16:9 aspect ratio explained

16:9 is a widescreen aspect ratio with a width of 16 units and height of 9 units.

Once seen as an "exotic" aspect ratio,^[1] since 2009, it has become the most common aspect ratio for televisions and computer monitors, and is also the universal standard image format for the universal 1080p, 2160p and 4320p formats.

16:9 or "sixteen-nine" is the universal widescreen standard format^[2] and Wide-aspect Clear-vision.^[3] Japan's Hi-Vision originally started with a ratio but converted when the international standards group introduced the wider ratio . Many digital video cameras have the capability to record in 16:9, and this is the only widescreen aspect ratio natively supported by Blu-ray Disc. It is also the native aspect ratio of the Blu-ray Disc, but Blu-ray Disc producers can also choose to show even a wider ratio such as 2.40:1 within the 16:9 frame adding Letterbox black bars within the image itself.

History

Kerns H. Powers, a member of the SMPTE Working Group on High-Definition Electronic Production, first proposed the 16:9 (1.7:1) aspect ratio in 1984. The popular choices in 1980 were 4:3 (based on TV standard's ratio at the time), 15:9 (5:3) (the European "flat" 1.6:1 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 1.7:1 and all of them also covered a smaller common inner rectangle with the same aspect ratio 1.78:1.^[4] The value found by Powers is exactly the geometric mean of the extreme aspect ratios, 4:3 and 2.40:1,

style \sqrt{ (47)/(15) }≈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 (1.5:1), which is likewise used as a compromise between these ratios.^[5]

While 16:9 (1.7:1) 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.^[6] Most 4:3 (1.3:1) and 21:9 video is now recorded using a "shoot and protect" technique that keeps the main action within a 16:9 (1.7:1) inner rectangle to facilitate 16:9 conversion and viewing.^[7] 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,^[8] 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".^[9] 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.^{[10] [11] [12]}

In 2011, Bennie Budler, product manager of IT products at Samsung South Africa, confirmed that monitors with a native resolution of 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".^[13]

In March 2011, the 16:9 resolution became the most common used resolution among Steam's users. The previous most common resolution was (16:10).^[14] By July 2022, 16:9 resolutions are preferred by 77% of users (with 67%; with 10%).^[15]

Properties

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, but a video player software will stretch this to .

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 1.7:1 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

Common resolutions for 16:9 are listed in the table below:

Width	Height	Name
640	360	nHD
854	480	FWVGA
960	540	qHD
1024	576	WSVGA
1280	720	HD
1366	768	FWXGA
1600	900	HD+
1920	1080	Full HD
2560	1440	QHD
3200	1800	QHD+
3840	2160	4K UHD
5120	2880
7680	4320	8K UHD

Countries

Africa

Country	Channel
Algeria	Algérie 3 Echourouk TV
Angola	All channels.
Benin	All channels.
Botswana	All channels.
Burkina Faso	All channels.
Burundi	All channels.
Cameroon	All channels.
Cape Verde	All channels.
Central African Republic	All channels.
Chad	All channels.
Comoros	All channels.
Congo	All channels.
	All channels.
Djibouti	All channels.
Egypt	All channels.
Equatorial Guinea	All channels.
	All channels.
Ethiopia	All channels.
	All channels.
Gabon	All channels.
Ghana	All channels.
Guinea	All channels.
Guinea-Bissau	All channels.
	All channels.
Kenya	All channels.
Lesotho	All channels.
Liberia	All channels.
Libya	All channels.
Madagascar	All channels.
Malawi	All channels.
Mali	All channels.
Mayotte	All channels.
Morocco	All channels.
Mozambique	All channels.
Mauritania	All channels.
Mauritius	All channels.
Namibia	All channels.
Niger	All channels.
Nigeria	All channels.
Rwanda	All channels.
Sao Tome and Principe	All channels.
Senegal	All channels.
Seychelles	All channels.
Sierra Leone	All channels.
Somalia	All channels.
South Africa	All channels.
	All channels.
Sudan	All channels.
	All channels.
Togo	All channels.
Tunisia	All channels.
Uganda	All channels.
Zambia	All channels.
Zimbabwe	All channels.

Americas

Country/Territory	Channel
Antigua and Barbuda	All channels.
Argentina	All channels.
Bahamas	All channels.
Barbados	All channels.
Belize	All channels.
Bermuda	All channels.
	Always on 16:9: PAT, ATB. Often on 16:9: Bolivia TV.
Brazil	Channels change between 16:9 and 4:3 pillarbox depending on what's airing.
	All channels.
Canada	All channels.
Cayman Islands	All channels.
Chile	All channels. Expect Telecanal in 4.3 in ident 4:3 letterboxed in commercials.
Colombia	All channels.
Costa Rica	All channels.
Cuba	All channels.
	All channels.
Dominica	All channels.
Dominican Republic	All channels.
Ecuador	All channels.
El Salvador	All channels.
Grenada	All channels.
Guadeloupe	All channels.
Guatemala	All channels.
Guyana	All channels.
Haiti	All channels.
Honduras	All channels.
Jamaica	All channels.
Mexico	Free-to-air television: Las Estrellas, FOROtv, Canal 5, NU9VE, Televisa Regional, Azteca Uno, Azteca 7, a+, adn40, Imagen Televisión, Excélsior TV, Canal Once, Canal 22, Una Voz con Todos, Teveunam, Milenio Televisión, Multimedios Televisión, Teleritmo, and some local HD stations. Pay television: U, Golden, Golden Edge, TL Novelas, Bandamax, De Película, De Película Clásico, Ritmoson Latino, TDN, TeleHit, Distrito Comedia, Tiin, Az Noticias, Az Clic!, Az Mundo, Az Corazón, Az Cinema, 52MX, TVC, TVC Deportes, Pánico, Cinema Platino, and Cine Mexicano.
Montserrat	All channels.
Nicaragua	All channels.
Panama	All channels.
Paraguay	Almost all channels on free-to-air television, especially HD feeds (ex.: RPC, NPY, Unicanal, channel 7 HD). SD feeds (usually found on pay television) are usually letterboxed and downscaled to 4:3 (ex.: SNT & Paravisión).
Peru	All channels.
Saint Kitts and Nevis	All channels.
Saint Lucia	All channels.
Saint Pierre and Miquelon	All channels.
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	All channels.
Suriname	All channels.
Trinidad and Tobago	All channels.
United States	All HD channels. SD feeds are usually letterboxed and downscaled to 4:3.
	All channels.
Uruguay	All channels.
	All channels.

Asia

Country/Territory	Channel
Afghanistan	All channels.
Bahrain	All channels.
Bangladesh	RTV, SA TV, Somoy TV.
Bhutan	All channels.
	All channels (Radio Television Brunei).
Cambodia	All channels.
China	CCTV channels 1–15, CCTV-5+, all CGTN channels. Older contents in 4:3 and news contents are stretched on SD variants of these channels as stretching on SD channels is common.
Hong Kong	All channels.
India	All HD channels. Most SD channels are still broadcasting in 4:3, either fullscreen or letterboxed.
Indonesia	All channels.
	All channels.
Iraq	All channels.
Israel	All channels.
Japan	All channels. Japan pioneered its analogue HDTV system (MUSE) in 16:9 format, which started in the 1980s. There were also analog NTSC-compatible widescreen broadcasts using the Clear-Vision system. Currently all main channels have digital terrestrial television channels in 16:9. Many satellite broadcast channels are being broadcast in 16:9 as well.
Jordan	All channels.
Kuwait	All channels.
Kyrgyzstan	All channels.
	All channels.
Lebanon	All channels.
Malaysia	All channels.
Maldives	All channels.
Mongolia	MNB & MN2, TM Television, TV5, TV6, TV8, Channel 25, Эx Орон, SBN, ETV, MNC, Eagle News TV, Edutainment TV, Star TV, SPS, Sportbox, and SHUUD TV.
Myanmar	All channels.
Nepal	Kantipur Television Network, AP1 TV, News 24 (Nepal), TV Filmy, and Nepal Television.
	All HD channels. Most SD channels are still broadcasting in 4:3, either fullscreen or letterboxed.
Oman	All channels.
Pakistan	All HD channels. Most SD channels are still broadcasting in 4:3, either fullscreen or letterboxed.
	All channels.
Philippines	16:9 native: PTV, ANC (both SD and HD), Kapamilya Channel (both SD and HD), A2Z, RPTV (both SD and HD), Aliw 23, One PH, One News (both SD and HD), One Sports+, Hope Channel Philippines, CCTN, CLTV36, 3ABN, Cinema One, Hope International, INCTV, Net 25, Front Row Channel, Living Asia Channel, Shop TV (both SD and HD), Solar All Access, Solar Sports, SolarFlix, Solar Learning, DZRH News Television, TeleRadyo Serbisyo, Truth Channel, all TAP DMV channels (TAP TV, TAP Edge, TAP Movies, TAP Action Flix, TAP Sports, Premier Sports, Premier Tennis, and Premier Football), BuKo, NBA TV Philippines, PBA Rush, UAAP Varsity Channel, One Media Network, Metro Channel (both SD and HD), Myx, Prime TV, all BEAM TV subchannels (except Knowledge Channel), Sari-Sari Channel, SMNI, SMNI News Channel, IBC, All TV, GMA, GTV and its other subchannels, TV5 (both SD and HD), One Sports (both SD and HD), UNTV, RJ DigiTV and its other subchannels, and TV Maria. 4:3 upscaled/stretched to 16:9: Light TV, Cine Mo!, Jeepney TV, Knowledge Channel, all Viva Communications channels (Celestial Movies Pinoy, Pinoy Box Office, Tagalized Movie Channel, and Viva Cinema), and UNTV (Ang Dating Daan only).
Qatar	All beIN Sports channels, Al Jazeera Arabic, Al Jazeera English, Al Jazeera Mubasher, Qatar TV HD, and all Alkass channels.
Saudi Arabia	All channels.
Singapore	All channels. 16:9 contents are stretched because the format appears vertically stretched on older 4:3 sets. All 4:3 contents including news clips are also stretched.
	All channels.
Sri Lanka	All channels
	All channels.
	All channels.
Tajikistan	All channels.
Thailand	All channels.
Timor-Leste	All channels.
Turkey	All channels.
Turkmenistan	All channels.
United Arab Emirates	All channels.
Uzbekistan	All channels.
	All channels.
Yemen	All channels.

Europe

Country	Channel
Albania	All channels.
Andorra	All channels.
Armenia	All channels.
Austria	All channels.
Azerbaijan	All channels.
Belarus	All channels.
Belgium	All channels.
Bosnia and Herzegovina	All channels.
Bulgaria	All channels.
Cyprus	All channels.
Croatia	All channels.
Czech Republic	All channels.
Denmark	All channels.
Estonia	All channels.
Finland	All channels.
France	All channels.
Germany	All channels.
Georgia	All channels.
Gibraltar	All channels.
Greece	All channels.
Hungary	All channels.
Iceland	All channels.
Ireland	All channels.
Italy	All channels.
Kazakhstan	All channels.
	All channels.
Latvia	All channels.
Lithuania	All channels.
Luxembourg	All channels.
Malta	All channels.
	All channels.
Monaco	All channels.
Montenegro	All channels.
Netherlands	All channels.
	All channels.
Norway	All channels.
Poland	All channels.
Portugal	All channels.
Romania	All channels.
	All channels.
San Marino	All channels.
Serbia	All channels.
Slovakia	All channels.
Slovenia	All channels.
Spain	All channels.
Sweden	All channels.
Switzerland	All channels.
Ukraine	All channels.
United Kingdom	All channels.

Oceania

Country/Territory	Channel
American Samoa	All channels.
Australia	All channels.
Cook Islands	All channels.
	All channels.
Fiji	All channels.
French Polynesia	All channels.
Guam	All channels.
Kiribati	All channels.
Marshall Islands	All channels.
Nauru	All channels.
New Caledonia	All channels.
New Zealand	All channels.
Niue	All channels.
Palau	All channels.
Papua New Guinea	All channels.
Samoa	All channels.
Solomon Islands	All channels.
Tonga	All channels.
Tuvalu	All channels.
Vanuatu	All channels.
Wallis and Futuna	All channels.

See also

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

External links

• Web site: NEC Monitor Technology Guide. NEC. 2006-07-24. https://web.archive.org/web/20060521000427/http://www.necdisplay.com/support/css/monitortechguide/index05.htm. 2006-05-21.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Hoehler . Dieter . 2008-06-03 . A Brief Review on HDTV in Europe in the early 90's. Live-Production.TV.
2. Web site: Recommendation ITU-R BT.1197-1 Enhanced wide-screen PAL TV transmission system (the PALplus system) . itu.int.
3. Book: Recommendation ITU-R BT.1298 - Enhanced wide-screen NTSC TV transmission system . ITU . 1997.
4. Understanding Aspect Ratios. Technical bulletin. CinemaSource. The CinemaSource Press. 2001. 2009-10-24.
5. Method of showing 16:9 pictures on 4:3 displays. EN. 5956091. 1999-09-21.
6. Web site: 2014-06-13. Why 16:9 aspect ratio was chosen for HD?. 2021-09-17. Guruprasad's Portal. en-US. 2021-11-16. https://web.archive.org/web/20211116072240/http://guruprasad.net/posts/why-16-9-aspect-ratio-was-chosen-for-hd/. dead.
7. EBU. CH. Safe areas for widescreen transmission. I. Baker. BBC. 1999-08-25. 2009-10-27. https://web.archive.org/web/20101011055023/http://www.ebu.ch/en/technical/trev/trev_280-baker.pdf. 2010-10-11. dead.
8. Web site: legislation summary. Television in the 16:9 screen format. Europa. EU. 2011-09-08.
9. Web site: 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. DisplaySearch. 2008-07-01. 2011-09-08.
10. Web site: Display Ratio Change (again). 2009-04-14. 2020-01-22. 2020-03-02. https://web.archive.org/web/20200302211457/http://blog.lenovo.com/en/blog/display-ratio-change-again. dead.
11. Web site: 16:10 vs 16:9 - the monitor aspect ratio conundrum. 2012-10-22 . 2020-01-22.
12. Web site: Resurgence of 16:10 Aspect Ratio Laptop Computers to Occupy 2% Share of Non-Apple Market in 2020, Says TrendForce . 2019-04-11 . 2020-01-22.
13. Web site: Widescreen monitors: Where did 1920×1200 go? « Hardware « MyBroadband Tech and IT News . Mybroadband.co.za . 2011-01-10 . 2011-09-08 .
14. Web site: Steam Hardware & Software Survey . Steam . 2011-09-08 .
15. Web site: Steam Hardware & Software Survey. store.steampowered.com.