 

[jcPanny]

16:9 = 1.78 to 1
4:3 = 1.33 to 1

You picked the right screen size for movies and HD material. Some movies in less common formats might have small bars on the top and bottom of your Screen. SD material (4:3) will have bars on the left and right side, but some displays will stretch it to fit the screen.

 

[Mayhem]

http://www.pbs.org/opb/crashcourse/aspect_ratio/

The first two pages are a nice basic primer, but to answer your question, in very basic terms, aspect ratio is the ratio of screen (and movie) width to height. Given that movies and different media can and are shot in differerent formats, knowing how these formats work and how your setup can deal with them is important to allow you to get the best result from your home theatre and TV.

 

[Earfull]

Awesome. Thanks!