Monitor Outlet - Gamers Zone

Aspect Ratio

What is Aspect Ratio?
Aspect ratio refers to the relationship between the width and height of the viewing screen. A standard TV is 4:3, meaning four units wide by 3 units high. Divide 4 by 3 to find out that the TV is 1.33 inches wide for every inch that it is high (also expressed as 1.33:1). Widescreen TVs, on the other hand, have an aspect ratio of 16:9, which equals 1.76 inches in width for every inch high (a.k.a. 1.76:1). That’s 30% more screen area.

4:3 or 16:9 Which one is for me?
Widescreen TVs are what movie buffs have long been waiting for. When classic films were transferred to VHS and DVD for TV viewing, most were (and still are) drastically altered so that they would fit onto a 4:3 screen. Much of the action was cut from what are considered by many to be works of art. Now, a widescreen-format DVD movie viewed on a 16:9 TV tells the story the way that the director intended. (Specifically those DVDs that indicate that they have been enhanced for widescreen TVs.