Aspect Ratios
How to calculate the optimum distance
from your seat to the screen.
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My screen was 1.85 times wider than it was tall. When my guests asked
what size this was in relation to a regular TV, which has an aspect ratio
of 1.33:1. (Aspect ratio is calculated as width divided by height).
When I showed regular TV (non-widescreen) images, I used only part of the
width, but all the height and it works out to a 90 inch diagonal image.
My source material of choice was widescreen laser discs and would have been DVD's of course if I still had it. Not only do they offer the best quality today, some movies are offered in their original widescreen format only on laser disc or DVD. When I showed material that is formatted widescreen, I utilize the full width of the screen, keeping the full height, making the experience similar to the original way it was shown in the theaters. You might ask what happens to the information you see at the theater that isn't there on your TV at home. It's gone, missing, not available, taken away during an editing process called pan and scan as the source material is converted for TV (and most video tapes). Feel like you're missing something???
Copyright 1996-2002, Philip Wise. All Rights Reserved. |
