16:9 aspect ratio

A 16:9 rectangle in which rectangles visualize the ratio. Note that the groupings are not square.

An LCD television set with a 16:9 image ratio.

16:9 (1.77:1) is a widescreen aspect ratio with a width of 16 units and height of 9.

Once seen as exotic,^[1] since 2009, it has become the most common aspect ratio for televisions and computer monitors and is also the international standard format of digital television HDTV Full HD and SD TV. It has replaced the fullscreen 4:3 aspect ratio.

16:9 (1.77:1) (said as sixteen by nine or sixteen to nine) is the international standard format of HDTV, non-HD digital television and analog widescreen television PALplus. Japan's Hi-Vision originally started with a 5:3 ratio but converted when the international standards group introduced a wider ratio of 16 to 9. Many digital video cameras have the capability to record in 16:9, and 16:9 is the only widescreen aspect ratio natively supported by the DVD standard. DVD 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.

History[]

Derivation of the 16:9 aspect ratio

The main figure shows 4:3, 1.85:1 and 2.35:1 rectangles with the same area A, and 16:9 rectangles that covers (black) or is common to (grey) them. The calculation considers the extreme rectangles, where m and n are multipliers to maintain their respective aspect ratios and areas.

Dr. Kerns H. Powers, a member of the SMPTE Working Group on High-Definition Electronic Production, first proposed the 16:9 (1.77:1) aspect ratio in 1984,^[2] when nobody was creating 16:9 videos. The popular choices in 1980 were 4:3 (based on TV standard's ratio at the time), 15:9 (the European "flat" 1.66:1 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 1.77:1 and all of them also covered a smaller common inner rectangle with the same aspect ratio 1.78:1.^[3] The value found by Powers is exactly the geometric mean of the extreme aspect ratios, 4:3 and 2.35:1, √47/15≈1.77:1 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 1.5396:1, sometimes approximated as 14:9 (1.55:1), which is likewise used as a compromise between these ratios.^[4]

While 16:9 (1.77:1) was initially selected as a compromise format, the subsequent popularity of HDTV broadcast has solidified 16:9 as perhaps the most common video aspect ratio in use.^[5] Most 4:3 (1.33:1) and 2.40:1 video is now recorded using a "shoot and protect" technique^[6] that keeps the main action within a 16:9 (1.77:1) inner rectangle to facilitate HD broadcast^{[citation needed]}. 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.

After the original 16:9 Action Plan of the early 1990s, the European Union instituted the 16:9 Action Plan,^[7] just to accelerate the development of the advanced television services in 16:9 aspect ratio, both in PALplus (compatible with regular PAL broacasts) 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 16:9 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".^[8] 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.^[9][10][11]

In 2011, Bennie Budler, product manager of IT products at Samsung South Africa, confirmed that monitors capable of 1920×1200 resolutions are 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".^[12]

In March 2011, the 16:9 resolution 1920×1080 became the most common used resolution among Steam's users. The previous most common resolution was 1680×1050 (16:10).^[13]

Properties[]

16:9 is the only widescreen aspect ratio natively supported by the DVD format. Anamorphic DVD transfers store the information as 5:4 (PAL) or 3:2 (NTSC) square pixels, which is set to expand to either 16:9 or 4:3, which the television or video player handles. A PAL DVD with a full frame image may contain a video resolution of 768×576 (4:3 ratio), but a video player software will stretch this to 1024×576 square pixels with a 16:9 flag in order to recreate the correct aspect ratio.

DVD 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 1.77:1 HDTV screen and have been issued as an enhanced version on DVD without the black bars. Many digital video cameras have the capability to record in 16:9.

Common resolutions[]

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

Countries[]

Europe[]

In Europe, 16:9 is the standard broadcast format for most TV channels and all HD broadcasts. Some countries adopted the format for analogue television, first by using the PALplus standard (now obsolete) and then by simply using WSS on normal PAL broadcasts.

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	HRT 1**, 2**, 3**, 4**, 5, RTL Televizija*, RTL 2*, Nova TV*, Doma TV*, RTL Kockica* Sportska Televizija**.
Czech Republic	All channels.
Denmark	All channels.
Estonia	All channels.
Finland	All channels.
France	All channels.
Germany	All channels.
Georgia	All channels.
Greece	All channels.
Hungary	All channels.
Iceland	All channels.
Ireland	All channels.
Italy	All channels.
Kazakhstan	All channels.
Latvia	All channels.
Lithuania	All channels.
Luxembourg	All channels.
Malta	All channels.
Moldova	All channels.
Monaco	All channels.
Montenegro	All channels.
Netherlands	All channels.
North Macedonia	All channels.
Norway	All channels.
Poland	All channels.
Portugal	All channels.
Romania	Always on 16:9: Antena channels (Antena 1, Antena Stars, Antena 3, Happy, ZU TV, Antena Internațional), RCS & RDS channels (including Digi24, U TV, Music Channel), Kiss TV, B1 TV, Telekom Sport, Look TV, Look Plus, WarnerMedia channels (Cartoon Network, Boomerang) Often on 16:9: TVR channels (TVR 1, TVR 2, TVR 3, TVRi), PRO channels (Pro TV, Pro 2, Pro X, Pro Cinema, Pro Gold, Pro TV Internațional) Always on 4:3 with 16:9 stretched: CNM channels (, Național 24 Plus, ), TVR regional channels (TVR Cluj, TVR Craiova, TVR Iași, TVR Tîrgu-Mureș, TVR Timișoara), Prima TV.
Russia	All channels.
San Marino	All channels.
Serbia	All channels.
Slovakia	All channels.
Slovenia	All channels.
Spain	All channels.
Sweden	All channels.
Switzerland	All channels.
Turkey	All channels.
Ukraine	All channels.
United Kingdom	All channels.

Oceania[]

Country	Channel
Australia	All channels.
Fiji	All channels.
New Zealand	All channels.

Asia[]

Country	Channel
Afghanistan	All channels.
Bangladesh	SA TV.
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 on letterboxed.
Indonesia	16:9 native*: Kompas TV, MetroTV, Trans7, Trans TV, NET., TVRI 16:9 with inner 4:3**: RCTI, SCTV, Indosiar, MNCTV, GTV, iNews 4:3, upscaled/stretched to 16:9***: antv, tvOne, RTV *Channels that are primarily broadcast in 16:9 sometimes are filled by 4:3 content which are either stretched or pillarboxed. **Broadcast in 16:9 HDTV along with inner 4:3 SDTV. Due to their visibility, some contents are either pillarboxed and windowboxed (especially in commercial ads and live sport games). Contents wider than 16:9 are usually letterboxed. They're usually stretched in SDTV mode. HD versions are limited to pay TV services and digital terrestrial TV in select regions. ***These channels are still using 4:3 configuration. Stretched when broadcasting in 16:9 format. Some channels have limited original 16:9 video contents. Note: Nationwide TV channels listed above are classified according to their original configuration, sorted chronologically according to TV configuration update. Configuration for exclusively digital and local channels are may vary. Local versions of nationwide channels may be different from their national version.
Iran	All channels.
Israel	All channels.
Japan	Japan pioneered in its analogue HDTV system (MUSE) in 16:9 format, started in the 1980s. Currently all main channels have digital terrestrial television channels in 16:9 while being simulcast in analogue 4:3 format. Many satellite broadcast channels are being broadcast in 16:9 as well.
Jordan	All channels.
Kyrgyzstan	All channels.
Lebanon	All channels.
Malaysia	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 Nepal Television
Oman	All channels.
Pakistan	All HD channels. Most SD channels are still broadcasting in 4:3, either in fullscreen or letterboxed
Philippines	16:9 native*: PTV, ABS-CBN HD***, S+A HD ***, ANC (both SD and HD)***, Kapamilya Channel (both SD and HD)***, CNN Philippines, One PH,*** One News***, Hope Channel Philippines, 3ABN, Hope International, INCTV, Net 25, DZRH News Television 4:3 upscaled/stretched to 16:9**: ETC, 2nd Avenue, all BEAM's subchannels, Light Network, UNTV****, Ang Dating Daan TV, SMNI, all ABS-CBN terrestrial channels (including TVPlus channels), TV5, One Sports, GMA 7, A2Z, GTV, IBC 13 *channels that are squeezed/letterboxed to 4:3 on analog terrestrial transmissions nor no letterbox on widescreen-produced programs. **channels that are originally broadcasting in 4:3 on analog terrestrial, but upscaled or stretched to 16:9 for digital terrestrial television, cable and satellite. ***16:9 versions available on pay-TV services only. ****Some programs are aired in true 16:9 formatting
Qatar	All beIN Sports channels, Al Jazeera, Al Jazeera English, Al Jazeera Mubasher, Qatar TV HD, all Alkass channels.
Saudi Arabia	All channels.
Singapore	All MediaCorp channels, however 16:9 contents look squashed on older 4:3 sets. Also, all 4:3 contents including news clips are stretched as stretching is common.
South Korea	All channels.
Sri Lanka	All channels
Syria	All channels.
Taiwan	TTV HD, CTV HD, CTS HD, FTV HD, PTS HD, TVBS.
Thailand	All channels.
United Arab Emirates	All channels.
Vietnam	All of VTC's channels, VTV channels, HTV channels and K+'s channels (selected programmes), most of local channels.

Americas[]

Country	Channel
Argentina	All channels.
Barbados	All channels.
Bolivia	Always on 16:9: PAT, ATB. Often on 16:9: Bolivia TV.
Brazil	All channels.
Canada	All channels.
Chile	All channels. Expect Telecanal in 4.3 in ident 4:3 letterboxed in comercials
Colombia	All channels.
Costa Rica	All channels.
Dominican Republic	All channels.
Ecuador	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: , , , 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, Cine Mexicano.
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.
United States	All HD channels. SD feeds (usually found on pay television) are usually letterboxed and downscaled to 4:3.
Uruguay	All channels.
Venezuela	All channels.

Africa[]

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Country	Channel
Algeria	Algérie 3 Echourouk TV
Angola	All channels.
Botswana	All channels.
Burkina Faso	All channels.
Cameroon	All channels.
Cape Verde	All channels.
Comoros	All channels.
Congo	All channels.
Djibouti	All channels.
Egypt	All channels.
Equatorial Guinea	All channels.
Eritrea	All channels.
Ethiopia	All channels.
Gabon	All channels.
Ghana	All channels.
Ivory Coast	All channels.
Kenya	All channels.
Lesotho	All channels.
Liberia	All channels.
Libya	All channels.
Madagascar	All channels.
Malawi	All channels.
Mali	All channels.
Morocco	All channels.
Mozambique	All channels.
Mauritius	All channels.
Namibia	All channels.
Nigeria	All channels.
Rwanda	All channels.
Senegal	All channels.
Somalia	All channels.
South Africa	All channels.
Sudan	All channels.
Togo	All channels.
Tunisia	All channels.
Uganda	All channels.
Zimbabwe	All channels.

See also[]

• Display aspect ratio
• High-definition television
• Display resolution
• 1080p / 1080i
• 24p
• 4:3
• 14:9
• 16:10
• 21:9

References[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to 16:9.

External links[]