View source for 16:9 aspect ratio

{{Short description|Aspect ratio with a width of 16 units and height of 9 units}}
{{Redirect|16x9|the TV series|16x9 (TV series)}}

[[File:16x9 by Pengo.svg|thumb|A 16:9 rectangle in which rectangles visualize the ratio. The groupings are not square.]]
[[File:Samsung LE26R41BD and Yamada DVD player 20030624.jpg|thumb|A television set with the 16:9 image ratio]]

'''16:9''' is a [[widescreen]] [[Aspect ratio (image)|aspect ratio]] with a width of 16 units and height of 9 units.

Once seen as an "exotic" aspect ratio,<ref>{{cite web |last=Hoehler |first=Dieter |date=2008-06-03 |title=A Brief Review on HDTV in Europe in the early 90's|url=https://www.live-production.tv/case-studies/sports/brief-review-hdtv-europe-early-90%E2%80%99s.html |website=Live-Production.TV}}</ref> since 2009, it has become the most common aspect ratio for [[television]]s and [[computer monitor]]s, 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<ref name="auto">{{cite web |title=Recommendation ITU-R BT.1197-1 Enhanced wide-screen PAL TV transmission system (the PALplus system) |url=https://www.itu.int/dms_pubrec/itu-r/rec/bt/R-REC-BT.1197-1-199802-W!!PDF-E.pdf |website=itu.int}}</ref> and [[Clear-Vision|Wide-aspect Clear-vision]].<ref name=":15">{{cite book |url=https://www.itu.int/dms_pubrec/itu-r/rec/bt/R-REC-BT.1298-0-199710-W!!PDF-E.pdf |title=Recommendation ITU-R BT.1298 - Enhanced wide-screen NTSC TV transmission system |publisher=ITU |year=1997}}</ref> Japan's [[Multiple_sub-Nyquist_sampling_encoding|Hi-Vision]] originally started with a [[15:9]] ratio but converted when the international standards group introduced the wider ratio [[16:9]]. 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 [[Letterboxing (filming)|Letterbox black bars]] within the image itself.{{Citation needed|date=May 2023}}

== History ==
[[File:HDTV aspect ratio derivation.svg|thumb|<div style="margin-bottom:1ex;">Derivation of the 16:9 aspect ratio</div>The main figure shows 4:3 and 2.40:1 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.]]

Kerns H. Powers, a member of the [[Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers|SMPTE]] Working Group on High-Definition Electronic Production, first proposed the 16:9 (1.7{{overline|7}}:1) aspect ratio in 1984.<ref> {{Citation |url=http://www.sportsvideo.org/new/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Searching-for-the-Perfect-Aspect-Ratio.pdf |title=Searching for the Perfect Aspect Ratio}}</ref> The popular choices in 1980 were [[Fullscreen (aspect ratio)|4:3]] (based on TV standard's ratio at the time), 15:9 (5:3) (the European "flat" 1.6{{overline|6}}:1 ratio), 1.85:1 (the American "flat" ratio) and 2.35:1 (the [[CinemaScope]]/[[Panavision]]) ratio for [[Anamorphic format|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{{overline|7}}:1 and all of them also covered a smaller common inner rectangle with the same aspect ratio 1.78:1.<ref name="Cinemasource">{{cite journal |url=http://www.cinemasource.com/articles/aspect_ratios.pdf#page=8 |format=Technical bulletin |title=Understanding Aspect Ratios |journal=CinemaSource |publisher=The CinemaSource Press |year=2001 |access-date=2009-10-24}}</ref> The value found by Powers is exactly the [[geometric mean]] of the extreme aspect ratios, 4:3 and 2.40:1, <math>\textstyle \sqrt{\frac{47}{15}}</math>{{nbsp}}≈{{nbsp}}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 aspect ratio|14:9]] (1.5{{overline|5}}:1), which is likewise used as a compromise between these ratios.<ref>{{cite patent |title=Method of showing 16:9 pictures on 4:3 displays |country=EN |number=5956091 |gdate=1999-09-21}}</ref>

While 16:9 (1.7{{overline|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.<ref>{{cite web |date=2014-06-13|title=Why 16:9 aspect ratio was chosen for HD? |url=http://guruprasad.net/posts/why-16-9-aspect-ratio-was-chosen-for-hd/ |access-date=2021-09-17 |website=Guruprasad's Portal |language=en-US |archive-date=2021-11-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211116072240/http://guruprasad.net/posts/why-16-9-aspect-ratio-was-chosen-for-hd/ |url-status=usurped}}</ref> Most 4:3 (1.3{{overline|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{{overline|7}}:1) inner rectangle to facilitate 16:9 conversion and viewing.<ref>{{cite journal |journal=EBU |location=[[Switzerland|CH]] |url=http://www.ebu.ch/en/technical/trev/trev_280-baker.pdf |title=Safe areas for widescreen transmission |first=I |last=Baker |publisher=BBC |date=1999-08-25 |access-date=2009-10-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101011055023/http://www.ebu.ch/en/technical/trev/trev_280-baker.pdf |archive-date=2010-10-11 |url-status=dead}}</ref> 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'',<ref name="actionplan">{{cite web |format=legislation summary |url=http://europa.eu/legislation_summaries/other/l24103c_en.htm|title=Television in the 16:9 screen format |publisher=Europa |location=[[Europe|EU]] |access-date=2011-09-08}}</ref> 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 aspect ratio|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".<ref name="display">{{cite web |url=http://www.displaysearch.com/cps/rde/xchg/SID-0A424DE8-28DF6E59/displaysearch/hs.xsl/070108_16by9_PR.asp |title=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 |publisher=DisplaySearch |date=2008-07-01 |access-date=2011-09-08}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://blog.lenovo.com/en/blog/display-ratio-change-again |title=Display Ratio Change (again) |date=2009-04-14 |access-date=2020-01-22 |archive-date=2020-03-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200302211457/http://blog.lenovo.com/en/blog/display-ratio-change-again |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://bit-tech.net/blogs/tech/16-10-vs-16-9-the-monitor-aspect-ratio/1/ |title=16:10 vs 16:9 - the monitor aspect ratio conundrum |date=2012-10-22 |access-date=2020-01-22}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://press.trendforce.com/node/view/3307.html |title=Resurgence of 16:10 Aspect Ratio Laptop Computers to Occupy 2% Share of Non-Apple Market in 2020, Says TrendForce |date=2019-04-11 |access-date=2020-01-22}}</ref>

In 2011, Bennie Budler, product manager of IT products at [[Samsung|Samsung South Africa]], confirmed that monitors with a native resolution of {{resx|1920×1200}} 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".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://mybroadband.co.za/news/hardware/17621-Widescreen-monitors-Where-did-1920x1200.html |title=Widescreen monitors: Where did 1920×1200 go? « Hardware « MyBroadband Tech and IT News |publisher=Mybroadband.co.za |date=2011-01-10 |access-date=2011-09-08}}</ref>

In March 2011, the 16:9 resolution {{resx|1920×1080}} became the most common used resolution among [[Steam (service)|Steam]]'s users. The previous most common resolution was {{resx|1680×1050}} (16:10).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://store.steampowered.com/hwsurvey |title=Steam Hardware & Software Survey |publisher=Steam |access-date=2011-09-08}}</ref> By July 2022, Steam reported 16:9 resolutions were used by 77% of its users ({{resx|1920x1080}} with 67%; {{resx|2560 x 1440}} with 10%).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://store.steampowered.com/hwsurvey |title=Steam Hardware & Software Survey |website=store.steampowered.com}}</ref>

== Properties ==
{{Unsourced section|date=March 2023}}

16:9 is the only widescreen aspect ratio natively supported by the [[DVD-Video#Video data|DVD]] format. An [[Anamorphic widescreen|anamorphic]] [[DVD region code|PAL region]] DVD video frame has a maximum resolution of {{resx|720x576p}}, but a [[Media player software|video player software]] will stretch this to {{resx|1024x576p}}.

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 [[Matte (filmmaking)#Mattes and widescreen filming|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 (film)|Man of La Mancha]]'' and [[Kenneth Branagh]]'s ''[[Much Ado About Nothing (1993 film)|Much Ado About Nothing]]'', fit quite comfortably onto a 1.7{{overline|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 the 16:9 ratio:<!-- NOTICE: This is a table of COMMON resolutions, not a table of "every possible 16:9 resolution the internet can think of". Do not add resolutions to this table unless you are prepared to provide examples of them being used commonly, not just resolutions that you generated with your calculator, or resolutions that have been used once or twice in laboratory prototypes or showcase items. This is a table of COMMON resolutions, not a table of "every 16:9 resolution that has ever been used or conceived of even in the most insignificant manner". In addition, please do not add made-up names to this table. If there is no established name for a format, then just leave that cell blank. Not all resolutions have names.-->

{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Width
! Height
! Name
|-
| 640
| 360
| [[Display resolution standards#640 × 360 (nHD)|nHD]]
|-
| 854
| 480
| [[Display resolution standards#FWVGA|FWVGA]]
|-
| 960
| 540
| [[Display resolution standards#qHD|qHD]]
|-
| 1024
| 576
| [[Display resolution standards#1024 × 576, 1024 × 600 (WSVGA)|WSVGA]]
|-
| 1280
| 720
| [[Display resolution standards#1280 × 720 (HD)|HD]]
|-
| 1366
| 768
| [[Display resolution standards#WXGA|FWXGA]]
|-
| 1600
| 900
| [[Display resolution standards#HD+|HD+]]
|-
| 1920
| 1080
| [[Display resolution standards#1920 × 1080 (FHD)|Full HD]]
|-
| 2560
| 1440
| [[Display resolution standards#2560 × 1440 (QHD)|QHD]]
|-
| 3200
| 1800
| [[Display resolution standards#QHD+|QHD+]]
|-
| 3840
| 2160
| [[Display resolution standards#4K UHD|4K UHD]]
|-
| 5120
| 2880
| [[Display resolution standards#5120 × 2880 (5K UHD)|5K]]<!-- This resolution is not part of any UHD standard. Do not rename it to "5K UHD" or anything like that unless you can provide a source that it has been adopted into the UHD standards. -->
|-
| 7680
| 4320
| [[Display resolution standards#8K UHD|8K UHD]]
|}

== See also ==
* [[Display aspect ratio]]
* [[:commons:Category:Videos with display aspect ratio 16:9|Videos with display aspect ratio 16:9 on Commons]]
* [[Display resolution]]
* [[1080p]]
* [[4K resolution#2160p resolution|2160p]]
* [[8K resolution#Resolutions|4320p]]

== References ==
{{Commons category}}

{{reflist}}

== External links ==
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite web |url=http://www.necdisplay.com/support/css/monitortechguide/index05.htm |publisher=NEC |title=NEC Monitor Technology Guide |access-date=2006-07-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060521000427/http://www.necdisplay.com/support/css/monitortechguide/index05.htm |archive-date=2006-05-21}}
{{refend}}

[[Category:Picture aspect ratios]]
[[Category:High-definition television]]
[[Category:Ultra-high-definition television]]