Aspect Ratio
HDTV Aspect Ratio
We're all familiar with the message shown before a movie that begins "This film has been modified from its original version"? That message is telling the viewer that the movie was filmed in a widescreen format and had to be severely cropped on each side to fit on the square television, losing much of the original picture and the director's vision.
The current analog-based NTSC standard for broadcasting is an almost square picture with an aspect ratio of 4:3. Originally movies were filmed using this aspect ratio, which is why it was adopted by the television industry early on. However, while television became commonplace, the movie industry moved to developing and adopting the 16:9 aspect ratio which provides a wider picture and offered a more visually engulfing experience, thereby encouraging people to go to the theater to see movies rather than stay home and watch movies on 4:3 ratio television.
The 16:9 format is called widescreen and was the new standard adopted for Digital Television/HDTV.
