Friday, May 31, 2013

Aspect ratio

Movies and the screens we view them on typically come in two formats. Standard format has a 3:4 aspect ratio, meaning that the picture height is 3/4 of the picture width. Widescreen format has a 9:16 aspect ratio, so the picture height is 9/16 of the picture width. A widescreen movie shown on a standard screen has two horizontal black bars, one above and one below the picture. Likewise, a standard movie shown on a widescreen screen has vertical black bars on the sides. What percent of the viewing area is lost to the black bars when viewing a widescreen movie on a standard screen? How about when viewing a standard movie on a widescreen screen?

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