Display Aspect Ratio
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The aspect ratio of a display device is the proportional relationship between the width and the height of the display. It is expressed as two numbers separated by a colon (''x'':''y''), where ''x'' corresponds to the width and ''y'' to the height. Common aspect ratios for displays, past and present, include 5:4, 4:3, 16:10 and 16:9.


Computer displays

As of 2016, most computer monitors use
widescreen Widescreen images are displayed within a set of aspect ratios (relationship of image width to height) used in film, television and computer screens. In film, a widescreen film is any film image with a width-to-height aspect ratio greater than t ...
displays with an aspect ratio of 16:9, although some portable PCs use narrower aspect ratios like 3:2 and 16:10 while some high-end desktop monitors have adopted ultrawide displays. The following table summarises the different aspect ratios that have been used in computer displays: The resolution doesn't match the aspect ratio exactly, but is commonly marketed or described as such.


History


4:3, 5:4 and 16:10

Until about 2003, most computer monitors used an aspect ratio of 4:3, and in some cases 5:4. For cathode ray tubes (CRT)s 4:3 was most common even in resolutions where this meant the pixels would not be square (e.g. 320×200 or 1280×1024 on a 4:3 display). Between 2003 and 2006, monitors with 16:10 aspect ratio became commonly available, first in laptops and later also in standalone computer monitors. Reasons for this transition was productive uses for such monitors, i.e. besides widescreen movie viewing and computer game play, are the word processor display of two standard A4 or
letter Letter, letters, or literature may refer to: Characters typeface * Letter (alphabet), a character representing one or more of the sounds used in speech; any of the symbols of an alphabet. * Letterform, the graphic form of a letter of the alphabe ...
pages side by side, as well as CAD displays of large-size drawings and CAD application menus at the same time. 16:10 became the most common sold aspect ratio for widescreen computer monitors until 2008.


16:9

In 2008, the computer industry started to move from 4:3 and 16:10 to 16:9 as the standard 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". By 2010, virtually all computer monitor and laptop manufacturers had also moved to the 16:9 aspect ratio, and the availability of 16:10 aspect ratio in mass market had become very limited. In 2011, non-widescreen displays with 4:3 aspect ratios still were being manufactured, but in small quantities. The reasons for this according to Bennie Budler, product manager of IT products at Samsung South Africa was that the "demand for the old 'Square monitors' has decreased rapidly over the last couple of years". He also predicted that "by the end of 2011, production on all 4:3 or similar panels will be halted due to a lack of demand." In 2012, 1920×1080 was the most commonly used resolution among Steam users. At the same time, the most common resolution globally was 1366×768, overtaking the previous leader 1024×768. In 2021, the 2K resolution of 1920×1080 was used by two third of the Steam users for the primary display with 1366×768 and 2560×1440 both at about eight percent taking the majority of the remaining resolutions.


3:2

3:2 displays first appeared in laptop computers in 2001 with the
PowerBook G4 The PowerBook G4 is a series of notebook computers manufactured, marketed, and sold by Apple Computer between 2001 and 2006 as part of its PowerBook line of notebooks. The PowerBook G4 runs on the RISC-based PowerPC G4 processor, designed by the ...
line, but didn't enter the mainstream until the 2010s with the Chromebook Pixel and
2-in-1 PC A 2-in-1 PC, also known as convertible laptop, 2-in-1 tablet, 2-in-1 laptop, 2-in-1 detachable, laplet, tabtop, laptop tablet, or simply 2-in-1, is a portable computer that has features of both tablets and laptops. Before the emergence of ''2- ...
s like Microsoft's Surface line. As of 2018, a number of manufacturers are either producing or planning to produce portable PCs with 3:2 displays.


21:9

Since 2014, a number of high-end desktop monitors have been released that use ultrawide displays with aspect ratios that roughly match the various
anamorphic format Anamorphic format is the cinematography technique of shooting a widescreen picture on standard 35 mm film or other visual recording media with a non-widescreen native aspect ratio. It also refers to the projection format in which a distorted ...
s used in film, but are commonly marketed as 21:9. Resolutions for such displays include 2560×1080 (64:27), 3440×1440 (43:18) and 3840×1600 (12:5).


32:9

In 2017, Samsung released a curved gaming display with an aspect ratio of 32:9 and resolution of 3840×1080.


256:135

Since 2011, several monitors complying with the
Digital Cinema Initiatives Digital Cinema Initiatives, LLC (DCI) is a consortium of major motion picture studios, formed to establish specifications for a common systems architecture for digital cinema systems. The organization was formed in March 2002 by Metro-Goldwyn-Ma ...
4K standard have been produced; this standard specifies a resolution of 4096×2160, giving an aspect ratio of ≈1.896:1.


1:1

A 1:1 aspect ratio results in a square display. One of the available monitors for desktop use of this format is Eizo EV2730Q (27", 1920 × 1920 Pixels, from 2015), however such monitors are also often found in air traffic control displays (connected using standard computer cabling, like DVI or DisplayPort) and on aircraft as part of avionic equipment (often connected directly using LVDS, SPI interfaces or other specialized means). This 1920×1920 display can also be used as the centerpiece of a three-monitor array with one WUXGA set in vertical position on each side, resulting in 4320×1920 (a ratio of 9:4) - and no distortion with the Eizo 27" 1:1 if the side displays are 22".


Suitability for software and content


Games

From 2005 to 2013 most
video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...
s were mainly made for the 16:9 aspect ratio and 16:9 computer displays therefore offer the best compatibility. 16:9 video games are letterboxed on a 16:10 or 4:3 display or have reduced
field of view The field of view (FoV) is the extent of the observable world that is seen at any given moment. In the case of optical instruments or sensors it is a solid angle through which a detector is sensitive to electromagnetic radiation. Human ...
. As of 2013, many games are adopting support for 21:9 ultrawide resolutions, which can give a gameplay advantage due to increased field of view, although this is not always the case. 4:3 monitors have the best compatibility with older games released prior to 2005 when that aspect ratio was the mainstream standard for computer displays.


Video

As of 2017, the most common aspect ratio for TV broadcasts is 16:9, whereas movies are generally made in the wider 21:9 aspect ratio. Most modern TVs are 16:9, which causes letterboxing when viewing 21:9 content, and pillarboxing when viewing 4:3 content such as older films or TV broadcasts, unless the content is cropped or stretched to fill the entire display.


Windows

Microsoft recommends a 16:9 display for
tablet computer A tablet computer, commonly shortened to tablet, is a mobile device, typically with a mobile operating system and touchscreen display processing circuitry, and a rechargeable battery in a single, thin and flat package. Tablets, being com ...
s running
Windows 8 Windows 8 is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft. It was released to manufacturing on August 1, 2012; it was subsequently made available for download via MSDN and TechNet on August 15, 2012, and later to ...
.


Productivity applications

Microsoft recommends a 16:9 display for Office 2013. For viewing documents in
A4 paper size ISO 216 is an international standard for paper sizes, used around the world except in North America and parts of Latin America. The standard defines the "A", "B" and "C" series of paper sizes, including A4, the most commonly available paper siz ...
(which has a 1.41:1 aspect ratio), whether in portrait mode or two side-by-side in landscape mode, 4:3 or 16:10 fits best. For photographs in the standard 135 film and print size (with a 3:2 aspect ratio), 16:10 fits best; for photographs taken with consumer-level digital cameras, 4:3 fits perfectly.


Diagonal and area

The size of a computer monitor is given as the diagonal measurement of its display area, usually in inches. Wider aspect ratios result in smaller overall area, given the same diagonal.


Smartphones

Until 2010, smartphones used different aspect ratios, including 3:2 and 5:3. Since then, most smartphone manufacturers have switched to using 16:9
widescreen Widescreen images are displayed within a set of aspect ratios (relationship of image width to height) used in film, television and computer screens. In film, a widescreen film is any film image with a width-to-height aspect ratio greater than t ...
displays, driven at least partly by the growing popularity of
HD video High-definition video (HD video) is video of higher resolution and quality than standard-definition. While there is no standardized meaning for ''high-definition'', generally any video image with considerably more than 480 vertical scan lines (N ...
using the same aspect ratio. Since 2017, a number of smartphones have been released using 18:9 or even wider aspect ratios (such as 18.5:9 or 19.5:9); such displays are expected to appear on increasingly more phones. Reasons for this trend include the ability for manufacturers to use a nominally larger display without increasing the width of the phone, being able to accommodate the on-screen navigation buttons without reducing usable app area, more area available for split-screen apps in portrait orientation, as well as the 18:9 ratio being well-suited for VR applications and the proposed
Univisium Univisium (macaronic Latin for "unity of images") is a proposed universal film format created by cinematographer Vittorio Storaro, ASC, AIC and his son, Fabrizio, to unify all future theatrical and television films into one respective aspect r ...
film format. On the other hand, the disadvantages of taller 18:9 aspect ratio phones with some phones even going up to 20:9 or 21:9 is reduced one-handed reachability, being less convenient to carry around in the pocket as they stick out and reduced overall screen surface area.


TVs

Most televisions were built with an aspect ratio of 4:3 until the early 2010s, when
widescreen Widescreen images are displayed within a set of aspect ratios (relationship of image width to height) used in film, television and computer screens. In film, a widescreen film is any film image with a width-to-height aspect ratio greater than t ...
TVs with 16:9 displays became the standard. This aspect ratio was chosen as the geometric mean between 4:3 and 2.35:1, an average of the various aspect ratios used in film. While 16:9 is well-suited for modern HDTV broadcasts, older 4:3 video has to be either padded with bars on the left and right side (pillarboxed), cropped or stretched, while movies shot with wider aspect ratios are usually letterboxed, with black bars at the top and bottom. Since the turn of the 21st century, many music videos began shooting on widescreen aspect ratio.


See also

* 14:9 aspect ratio * Computer monitor *
Display resolution The display resolution or display modes of a digital television, computer monitor or display device is the number of distinct pixels in each dimension that can be displayed. It can be an ambiguous term especially as the displayed resolution ...
*
Field of view in video games In first person video games, the field of view or field of vision (abbreviated FOV) is the extent of the observable game world that is seen on the display at any given moment. It is typically measured as an angle, although whether this angle is ...
* Graphics display resolution *
Ultrawide formats Ultrawide formats refers to photos, videos and displays with aspect ratio greater than 2. There were multiple moves in history towards wider formats, including one by Disney,p20, Sherlock, Daniel J"Wide Screen Movies" Corrections 1994–2004 wi ...


References

{{Fractions and ratios Display technology Engineering ratios