Aspect Ratio

Aspect ratio can be defined as the ratio between the width and height of your video picture – which means, the dimensions of your TV or movie screen. When we say your TV aspect ratio is 4: 3, we mean its width is 4 and height is 3. The standard TV aspect ratio is 4:3 while the aspect ratio for wide screen monitor like HDTV is 16:9. So when graphics are resized to fit the screen, picture aspect ratio is preserved and the picture does not get distorted or stretched out of proportion.

If you ever wondered while watching a movie, why you sometimes see the message that the picture has been modified to fit your screen, it is because the movie was originally shot to suit a wide screen movie theater screen. While releasing the home version, the studios had to crop the sides of the images to fit the home TV screen. This is because the aspect ratio of our home TVs is different from the wide screen movies.

When resizing graphics; maintaining the aspect ratio avoids stretching the picture out of proportion. Most graphics software has the option of adjusting the aspect ratio while resizing the image. So long as your TV can monitor aspect ratio control settings, you won’t face any hassles.

The aspect ratio defines the image in photography, cinema and computer technology. For different mediums there are different aspect ratios with certain letters prefixed to recognize them. H indicates aspect ratio for HDTV, C for standard and P for panoramic aspect ratios. H is used only for TV while C and P could refer to photographic aspect ratios.

An aspect ratio video line chart is usually used to examine the right aspect ratio to use, so that the image will be visible in its entirety. If the aspect ratio is not compatible to the medium, the image will either show a border at the edges or have its top or sides cropped. Changing the shape with aspect ratio converters and aspect ratio line charts will maintain the originality of the image. There are aspect ratio conversion tables for digital video formats. The aspect ratio active video line shows an active video image in a 4:3 aspect ratio irrespective of the video format being used. The color composite video signal reveals that additional space is required on the left and right side of each line during the scanning process the top and bottom of the active video image region also needs more space.

So it is important to choose aspect ratio first and then move on to resolution.