How we ended with 16x9 Aspect ratios

[Chaitanya]

Nostalgia Nerd posted a video covering history of how the world ditched 4x3 in favour of 16x9 Aspect ratio for TVs and unfortunately PCs as well.

 

[cornemuse]

Didja notice: 16-9 x 4-3 -- 4 squared = 16, 3squared = 9?

 

[80-watt Hamster]

I miss 16:10. Yes, it's still out there, but only in a few specialized monitors and a handful of laptops. Though the mere fact that new laptops are being produced with 16:10 panels makes me cautiously optimistic about that ratio's chances of a continued existence.

 

[cvaldes]

Short answer: we ended up with 16:9 (1.77:1) as the de facto aspect ratio standard because Hollywood studios wanted to sell DVD movies. It was a convenient compromise when 8-10 factors (some of which are more important to some parties than others) were considered but the fact that standard American "flat" ratio of 1.85:1 had a big impact.

The Wikipedia entry describes it a compromise ratio. That's what it is. It's not superior to any other ratio, it just ended up being the least objectionable to a number of parties.

But that's how many modern standards arrived (not just display hardware). They're pretty much all compromises from the various parties involved to provide a midpoint with the least number of objections.

And when there are multiple standards, sometimes consumers vote with their wallets (VHS vs. Betacam, Blu-ray vs. HD-DVD). And often standards aren't meant to last forever. How many of you use WiMAX or CDMA? FDDI? NIS? AppleTalk?

 

[Launcestonian]

As the trend for consumers to do more with their gadgets continues, I can see 21:9 aspect becoming more popular in time.

 

[Dr. Dro]

As the trend for consumers to do more with their gadgets continues, I can see 21:9 aspect becoming more popular in time.

21:9's vertical FOV is too low. It's migraine inducing, using ultrawides basically guarantee FOV sickness for me. The solution was a large 16:9 panel, although as far as comfort goes, I guess hard to beat those 16:18 LG DualUp's. Shame they are useless for gaming.

 

[Launcestonian]

21:9's vertical FOV is too low. It's migraine inducing, using ultrawides basically guarantee FOV sickness for me. The solution was a large 16:9 panel, although as far as comfort goes, I guess hard to beat those 16:18 LG DualUp's. Shame they are useless for gaming.

IF your a fan of open world games like me, the extra width is a must have. I ordered my new 21:9 screen yesterday & can't wait to get delivery of it. If not for gaming, then having a wider screen allows more apps to run on the same screen. But yeah, I get your point about one's neck having to swivel more, so I think its a case of each too his or her own, some will like to swivel to see things horizontally but others may like it vertically as you suggested in that LG product.